Arches National Park
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description
Arches National Park. James Silvestro Geology 142 Colby College, Waterville, Maine May 7, 2008. The History of Arches NP. Oldest evidence of inhabitants is from 10,000 years ago just after the last ice age In 1929 President Hoover signed legislation that established Arches National Monument - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Arches National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
• Located in Northwest Arizona
• Petrified Forest Declared Nat’l Monument Dec. 8, 1906
• Painted Desert added Dec. 9, 1962 when whole area was made Nat’l Park.
• Covers 93, 532.57 acres
Petrified Forest
Painted Desert
Paleo-Climate Bedrock Composed of Mesozoic
Sedimentary Rocks.
During the Late Triassic, region was on the southwestern edge of Pangaea just north of the equator.
Climate was humid and sub-tropical
Large river system covered the area
Chinle Formation Deposited during this time period
Chinle Formation
• Shinarump Member: Basal conglomerate made up of Paleozoic clastic igneous cobbles
• Lower/Upper Petrified Forest members = Primarily sandstone
• Black Forest Tuff = Shale contains petrified logs
Chinle Formation Cont’d
• As oceans retreat in the Late Triassic, park area becomes site of river system and flood plains depositing muds and silts of the Black Forest Tuff.
Petrified forest deposited in Black Forest Tuff.
How to Petrify a Forest• Large, pine like trees felled by flooding in Late Triassic
• Silts and muds deposited from fluvial/ lacustrine environments on top of fallen trees
• Volcanic activity in and around the area deposits layer of volcanic ash
• Layers of sediment cut off oxygen to fallen trees, slowing their decay
• Groundwater, rich with silica from volcanic ash seeps into the fallen trees, slowly preserving its tissue structure with silica deposits.
• Given time and pressure, silica becomes quartz and logs are preserved as petrified wood, colored with oxides of iron and manganese
Painted Desert• Chinle Formations coloration
reflect its ancient soil horizons. • Red and Green layers caused by
Iron and Manganese – Differences in color come from
the position of the water table when the soils were formed
• High water table Lack of Oxygen in Sediments Green/Blue hues in Iron minerals
• Low water table More Oxygen Available Reddish hues from oxidized iron minerals
• Reflect seasonal flooding throughout Triassic
Pliocene / Quaternary DepositsUnconformity between Triassic and Pliocene leaves no geologic record until Bidahochi Formation (192 million yrs)
Bidahochi Formation = more fluvialand lacustrine deposits ( silt clay, sand), and volcanic ash deposits.
Today Most fluvial/ lacustrine deposits of Bidahochi Formation has been eroded away, leaving exposures of resistant volcanic basalts.
Quaternary Deposits = windblown dunesand land sediments.
Volcanic Basalts
Effects of Erosion: The look of the park.
Wind and water erosion over millions of years, in addition to the significant uplift after the Triassic, has sculpted the hills, mesas and buttes that have come to characterize the park.
Sources
• http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/pefo/
• http://www.us-parks.com/petrified/geology.html
• http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/petrified_forest/geology.html
• http://geology.about.com/library/bl/images/blfossilwood.htm
• http://www.petrifiedforest.org/geology.html
Zion National Parkby Libby Kugel
http://parkphoto.gruzi.info/images/NationalParksUSA/ZionNationalParkUtah.jpg
• Located in the southwestern corner of Utah
• Established in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument
• In 1919 the monument was expanded to become Zion National Park
• Will celebrate centennial in 2009
• Utah’s first national park
http://www.americaswonderlands.com/images/DesertS/029ZION200003.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/gocalifornia/1/0/g/K/ut-natlpark-nps.gif
The Grand Staircase
• Nine exposed formations in Zion are part of a super-sequence
• Where the Grand Canoyn’s story ends, Zion’s story begins
• The youngest formation in Zion is the oldest in Bryce Canyon – The Dakota Sandstone Formation
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/Grand_Staircase.jpg
Depositional History
• Mud, silt and sand deposited• Weight caused the land to sink at an even
rate, maintaining the elevation, until it sank below sea level and flooded
• The compression and the mineral bearing sea water caused the sediments to turn to stone
Depositional History• Permian
– Deposited in warm, shallow seas• Kaibab Limestone Formation
• Triassic– Moenkopi Formation– Chinle Formation
• Jurassic– Deposited in streams, ponds and lakes
• Moenave Formation• Kayenta Formation
– Deposited in desert• Navajo Formation• Temple Cap Formation
– Deposited in dry, near-shore environment• Carmel Formation
• Cretaceous– Dakota Sandstone Formation
http://my-photo-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/zion-national-park.jpg
• Uplift occurred over the Colorado Plateau
• Rivers increased in strength and began to carve into the rocks
• Virgin River carved out Zion Canyon
• Uplift still happening today – 5.8 Earthquake in 1992
http://www.regensburgerphotography.com/images/galleries/nature/water/narrows_fall.jpg
Erosion
• Downcutting– Zion Narrows
• Canyon Widening
http://www.weddingpartydjs.com/sitebuilder/images/ZION_NARROWS-450x293.jpghttp://www.dankat.com/mstory/photos/phzio1.JPG
Arches
• Freestanding arches are a unique feature to the park
• Part of the Navajo Sandstone formation• Kolob Arch
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/files/storyphotos/ZION-KolobArch2%20copy.JPG
References
• Zion National Park: A Tweak of History and a Tweak of Geology, http://fgms.home.att.net/zion.htm
• National Park Service, http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/zion/geol_history.cfm
• http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/ut/geo_zion.htm
• http://www.nps.gov/zion/naturescience/geologicformations.htm
