Yellowstone preserves the largest collection of hydrothermal features on the planet. This amazing hot springs has been forming over thousands of years, dumping calcium carbonate in elaborate and beautiful terraces. This type of limestone is called travertine.
Très cool
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Yellowstone: Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Prismatic Spring one of the real natural wonders of the world and I'm so glad to have seen it. This is the third largest hot spring in the world with a diameter of 90 metres. It's up to 50 metres deep and 70 degrees Celsius. The centre of the spring is too hot to support life. The peripheries are home to pigmented thermophile bacteria and algae which give the spring its vivid colours.
We were there on a beautiful evening, which was the perfect time to see it. It was so beautiful it took my breath away.
We were there on a beautiful evening, which was the perfect time to see it. It was so beautiful it took my breath away.
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Gross Ventre Landslide
One night we stayed in a great little camping spot, Atherton Creek, just outside Grand Teton National Park in the Gross Ventre ("Big Belly") wilderness of Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming.
Before 1925 there wasn't a lake here. Lower Slide Lake was created in June of that year by a giant landslide following snowmelt and heavy rain. 38,000,000 cubic metres of primarily rock slid down the north face of Sheep Mountain, crossed over the Gros Ventre River, creating a huge dam over 61 m high and 370 m wide across the River. More info on this event can be found here. The landslide lasted just minutes and was one of the largest ever documented.
In May 1927, a portion of the dam failed, and resulting in a massive flood that wiped out the nearby bustling town of Kelly. Kelly is now just a hamlet serving tourists, but it was once in line to become the county seat. Now the town of Jackson Hole, 7 miles away, has that honour and has become an ugly, touristy, and very affluent town.
The area has exposed partially vegetated limestones and shales which make for some striking scenery:
Before 1925 there wasn't a lake here. Lower Slide Lake was created in June of that year by a giant landslide following snowmelt and heavy rain. 38,000,000 cubic metres of primarily rock slid down the north face of Sheep Mountain, crossed over the Gros Ventre River, creating a huge dam over 61 m high and 370 m wide across the River. More info on this event can be found here. The landslide lasted just minutes and was one of the largest ever documented.
In May 1927, a portion of the dam failed, and resulting in a massive flood that wiped out the nearby bustling town of Kelly. Kelly is now just a hamlet serving tourists, but it was once in line to become the county seat. Now the town of Jackson Hole, 7 miles away, has that honour and has become an ugly, touristy, and very affluent town.
The area has exposed partially vegetated limestones and shales which make for some striking scenery:
Beautiful Canyonlands
Some images from Canyonlands National Park, southern Utah, June 2013. A dusty, rugged, out-the-way place. Includes some truly beautiful images of the Green River.
Grand Tetons
We had the pleasure of spending a few days in Grand Teton National Park in northeastern Wyoming.
The Tetons mountain range is just 40 miles long, but the most striking I've ever seen. They rise up out of the floodplain of the Snake River so high and so abruptly with no foothills they look almost unreal.
The Tetons are only a few million years old, making them the youngest mountain range in the Rockies. They continue to uplift today in this active tectonic region. The distinctive pinnacle shape of the peaks are the result of glaciation. The small glaciers near the peaks are retreating but remain all year round.
The Tetons mountain range is just 40 miles long, but the most striking I've ever seen. They rise up out of the floodplain of the Snake River so high and so abruptly with no foothills they look almost unreal.
The Tetons are only a few million years old, making them the youngest mountain range in the Rockies. They continue to uplift today in this active tectonic region. The distinctive pinnacle shape of the peaks are the result of glaciation. The small glaciers near the peaks are retreating but remain all year round.
This here is bear country
Images of wee (and not so wee) beasties from travels in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, June 2013. Sadly this collection is lacking in bear shots, but we did see some. But we didn't see any Moose. Oh well, we'll just have to go back ;)
Should the kitchen boat go down as well?
In May I spent 3 weeks on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. I was working. Yes, WORKING!
Here's a little taste of life on the river side. It encompasses 3 things which really typified the experience: waiting, radio chatter (by people who were actually working), and the boatman practicing his saxophone.
Saturday, 23 February 2013
29-Mile Canyon (Shinumo) Trail and the Dam That Never Was
"Should we flood the Sistine chapel, so tourists can get nearer the ceiling" Sierra club ad 1966
Marble Canyon is the 61 mile stretch of the Colorado River from Lees Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River. It is the beginning of present-day Grand Canyon National Park.
Marble canyon is not composed of Marble, but sandstones and limestones of the Supai and Kaibab formations. The name was given to the canyon by the early explorer and Civil War veteran, Major John Wesley Powell, August 9, 1869:
“We have cut through the sandstone and limestones met in the upper part of the canyon, and through one great bed of marble a thousand feet in thickness…. As this great bed forms a distinctive of the canyon, we call it Marble Canyon.”
On January 20, 1969, President Lyndon Johnson created Marble Canyon National Monument, in response to the Bureau of Reclamation's proposal to build 2 dams in the canyon, at river miles 32.8 and 39.4 (Less Ferry is river mile 0). By making it a National Monument, it was protected from having any dams built within its boundaries.
Having just been in Marble Canyon which, thanks to the efforts of the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation, remains pristine wilderness, it's almost impossible to imagine today that flooding the canyon was only 40 years ago a real and imminent threat.
Commissioner Floyd Dominy’s proposal in the early 1950s met substantial opposition, notably from the Sierra Club, and was finally abandoned in 1968. On January 3, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Grand Canyon Enlargement Act, which abolished the canyon as a National Monument and incorporated it into Grand Canyon National Park.
Today, remnants of a cableway, built to service the proposed construction, are apparent near the lower dam site in Redwall cavern, as are holes in the canyon wall drilled by engineers at the proposed dam site. What also remains is a mule trail from the rim down Shinumo Wash (oherwise known as 29 mile canyon) to the top of the Redwall above Redwall Cavern. This trail would have become a road linking the dam to Highway 89 if the project had gone ahead. Today much of the trail is washed out and is evidently not used that much by day hikers.
Anyway, enough writing. Here are some photos from my trip. Believe me, these photos do not do it justice! Click on them for larger versions.
At South Canyon looking downstream, which bends sharply to the left
Marble Canyon is the 61 mile stretch of the Colorado River from Lees Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River. It is the beginning of present-day Grand Canyon National Park.
Marble canyon is not composed of Marble, but sandstones and limestones of the Supai and Kaibab formations. The name was given to the canyon by the early explorer and Civil War veteran, Major John Wesley Powell, August 9, 1869:
“We have cut through the sandstone and limestones met in the upper part of the canyon, and through one great bed of marble a thousand feet in thickness…. As this great bed forms a distinctive of the canyon, we call it Marble Canyon.”
On January 20, 1969, President Lyndon Johnson created Marble Canyon National Monument, in response to the Bureau of Reclamation's proposal to build 2 dams in the canyon, at river miles 32.8 and 39.4 (Less Ferry is river mile 0). By making it a National Monument, it was protected from having any dams built within its boundaries.
Having just been in Marble Canyon which, thanks to the efforts of the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation, remains pristine wilderness, it's almost impossible to imagine today that flooding the canyon was only 40 years ago a real and imminent threat.
Commissioner Floyd Dominy’s proposal in the early 1950s met substantial opposition, notably from the Sierra Club, and was finally abandoned in 1968. On January 3, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Grand Canyon Enlargement Act, which abolished the canyon as a National Monument and incorporated it into Grand Canyon National Park.
Today, remnants of a cableway, built to service the proposed construction, are apparent near the lower dam site in Redwall cavern, as are holes in the canyon wall drilled by engineers at the proposed dam site. What also remains is a mule trail from the rim down Shinumo Wash (oherwise known as 29 mile canyon) to the top of the Redwall above Redwall Cavern. This trail would have become a road linking the dam to Highway 89 if the project had gone ahead. Today much of the trail is washed out and is evidently not used that much by day hikers.
29 Mile Canyon 29 Mile is a "side canyon" to the Grand Canyon and is fed by the Shinumo Wash. Located on the Navajo Reservation via dirt roads, this hidden gem sees few visitors.
Last week I hiked from Redwall Cavern to twenty-nine mile rapids and silver grotto 'beach', then up Shinumo Wash to the South rim on the Navajo reservation. It's a ~7 mile, ~2500ft climb hike over large boulders, winding switchbacks, high sandstone ledges. In short, it's an awesome trail. Here's a rough sketch of the route and some of the locations of photos below:
Anyway, enough writing. Here are some photos from my trip. Believe me, these photos do not do it justice! Click on them for larger versions.
Looking upstream from river mile 31 (near proposed upper dam site)
At South Canyon looking downstream, which bends sharply to the left
Vasey's Paradise groundwater-fed waterfall, home to a rare snail
Looking towards Redwall cavern
Down at the river in Silver Grotto to cool my feet
View up 29 mile canyon
View up Shinumo Wash
Path repairs near the rim
View from near the rim
Up on the rim
Monday, 21 January 2013
The story of John Elden's Grave
I was out hiking today on the pipeline trail, Mount Elden, when I came across a site which aroused my interest.
Elden, is named after an early settler, John Elden. Elden arrived in Flagstaff in 1875, some 7 years before the town was founded. John had visited in 1872 from California and had decided it would be a good place to raise a family with his new bride.
And settle and raise a family they did, in a place now called Elden Springs on the southern slopes of Elden. They had 3 children: Helena, Eloise Felicia, and John Jr. They had a flock of 60 sheep and a few cattle. Evidence of their farm can still be just about made out.
In 1887 there was some disagreement between the family and a mule-herder called Bob Roberts. Apparently the dispute was about him using the spring to water his mules. Water has always been contentious in this part of the world and continues today! Accounts are vague as to whether or not John Snr was actually there, but was is clear is that Bob shot the 6-year old boy, John Jnr, whether by accident or on purpose it doesn't seem to be clear.
The child's grave is marked (the cross in the photo was placed there by locals in the 1960s):
A citizens' posse was formed to catch Roberts, who led them on a long hard chase to New Mexico and back again to Arizona. Roberts was mysteriously found dead in a wash (an ephemeral stream). Who actually killed him has never been determined. When Elden got back home, he moved his family to California.
I find this an interesting story because it highlights a few things that I sometimes forget:
1) Water is scarce here and is the reason for almost every major engineering work in Northern Arizona and southern Utah. Water is precious and argued about incessantly between various interest groups.
2) This is the wild west, the sort of place where individual settlers' stories, very ordinary people, are just a few generations old and known about in detail; and the sort of place where justice was, not too long ago, quite legally, meted out by gangs of revengeful men.
Elden, is named after an early settler, John Elden. Elden arrived in Flagstaff in 1875, some 7 years before the town was founded. John had visited in 1872 from California and had decided it would be a good place to raise a family with his new bride.
And settle and raise a family they did, in a place now called Elden Springs on the southern slopes of Elden. They had 3 children: Helena, Eloise Felicia, and John Jr. They had a flock of 60 sheep and a few cattle. Evidence of their farm can still be just about made out.
In 1887 there was some disagreement between the family and a mule-herder called Bob Roberts. Apparently the dispute was about him using the spring to water his mules. Water has always been contentious in this part of the world and continues today! Accounts are vague as to whether or not John Snr was actually there, but was is clear is that Bob shot the 6-year old boy, John Jnr, whether by accident or on purpose it doesn't seem to be clear.
The child's grave is marked (the cross in the photo was placed there by locals in the 1960s):
A citizens' posse was formed to catch Roberts, who led them on a long hard chase to New Mexico and back again to Arizona. Roberts was mysteriously found dead in a wash (an ephemeral stream). Who actually killed him has never been determined. When Elden got back home, he moved his family to California.
I find this an interesting story because it highlights a few things that I sometimes forget:
1) Water is scarce here and is the reason for almost every major engineering work in Northern Arizona and southern Utah. Water is precious and argued about incessantly between various interest groups.
2) This is the wild west, the sort of place where individual settlers' stories, very ordinary people, are just a few generations old and known about in detail; and the sort of place where justice was, not too long ago, quite legally, meted out by gangs of revengeful men.
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Walnut Canyon
Walnut Canyon National Monument is just 10 miles south-east of downtown Flagstaff, and just 7 miles from where I live. I can bike there along old Route 66.
The 350ft deep canyon is home to 25 cliff dwellings constructed by the Sinagua people some time between 1125 and 1250 AD.
Walnut creek, which shaped the canyon, has been somewhat tamed Lake Mary was dammed to the south-west.
The geology of the canyon is a mixture of Kaibab limestone overlying Coconino Sandstone, in which there are some lovely preserved sand dunes and cross-bedding:
and you get some nice views of the mountains to the north!
The 350ft deep canyon is home to 25 cliff dwellings constructed by the Sinagua people some time between 1125 and 1250 AD.
Walnut creek, which shaped the canyon, has been somewhat tamed Lake Mary was dammed to the south-west.
The geology of the canyon is a mixture of Kaibab limestone overlying Coconino Sandstone, in which there are some lovely preserved sand dunes and cross-bedding:
and you get some nice views of the mountains to the north!
Picture Canyon, Flagstaff.
What you'll find is 1000-year old rock paintings by the Northern Sinagua people.
You get there by pulling off old Route 66 (eastbound), which nowadays is nestled just south of Flagstaff mall, and is the nicer way to get to Walnut Canyon. Pull off just before the wastewater treatment plant, next to a depleted cinder cone. Drive up as far as the plant and park up. There's a gate which you can walk through, back towards the back of the water plant and head towards the Rio de Flag. Cross and follow the river, keeping the river to your left.
Picture canyon is found a mile or so from where you parked your car, where the river narrows and steepens and turns into a riffle as it passes over large boulders. The canyon is some 30 or so metres deep.
You can access the canyon relatively easily where the river starts to flatten again. The view upstream from where the petroglyphs on river-right can be observed:
And some of the petroglyphs on the canyon wall on river-right:
There are hundreds of pictures painted on the rocks. Apparently the most impressive specimens are on the larger boulders down towards the river. However, when we were there snow was likely covering most of these larger boulder faces. The view downstream from here is:
You'll have to scramble over and around large boulders to get to the paintings!
More details about access to the site can be found here (I found this website well after trying to find the place!) and here.
We found it hard to cross the river inside the canyon so we walked down the floodplain a mile or so until we found a bridge (this actually brings you onto the Arizona Trail)
We then walked back up the other side of the river to the canyon paintings on river left:
As you can see it's well worth the trip back up, because the river-left petroglyphs are, in my opinion, even more spectacular and accessible. The view downstream from the river left site is here:
A few more before I go. Enjoy!
Mount Elden deer
Can you see a face in the thicket?
This little guy, and his family, was our companions hiking on Fat Man's Loop trail, Mount Elden, Flagstaff:
Elden is a short bike ride from where I live. It is a dacite lava dome, part of the San Francisco volcanic field which gives Flagstaff it's beauty, and its sport!
This little guy, and his family, was our companions hiking on Fat Man's Loop trail, Mount Elden, Flagstaff:
Elden is a short bike ride from where I live. It is a dacite lava dome, part of the San Francisco volcanic field which gives Flagstaff it's beauty, and its sport!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)