Many will attest to the grandeur of the natural feature that exists in northern Arizona, but the formation of the Grand Canyon has befuddled geomorphologists to this day. This confusion can be attributed to the Kaibab Plateau, an anomaly considering the Colorado River traverses it seamlessly. Four prevalent hypotheses have been proposed since the 19th century, starting with the lake overflow proposition first brought up by John Newbury and then reinforced by Eliot Blackwelder. Newbury argued that a structure must have ponded an ancient lake causing an overspill to cut into the Grand Canyon. This argument holds that the river must have come after the plateau’s existence. Unbeknownst to Newbury, the structure would be the Kaibab Plateau. …show more content…
Antecedent supporters will claim that the river could flow anywhere on the Kaibab Plateau, but evidence of a river that strayed has not been found. In addition, the canyons of the Mogollon Highlands show evidence of ancient rivers that once flowed northeast against the southwest direction of the Colorado River the Antecedent proposition purports (3c). Gravel sediment where the Mogollon Highland’s would have drained onto the Colorado Plateau supports this statement (3b). A true testament to the power of the Colorado River from the Rocky Mountains is evident in its capabilities to erode away volcanic bedrock in the past (5c). As many as 13 volcanic dams were formed in the Grand Canyon’s past, but all did not withstand the Colorado River. Basaltic lava flows are relatively resistance, but the river has successfully eroded about 11,300 feet of volcanic material, equivalent to twice the depth of the Grand Canton itself (8b). Further proof of major rivers’ ability to effectively erode barriers can be found near Cameron, where the Little Colorado River has managed to change its course north and remove 150 feet of bedrock material (5c). With these factors in hand it is not hard to imagine that younger Colorado River had the capability to erode significant parts of an older Kaibab Plateau. Tributaries like the Bright Angel Canyon also present
This formation is a very fine grain Mississippian limestone. To test to see if this was the Bangor formation we used HCL and because there was a reaction we know its limestone. This formation could also be described as gray in color as well as an average thickness of 700 feet. We see the Bangor until stop eight, where we see a very different vertical bedding. Also different at stop eight is the outcrop no longer reacts with HCL. From this we gathered that we had moved into the Hartselle formation. In the Hartselle Formation, Mississippian aged sandstones are dominant. This particular stop had a large amount of jointing. After the Hartselle, we figured the Pride Mountain Formation would be next, however at stop nine we see the Maury Formation present. This stop focused on the rock located inside the creek. Because we were unable to go into the creek to get the strike and dips, we once again had to do a projected orientation. Also found on this stop were natural sulfur springs, easy to notice with the smell that it gives off. The Maury formation consist of Mississippian- Silurian aged shale. At the next stop, stop 10, we encounter the Ft. Payne formation. Although this area location was thickly vegetated, we were able to conduct the acid test and saw that the HCL reacts in some places but not all. From this we concluded that this was the cherty limestone of the Ft. Payne formation. The following stop, 12, we went up section and arrived at the Maury Formation once again. At the final stop, location 13, we see Ft. Payne Formation. All of the metamorphism and deformation in the southernmost Appalachians can be related to the movement of the thrust sheets and stacks (Higgins,
In the third section of John McPhee's Encounters with the Archdruid, the author observes the discourse between conservationist David Brower and Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, Floyd Dominy, on the merits of dams in the southwestern United States. Brower "hates all dams, large and small," while Dominy sees dams as essential to our civilization. The Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, which Dominy created, are the main issue of debate between the two men.
The book RISING FROM THE PLAINS (1986) talks about how the Rocky Mountains had developed in Wyoming, McPhee was accompanied by David Love during this book. It was the first of the books “Annals of the Formal World” that talked about the effects of human beings, and how it complicates science. The book concentrates on how different parts of geology directly affects
The area north of the Nantac Rim is typical of the Colorado Plateaus province (Broomfield & Shride, 1956). It is generally characterized by high elevation (average about 6,000 feet), and by the approximate horizontal position of its rocks. The drainage of this area is generally northward to the Salt and Black Rivers. The rivers and their principal tributaries have cut steep canyons into the plateau surface, making parts of the area almost inaccessible. Much of the area is
Canyonlands National Park, immense amounts of wilderness and rock, is located at the heart of the Colorado Plateau (Canyonlands National Park-Geology). Millions of years have formed specific features to the rock and surrounding wilderness that make it so special. Throughout the park, you will find that the sedimentary rock has formed many features such as hundreds of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. The Green and Colorado rivers have played a major role in the formation of many of these features. These rivers cut through the park forming two massive canyons. This further splits the park into three distinct zones. “Island in the Sky” sits to the north while “The Maze” sits off to the west and “The Needles” to the
is characterized by increased sediment yield from hillslopes destabilized by vegetation change resulting from climatic warming and drying (Bull, 1991; McFadden and McAuliffe, 1997). In the Zuni Salt Lake piedmont area, vegetation change and hillslope runoff-sediment yield during this transition would have been further disrupted by pyroclastic airfall and wildfires associated with eruptions at Zuni Salt Lake maar and Cerro Pomo cinder cone during the ~13.5¬–11.5 ka interval (Appendix A). Rates of fan deposition immediately after the eruptions were probably quite accelerated; however, by ~10.3 ka (the age of the oldest piedmont fan deposits exposed), fan aggradation was not particularly high (~2 m/ka). Early Holocene valley floodplains in the Carrizo Wash watershed, at least after ~9 ka, are characterized by slow aggradation of clay-rich alluvium. This suggests that most sediment eroded from the upland slopes during the early Holocene was stored on piedmonts as alluvial fan deposits, with a relatively minor amount of fine sediment reaching the valley floors. Early Holocene floodplains were therefore probably relatively stable, slowly aggrading, and densely vegetated
The Arkoma Basin is one of several foreland basins that formed along the Ouachita Orogenic Belt during the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian time periods. It covers approximately 33,800 square miles and extends from southeastern Oklahoma to central Arkansas (Perry, 1997). The Arkoma Basin is bounded to the north by the Ozark Uplift, to the south by the Ouachita Mountains, to the northwest by the Anadarko Basin, to the southwest by the Arbuckle Uplift, and to the southeast by the Mississippian Embayment (Figure 5). The red box in figure 5 denotes the general location of the study area, which is in the eastern Arkoma section.
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power,” says Lao-Tzu. The rabbits in Watership Down that are aspiring leaders deal with a constant battle that relates perfectly to Lao-Tzu’s quote. Some gain power through their stature, others through their wit, but the truly effective leaders use the ideal attributes both from themselves and the rabbits they are leading. The desire for power in this novel is exhibited through aspiring leaders that lead in their own best interest and those who lead in the best interest of their community
Mesa Verde National Park on the Colorado Plateau contains many geological aspects of interest, including its sedimentary rock layers, its canyons, its alcoves utilized by ancient people and how these alcoves were formed. Mesa Verde National Park is located in the southwest corner of Colorado, close to the Four Corners area, on top of a high mesa overlooking the Mancos River (Harris et al. 2004). The park, covering 81 square miles, consists of several main sedimentary formations that are characteristic to the park (Encyclopedia Britannica 2015). Canyons are carved into the sedimentary rock, with the cave dwellings found high on their steep walls. These dwellings are an especially unique aspect to the Mesa Verde National Park, and are built out of large alcoves. The alcoves were produced by weathering and erosion of the sedimentary rock type. To better understand how these alcoves formed, we must understand the geology of Mesa Verde National Park and how it has developed over history.
(1995-2013) Finally, many evolutionists use the Grand Canyon as proof for millions of years, but evidence shows it actually formed from the overspill from two post-Flood lakes. (Creation Today, n.d.) Obviously, all of this evidence creates major problems for evolution, but is fully explained by Noah’s Flood.
The final piece of evidence for a worldwide flood is the Grand Canyon. An article describing the Grand Canyon states, “The general scientific consensus, updated at a 2010 conference, holds that the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon beginning 5 million to 6 million years ago.” (Zimmermann, 2013) However, it is obvious that the Colorado river could not have carved the Grand Canyon. It is much too small to carve such an enormous monument, and it shows a surprising lack of erosion for being millions of years old. (The Grand Canyon, n.d.) One problem with evolutionists’ theory is the numerous side canyons formed just as deep with no visible water source. (Brown, 1995-2013) Also, why are there no other Grand Canyons around the world that were created with larger and more powerful rivers? (Brown, 1995-2013) A massive amount of around eight hundred cubic miles of sediments were excavated from the Grand Canyon, yet the Colorado River’s delta, the section at the mouth of the river where sediments eroded by the river are deposited, contains less than one percent of this material. (Brown, 1995-2013) So where did it all go? A worldwide flood is the most plausible explanation. As the crust buckled and shifted, the water from the flood drained off of high levels into the ocean basins and any low places. (Brown, 1995-2013) The Colorado Plateau was lifted around six thousand two hundred feet, carrying two large post-Flood lakes with it, the Grand Lake and Hopi Lake. (Brown,
The Tijuana River Wetlands is classified as a coastal plain estuary. It has been in geologic development since the late Cenozoic Era, approximately 65 million years ago (Schoenherr, 59). As continental drift carried the North American continent westward, tectonic uplift raised the shore line several hundred feet above the current sea levels. Over time, the river wore through the uplifted terraces, though the narrowness of the floodplain indicates that the flow was generally not large.
The Kaibab plateau was established as a National Game Preserve in 1906 to protect the local mule deer population from hunters and predators. In an effort to combat these threats to the deer population, hunting was made illegal and bounties were payed to individuals that successfully killed a predator. In 1925, up to 6000 predators had been killed by hunters completely erasing them from plateaus population. I believe that the loss of these predators would have the similar effect on the population growth as we recently saw on Isle Royale. Instead, the deer population would have grown at an accelerated pace due to the lack of predation on the population. This growth would have continued unchecked until the population over consumed its resources
In this paper i will be talking about some of the controversy swirling around about the Yellowstone Supervolcano. I will be talking about, the activity of the volcano and magma chamber, when it’s predicted to erupt next, the kill radius and ash cloud devastation, and if there is anything we can do to stop, or even mitigate the effects of a massive super eruption.
Evidence in the Mosaic Canyon; however, do suggest that the area was covered by a warm