January 2024 Program Information
January 2024 Program
Our Program:Marcia went on a 10 day geology trip through parts of the western US. She gave us an overview of the main sites she visited with a brief description of the geological formation and history. She was fascinated by the size of some of the formations and the unique periods of geologic time in which they were formed. She shared her video slideshow using a musical background of the places she went and the living things she saw.
The trip started in Bozeman, MT and ended in AZ. The group was led by GeoWorldTravel. They visited the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. They went to Paradise Valley, MT which had a trust fault and alluvial fans. Yellowstone National Park held a plethora of formations. It was formed from 3 calderas; it's over a hotspot with active magma beneath; the "Sheepeater Cliff" was made of columnar basalt; there are 350 geysers (2/3 of all geysers in the world); the Mammoth Springs are made of travertine. Marcia showed us a video of "Old Faithful" erupting. Near Yellowstone are the Grand Tetons which showed a thrust fault mountain building event (orogeny).
She got to collect some fossils from Fossil Butte in Kemmerer, WY. The Flaming Gorge, UT showed deposition with tilted layers. Vernal, UT revealed hundreds of dinosaur fossils at the Dinosaur National Monument. There are dinosaur tracks that can be seen in AZ, UT and CO. Colorado National Monument, near Grand Junction, CO showed evidence of Pangaea. She learned about the formation of the Rocky Mts. The Grand Mesa in CO is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world.
At Arches National Park in UT there was evidence of uplift, fracturing, and evaporites. She saw the Mexican Hat in Goosenecks State Park in UT. Monument Valley, AZ is in Navajo territory and shows Permian sandstone. It used to be in a marsh, but is now very dry. Also in AZ is Sunset Crater, a cinder cone volcano. Nearby was Lenox Crater at 300' high. Both showed red and black cinders which develop from different temperatures and may be a result of rusting. AZ also boasts Meteor Crater which is owned by a private family. A meteorite hit this area 50,000 years ago. The trip ended in Petrified Forest National Park in AZ. There are hundreds of petrified logs of all sizes and colors. The Painted Desert is in that same area.
Marcia has been doing these geology trips for several years, and has a group of contacts that assists her in identifying the flora and fauna that she photographs. (Not to mention PhotoShop!). Her photos were not only of geologic formations but lots of flowers & trees as well as lizards, birds, insects, moths & mammals.
She would like all our members to see her video by going to her YouTube site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHJ2zqKhh_A. The video is called "USA - A Wedge of the Wild West".
Marcia, thank you so much for sharing this amazing trip with us. Your photography is not only awesome, but also inspirational!
