You asked to see some of America, so I thought I would compile some information and pictures for you of the National Parks we visited on our trip. Our first stop is Arches National Park, where you can see some “extraordinary arches and awe-inspiring landscapes”, but those are often difficult to capture with a camera.
Arches National Park has more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches. These arches began to be formed when saltwater from a nearby ocean flooded the area. When the water evaporated, a deposit of salt was left. After repeating this process many times, the deposits became thousands of feet thick. These sediments were then compressed to form rock – sandstone. The arches were formed after many years of erosion by wind and water. There are different amounts of calcium carbonate cement in the rocks, and this makes it weather differently – so there are fins, arches, and sculptured rock in the park.
Delicate Arch is the best-known feature of the park. It is even on the license plates on cars. The opening is 46 feet high and 32 feet wide. From here, one can see mesas, canyons, and nearby mountains.
But the longest arch in the park is Landscape Arch. It is 306 feet long and at its thinnest area, only 6 feet thick. Landscape Arch is one of the longest natural stone arches in the world.
What makes an arch different from a natural bridge? Natural bridges are formed by the erosive action of moving water. Arches are formed by other erosional forces, mainly frost action and seeping moisture.
Canyonlands is a place of colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado and Green Rivers and their tributaries. The stone here is primarily sandstone, limestone, and shale. There was a great flood which made this area a flat basin. When tectonic forces pushed the Colorado Plateau upward, the water rushed off causing a massive amount of erosion in a very short time. That erosion, along with the wind and water erosion since, has carved the spires, fins, and cliffs present today. You can see 100 miles with good visibility from the canyon rim, which is about 1,200 feet above the mesa, which is 1,000 feet above the rivers.
Next we come to Capitol Reef. The Waterpocket Fold defines this National Park. A nearly 100-mile-long warp in the Earth’s crust, the fold is a classic monocline: a regional fold with one very steep side in an area of otherwise nearly horizontal rock layers. “Capitol” is for the white domes of Navajo Sandstone that resemble the capitol dome in Washington, D.C., and “reef” is for the rocky cliffs that are a barrier to travel, like an ocean reef. Almost 10,000 feet of sedimentary strata are found in the Capitol Reef area.
Bryce Canyon is famous for its unique geology of red rock spires and horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters. As billions of tons of ground rock moved out of Bryce Canyon and into the Colorado River, amphitheaters of colorful temples, pillars, domes, and spires were left standing. A fantastically-shaped pillar of rock left by erosion is called a Hoodoo. The word “hoodoo” also means “to cast a spell”, and they say that hoodoos cast a spell on those who visit Bryce Canyon. Rock layers now tower 2,000 feet above their corresponding layers below.
Zion National Park is characterized by high plateaus, a maze of narrow, deep sandstone canyons, and striking rock towers and mesas. The formations in Zion were formed by the same processes as the other National Parks. Some cliffs in Zion are 2,000 feet high. In Zion, you can see several layers of geological formations, including a layer of petrified forest and plateaus. The only way to see the canyon in Zion is to ride a shuttle bus, which makes 8 stops. Private cars are not permitted because the park receives nearly 5,000 visitors a day, but it has parking only for 450.
Next I want to show you some pictures of the Grand Canyon. We didn’t go there on this trip, but I want to show you anyway so you can compare it to another place we visited on this trip. We went to the Grand Canyon in February 2010, when there was still snow on the ground.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile. While it is neither the widest nor the deepest canyon, it is known for its visually overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. The Grand Canyon has some of the cleanest air in the nation, but is affected from time to time by smog from California and nearby smelting factories, dust storms, and wildfires. There are approximately 1,737 known species of vascular plants, 167 species of fungi, 64 species of moss and 195 species of lichen found in Grand Canyon National Park. This variety is largely due to the 8,000 {should be 5,000} foot elevation change from the Colorado River up to the highest point on the North Rim. The Grand Canyon attracts about 5 million visitors a year, 83% of which come from the United States.
Lastly we come to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This canyon is named “black” because it is so deep, so sheer, and so narrow that very little sunlight penetrates it. In the early 1900’s settlers in the area needed water for irrigation, and an exploratory mission was arranged. In 1909, a 5.8-mile diversion tunnel was built to deliver the water needed for irrigation. Geologist Wallace Hansen wrote, “Some are longer, some are deeper, some are narrower, and a few have walls as steep. But no other canyon in North America combines the depth, narrowness, sheerness, and somber countenance of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.”
The Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado, and one of the highlights of this park. From rim to river it stands 2,250 feet. That’s taller than the Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Tokyo Sky Tree. However, it is not taller than the tallest building in the world, which currently stands in Dubai at 2,717 feet.
Well, that is all I could think to show you in this little presentation. I hope you enjoyed it and learned something interesting from it.
