Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Day 7: Zion National Park

Spent a restful evening at the
Bumbleberry Inn at Springdale, UT. 



View from the hotel balcony in the morning.
Shuttle Bus through Zion National Park.

The Three Patriarchs
Zion Canyon











Walking up Weeping Rock Trail was an amazing view. Spalling/delamination caused by erosional processes such as vegetation like algae, freeze/thaw processes of water, and mineral expansion can be seen in the photos above. Water running horizontally through the cracks in the rock precipitate out silica in the rock, creating the crystallization of silica on the rock surfaces.





The Virgin River running through Zion National Park was at a low level due to the end of the rainy season.







However, the power the river can produce is evident in the size of the rounded cobble and boulders seen strewn through the river and along its banks.



Undercutting of the banks is only slowed by the roots of trees holding.




After traveling through the canyon and tunnel, a slight change in scenery was observed.
Layering of the rock became tilted and much thinner.

The sloping layers observed had very similar grain size and covered almost the entire area of study, leading us to the conclusion this was an aeolian process and not fluvial.







What created these formations was hypothesized to be sand dunes and wind erosion.

The photo to the left shows the spectacular fall colors of the Zion Canyon.










After leaving Zion National Park we stopped at the Kaibab Overlook on Highway 89A. Looking at the Escalante, also known as the Grand Staircase, four formations of the Colorado Plateau could be seen. The cliffs seen in the distance: top layer being the Pink Cliffs, The middle the White Cliffs, and the bottom the Vermillion Cliffs. We were standing on the Kaibab uplift.

The last stop of the day was at the Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon, AZ.




While at the Navajo Bridge, 6 California Condors were seen perched on the bridge and a nearby cliff. Each bird was tagged with a number: 02, 14, 30, 55, 73, 83.
Ending the day with a beautiful view of the Colorado River as we headed towards our next hotel  in  Tusayan, AZ.


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