The Grand canyon
By Spencer Hodge
Imagine a cut in the earth 277 miles long and a mile deep, the grand canyon is a huge place thats probably larger than you thought. It was formed in Northern Arizona, the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most interesting places on the earth as far as discovery gose. There are many different landscapes in this wonderful place. People have been visiting the canyon since about the year 1540 as far as our records show, there could have been people earlier than this but the first records kept were only for this time period. Many people visit for the sights of the canyon in itself, but many people go for the adventures as well. The canyon is full of trails to hike, walls to climb, and
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The canyon has been forming for millions of years through the weather, and especially since the river runs through it. The water from the river cuts like a knife over years of flowing. A chart of the ages of the rock that is in the canyon is in the following pages to show just what the canyon is made of. Through a single day the Grand Canyon can be seen many different ways. From sunlight to sunset, the canyon is a very interesting place to be. unusual animals are birds, poisonous snakes and scorpions, this place can be as lethal as it is beautiful. If you look at the sedimentary rock you will see that there is a period that's not there on the rocks for example you can see it from 1 million years ago but 2-3 million is not there, that there are caves that are off limits those are some of the mysteries of the grand canyon. The only one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World to be located in North America, more than 4,000,000 people visit the canyon each year, making …show more content…
Be prepared for sudden changes in the weather at those times of year. May and October can be some of the driest months, although snowstorms may occur, while late April and May can be windy. Spring and fall sport mild temperatures with warm days and cooler nights, and can be the best times to be hiking in the canyon. The truth is that nobody knows how it was made, although there area unit some pretty smart guesses. the possibilities are unit that variety of processes combined to form the views that you just see in today's Grand Canyon. the foremost powerful force to own a bearing on the Grand Canyon is erosion, primarily by water andwind. alternative forces that contributed to the Canyon's formation area unit the course of the Colorado stream itself, volcanism, continental drift and slight variations in the earth's orbit which in turn causes variations in seasons and
Both Mystery and Niagara Cave are made of limestone. Limestone is formed when areas that used to be covered with water, would have contained shelled animals and other organisms. When the animals died, their bodies along with waste matter from other organisms, floated down to the bottom of the water. Over time, it was compressed and formed limestone. Caves are usually made of limestone because it is easily carved out by water. This is the case for Mystery and Niagara
From the Pueblo Indian’s perspective, the Chacoans were constantly searching for a place where that they considered the center of their universe. Chaco Canyon was seen as that place. It was a very powerful place and there were a lot of spiritual people who others believed used Chaco Canyon’s powers to induce unwanted changes. Some have even argued that Chaco Canyon’s powers had the ability to corrupt people, which is said to have caused an imbalance in the world. The canyon was said to offer too much knowledge and power to individuals who could abuse it. However, researchers believe it was famine and droughts that drove Chacoans
In the shadow of a cliff wall within Chaco Canyon rests the ruins of Pueblo Bonito, the most famous of the towns and settlements built by the Anasazi over 900 years ago. From tree-ring dating, it is known that a period of severe drought swept through the Chaco area in AD 1150, causing the site to be abandoned. After it was rediscovered in 1849 by U.S. Army soldiers, the site was severely vandalized for seventy years until it was made a national monument in 1907. In 1920, the National Geographic Society began a thorough reconstruction of this once great, and still impressive, site (Chaco Canyon, 1982-2015). Between its construction and its abandonment, Pueblo Bonito was a complex and important locality for the people who poured so much time
The King Ranch The King Ranch, 825,000 acres right here in the great state of Texas! The King Ranch started as a small cow camp in 1853, no one knew how big it would soon become in later years. Richard King started the small camp with 15,500 acres, the ranch is now 825,000 acres full of some of the finest cattle and horses in the world. Each year, more than 35,000 people go to Kingsville, Texas to visit the ranch.
Zig-zag, back and forth, down, down, down, Jonathon, Dad, and I went into a mysterious new world. Now that I have gone into this hot, dry canyon surrounded by monstrous hoodoos, I have seen what it is really like to leave the small town of Seymour, and emerge into the greatness of this world. I have now seen several other National Parks on one of the most renowned places on earth for mysterious creations, the Colorado Plateau. Of all the beautiful places on it, even the Grand Canyon, I have found my favorite one. Bryce Canyon National Park. I thought it was amazing, because it was the most diverse to anything I have ever seen before. We hiked down into it and I felt like I was surrounded by skyscrapers. We trekked around a little, but we didn’t
The world has been shaped by many events. Like a sculpture each piece was a result of an event that made it that way. The Snake River Canyon is no different, most of upper Utah and part southern Idaho show the scars of an event that rocked the landscape into what it is today. When researching and digging in the region you can find remnants of an old marine environment, from sediment deposits to river terraces hundreds of feet high. It’s confusing to think of the area as a giant lake with sandy beaches and powerful waves, but the overflow of this huge lake is what created most of the landscape you can see today. The great Bonneville flood was the world second largest flood, emptying over 32,000 square miles of lake volume. (Utah Geological Society) The flood that the this overfill caused carved through many areas and created the beautiful valley that can be seen there. However, this didn’t just happen over night. The pre-flood history, flood event, specific flood deposits all played an important role in shaping this large Geological marvel. Understanding what happened back then can give us a good glimpse into better understanding the region today, which can lead to better predicting and preserving for the future.
Everyone’s experience is not all the same similarly to the Grand Canyon situation that is mentioned by Percy. The individual needs to be taken into consideration. Like with me, I went to many tourists spots, such as the Valley of Ten Peaks, that are talked among many people that and have been influenced by the media, but when I got their I was left speechless by the sight of the of the Peaks. This experience is a counter point Percy’s idea, that prejudges of situations can skew the perspective of people. Percy states “[a tourist] Does not one see the same sight from the Bright Angel Lodge that Cardenas saw” (Percy 464). This quote explains how people cannot see the true beauty of a sight with these expectations that block it for us. Most of the time I have had my expectations of a sight given to me by media or other people lessen my experiences in life. This occurs because how much someone is willing to let so...
The geology, its history, and the presence of past civilizations contribute to much of the significance of Mesa Verde National Park. The interconnectedness of these aspects should also be noted. If not for the weathering processes and changes in sea level this formation would not exist. Without it, the ancient people would not have been able to reside within Mesa Verde. This National Park now serves as a tool to help conserve the remains of these past civilizations as well as to help educate today’s society on the significance behind this astonishing geologic
“… The difference between the present reservoir, with its silent sterile shores and debris-choked side canyons, and the original Glen Canyon, is the difference between death and life. Glen Canyon was alive. Lake Powell is a graveyard.” – Edward Abbey, “The Damnation of a Canyon”, Beyond the Wall
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 east (Canyonlands National Park Information Guide). “Island in the Sky” serves as Canyonlands’ observation tower; it allows tourists to see overwhelming vistas of the rest of the land. “The Maze,” as hinted at by the name has been described as a “30 square mile puzzle in sandstone” (NPS: Nature & Science» Geology Resources Division). This section of the park often ranks as one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the United States. Lastly, “The Needles” is known for its diversity in rock features. Throughout this land, features such as sculptured rock spires, arches, canyons, grabens, and potholes can be seen. The varying names hint at the diversity of the land as a whole. As said by The National Park Service’s Geology Resources Division, “Traces of the Anasazi can be found in almost every canyon in the Needles. Many of their stone and mud dwellings and storehouses are remarkably well-preserved. Tower Ruins, built high on a cliff ledge in a side canyon of Horse Canyon, is an outstanding ex...
It was starting to be created 250-280 million years ago. When people visited Carlsbad Caverns a long time ago people would be lowered in inside a mining bucket and usually went in there to mine bat poop that is a good fertilizer apparently. A long time ago and now sulfuric acid drips out of the limestone making Carlsbad Caverns even prettier.
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.)
Hoover Dam, sometimes referred to as Boulder Dam, was constructed between 1931 and 1935 to harness the waters of the wild Colorado River. The dam was a challenging task for even the most experienced professionals. Many have called Hoover Dam a wonder of the modern world because of its unprecedented massive size and its designers’ ingenuity in overcoming obstacles that were considered impossible barriers at the time (Stevens).
The geologic history of the Rocky Mountains has come about as an aggregation of millions of years. Briefly speaking, the formation of the Rockies transpired from hundreds and millions of years of uplift by tectonic plates and millions of years of erosion and ice have helped sculpt the mountains to be what we see today. The majority of the rocks that make up the Rocky Mountains began as simple shale, siltstone, and sandstone accompanied by smaller amounts of volcanic rock which formally built up for approximately 1.8 to 2 billion years in the ancient sea. By 1.7 to 1.6 billion years, these sedimentary rocks got caught in the zone of collision between parts of the earth’s crust and its tectonic plates. The incredible heat at the core of the mountain range then recrystallized the rock into metamorphic rock by the heat and pressure of the collision forces. Eventually, the shale would be transformed into both schist and gneiss. It is believed that granite found in the Rocky Mountain parks came from pre-existing metamorphic rock created shortly after the formation of the earth. Ultimately, the high mountains of the period were slowly eroded away to a flat surface exposing metamorphic rocks and granite. This process occurred around the period of 1,300 to 500 million years ago. This flat surface would become covered with shallow seas and rocks from the Paleozoic period and would be deposited and eventually cover the surface. There is...
The story shows how beautiful and peaceful the scenery is at the beginning, but then man enters and corrupts the perfect scenery. This long and extensive portion of the story that shows the beauty in nature eventually foreshadows the destruction of the canyon when man steps foot into the perfect canyon. The imagery is setting up for the conflict between man and nature. The prospector even digging up the dirt in the search for gold is causing a disturbance in the peacefulness of the canyon. “It [the canyon] was as starlight into atmosphere, shot through and warmed by sunshine, and flower-drenched with sweetness.”