Tag Archive: geology

Petrified Sand Dunes – Snow Canyon, Utah

May 4, 2023 0 Comments

Petrified Sand Dunes - Snow Canyon, Utah

Petrified sand dunes in Snow Canyon, Utah. Snow Canyon is a beautiful state park located in southwestern Utah. It features stunning red rock formations, sand dunes, lava flows, and other geological features that make it a popular destination for hiking, rock climbing, and other outdoor activities. The park covers an area of about 7,400 acres and is situated between the cities of St. George and Ivins. It was named after Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, two prominent early pioneers in the area.

In addition to its natural beauty, Snow Canyon also has a rich human history. The park contains numerous archaeological sites, including rock art, ancient pit houses, and granaries, that provide a glimpse into the lives of the early inhabitants of the region.

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Shiprock Black and White – Farmington – New Mexico

May 9, 2021 0 Comments

Shiprock Black and White - Farmington - New Mexico

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Shiprock is a volcanic monadnock that rises 1,583 feet above the desert landscape of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico and is 7,177 feet above sea level. Multiple volcanic dikes radiate from it, including one pictured in the lower left of the image. The formation figures prominently in the religion, myth and traditions of the Navajo, and stood at the geographic and cultural center of the Ancient Puebloans of the Colorado Plateau, also known as the Anasazi. Three major Anasazi sites, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Aztec Ruins National Monument reside less than a hundred miles from the volcanic plug

Shiprock is made of volcanic breccia and dikes of igneous rock. It is what remains of the upper core of a volcano that formed 27 million years ago.

The name of the formation derives from an anglicized perspective of what the rock looks like, in this case a 19th-century clipper ship. The Navajo have a different name, Tsé Bitʼaʼí, which means winged rock, and comes from the legend of a great bird.

Navajo Tourism – Shiprock
New Mexico Department of Geology – Shiprock

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Cathedral Gorge – Natural Wonder – Nevada

February 23, 2018 0 Comments

Cathedral Gorge - Nevada

Cathedral Gorge

Google Maps: Find It

Tucked away in the south east corner of Nevada, this gem of a state park offers geologic wonders that any landscape photographer  would love. The park offers an interesting geologic mix, from ash and pumice deposits, to the sediment of an ancient lake that are slowly eroding away in the dry desert climate that now exists.

If you have ever seen photographs of the place, the size of what you see can be very deceiving in photographs. Everything looks much larger than it really is. But don’t let this deter you from visiting. You’ll have numerous opportunities to explore the different erosion features, from cave like passageways carved out of the ash deposits, to ruggedly sculptured rock faces, and stone pillars.

The best time to provide visit is at sunrise and sunset, both of which will add a bit of magic to the place, especially with a color-filled sky.

The closet town is Panaca, NV, which is about 2 1/2 hours from Las Vegas, and 5 hours from Salt Lake City.

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Videos:
Cathedral Gorge 4k

Suggested Reading:

Roadside Geology of Nevada – Frank DeCourten and Norma Biggar

North America

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