Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of forests, lakes, rugged peaks, and glacial carved valleys (Winston, 2013). Glacier National Park is named for its glacier-carved terrains and remnant glaciers from thousands of years back. Geologic forces such as geologic faults and uplifting have created some of the most spectacular views in the park. Held in this park is an impressive geologic story that geologist depicted by examining various features in the park.
One of the most striking features in Glacier National Park is the color banding. This feature can be seen in nearly every mountain within the park as they are composed of different layers of rocks and colors. The rock strata are mainly composed of sedimentary rocks limestones, shales, sandstones, and lightly metamorphosed rocks (Dyson,1957). These rocks all belong to a single large unit known as the Belt series. The rocks are very unusual in that they were deposited in late in the Precambrian between 1600 and 800 million years ago and are relatively undeformed and only lightly metamorphosed (Alt, 1983). The rocks can be spotted throughout the large area of western Montana, northern Idaho, and southern British Columbia. The formation of the Belt Supergroup started during the Proterozoic era as a long narrow section of North America extending from the Arctic Ocean southward which slowly sank to form a large sea-filled trough also known as a geosyncline (Dyson, 1957). Streams from nearby lands carried muds and sands into the sea almost completely filling it. These muds were eventually compressed into shales, some limestones, and sands into sandstones. Many of the rocks in this series have very distinct features that give a clue about their origin, features suc...
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... used to be a sea (Beaumont,1978). As mountain-building forces continued for several million years it created a big fold or anticline as it squeezed the rocks. These same pressures continued and overturned the fold which eventually caused them to break along a great low-angle fault (Beaumont,1978). The western limb of the fold was driven upward and eastern placing older layers of rock on top of younger ones. The younger layers of rock include cretaceous shales and sandstones. The slice of crust has been moved more than 15 miles toward the east, the surface it moved through is called the Lewis Overthrust. (Dyson,1957). Years of erosion finally exposed the fault which was buried throughout its early years. Erosion then separated several remnants, Chief Mountain is the best known which consists of Altyn limestone, exposed on its base is the Lewis Overthrust fault.
Marshak, S. (2009) Essentials of Geology, 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, ch. 11, p. 298-320.
The Starved Rock Member of the Saint Peter Sandstone is preserved as a northeast-southwest trending belt of strata that is ...
...e morphed it into the quartzite that is seen surrounding the butte (4). Rocks that undergo this process are called metamorphic rock, which is the same as the rock seen years ago by dinosaurs and other extinct creatures. The quartzite rocks were formerly seafloor sediment that was forced upwards, and then surrounded by lava basalt flows. Once erupted through fissures and floods through out most of the area, lava flow eventually created enough basalt to form a thickness of about 1.8 kilometers (1). All of this basalt flow eventually led to the covering of most mountains, leaving the buttes uncovered. The igneous lava flows and loess is reasons that the Palouse consists of such sprawling hills, and rich soil for farming (2). In result of the lava flows, the Precambrian rock Quartzite was formed. And lastly covered by the glacial loess, which were carried by the wind.
The coastal belt of the Franciscan Complex is composed of the youngest and least deformed units and makes up the western quarter of all Franciscan rocks. The rocks of the coastal belt are composed of arkosic sandstones, andesitic graywackes, and quartzofeldspathic graywackes interbedded with radiolarian chert (turbidite deposits) (Blake and Jones, 1981). These sedimentary rocks suggest a depositional environment of deep-sea fan systems with both oceanic and continental provenance. Parts of the belt show evidence of later metamorphism, principally due to subduction. Low-grade blueschist mineral facies are indicated by the presence of minerals such as laumonite and prehnite-pumpellyite (Blake and Jones, 1981). All rock units show evidence of thrust (imbricate) faulting due to the compressional forces of subduction. Ages of the coastal belt run from as little as 40 Ma (Eocene) to as old as 100 Ma (middle Cretaceous).
Harris, Ann G., Esther Tuttle, and Sherwood D. Tuttle. "Katmai National Park and Preserve." Geology of National Parks. 4th ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Pub., 1990. 441-48. Print.
A good description of a glacier is given by Jim Wickwire in his book “Addicted to Danger.” In it he says, “A glacier is not a fixed, solid thing. It flows like a river, with currents, some parts smooth, others rough” (Wickwire, 1998, p. 1). This happens to go along with Webster’s definition, in that a glacier must be moving, either because of gravity or because it’s spreading out underneath itself due to additional accumulations. (Meeriam-Webster, 2000, p. 493).
Cuyahoga Valley National Park was formed the same way that most other valleys were. It is believed that long before the ice age occurred an ancient river carved through this area. This river left behind deposits that after millions of years transformed into the parks sandstone bedrock. As the ice age came into effect, this river froze and became part of a glacier that had an even bigger effect on the landscape of the valley. These glaciers scraped through northeastern Ohio and in the process left behind deposits that now make up the parks fertile soil (“Rock, Ice, and River”).
...the only major geologic event in the history of the Appalachians. Several glaciers have covered parts of the Northern Appalachians over the last three million years. (Appalachian tales) The mountains have been there ever since and that is how they were formed.
The Little Missouri River eroding the mountain range is the reason that the park is as it looks today. The park is believed to be <60 million years old. Over 60 million years ago volcanos all over the west were erupting and spitting out amounts of ash. The rivers near the volcanos were gathering. The rivers began to dry out, leveeing the ash behind. The ash was being dried in layers and turned into sandstone, siltstone and mudstone while the ash layers became bentonite clay. This Bentonite clay is dangerous because it gets people stuck, like quick sand it is located throughout the park. It can pull the car tires un...
This seemingly boring process came to fruition in one of the most beloved National Parks in the United States of America. The Grand Canyon National Park is located in the state of Arizona. It is over 270 miles long and, at some points, is up to 18 miles wide and deep (History.com Staff). Its deep walls help provide a geologic history of the earth, because the many layers contain artifacts and information about the climate at the time (History.com Staff).
The glaciers have been through a minimum of four glacial periods. They’ve been through the Little Ice age, which commenced around 4,000 years ago. Marks of retreating glacier ice are seen in the rock-strewn and sculpted peaks valleys. The land and bodies of water that the retreating ice has created a new display of animal and plant communities. Ice fields, expansive river and stream systems, and tidewater glaciers significantly determine the likelihood of animals and plants to
Before Lake Coeur d’Alene existed, the St. Joe River ran through the present lakebed northward and up through the Rathdrum Prairie before turning west and into the Spokane Valley. About 15,000 years ago, during the peak of the last glacial period, huge glaciers covered much of British Columbia. This ice, which was almost 4,000 feet thick, unimaginably covered all but the highest mountain peaks. The glacier slowly crept down into North Idaho, stopping just north of Coeur d’Alene (Wuerthner, 30, 32).
"NPS: Nature & Science» Geology Resources Division." Nature.nps.gov » Explore Nature. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
Yellowstone Park is the world’s first national park and the 8th largest national park in the United States. The park is primarily located in Wyoming and parts of Idaho and Nevada (56 Interesting Facts About . . . Var Addthis_config = ) It is a tourist attraction due it’s 5,000 to 15,000 years old geysers, over 45 waterfalls, canyons, rivers, hot springs, and its massive concentration of natural wildlife. Two of the most popular park attractions are the Old Faithful geyser and the Grand Prismatic springs. ("Fun Facts." - 32 Interesting Facts Yellowstone National Park.)
On September 9th, 2017 at approximately 7 p.m., I went to Gracedale Public Park to carefully conduct my observation on the individuals, who were at the park and their specific activities in the one hour of time. When I got there, the weather was beautiful with soft winds, a clear sky and with some dim sunlight. The park was full of people of all ages. Though, there were more kids than adults and some teenagers. There were many bicycles and strollers parked beside the tree I sat under. After a couple of minutes, the park filled up with more and more individuals and everyone seemed busy doing their own actions.