Geological Features Tour

Geological Features Tour

January 14, 2007

Geological Features Tour

Geology is "the" original environmental science. To understand the world we live on is to gain an appreciation for the environment. What do plants grow in? Soil - that comes from rock (in part). What do all natural resources come from (aside from the sun & wind)? - Geologic processes. Minerals, sand, gravel, metals, and oil - are all substances that we rely on from the Earth. The movement of water across the planet is known as hydrogeology. The study of the development of Earth over time is known as historical geology, paleontology. Geology is about the Earth and the Earth is the basis of pretty much everything around us. What could be more important than that?

Itinerary

In part of the learning about our environment, we will travel to different locations around the world to experience first hand and learn about Volcanoes, Coastal features, and Ground Water features. This tour is a two week tour begins in February 5, 2007 and will be returning on March 1, 2007.

Below is an itinerary that outlines our entire trip that explains what we will be observing at each location.

 Two week tour begins in February 5, 2007 and will be returning on March 1, 2007

 Depart from Newark, NJ. / Arrive in Flagstaff, Arizona to learn about the Features of Ground Water

o 2 day trip exploring the Grand Canyon National Park

o The tour will be to witness the forces of erosion that have shaped the Grand Canyon and continue to shape it today--mainly running water from rain, snowmelt, and tributary streams which enter the canyon throughout its length.

 Depart from Flagstaff, Arizona / Arrive in Hilo, HI to learn about the Features of Volcanoes

o 4 day trip exploring the Hawaii Volcano National Park

o Discover about magma, volcano eruption, and lava flow and formations.

 Depart from Hawaii and fly to New Zealand and visit the Great Barrier Island

o 3 day trip visit to another island that covers Coastal Features

o Great Barrier Island is an island located in the north of New Zealand, about 88 km to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf.

 Leave New Zealand and fly to Australia and explore Great Barrier Island

o 3 day trip allowing us to examine how another Coastal Feature of underwater developed and what is being done to protect it.

o The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia.

The Grand Canyon/Colorado River

There are really two separate geologic stories at Grand Canyon: The older story is the one revealed in the thick sequence of rocks exposed in the walls of the Canyon. According to current data, "these rocks provide a remarkable (but incomplete) record of the Paleozoic Era (550-250 million years ago), as well as scattered remnants of Precambrian rocks as old as 2000 million years" (NPS.gov. 2006). The story these rocks tell is far older than the canyon itself. "Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks (250 million years old to the present) are largely missing at Grand Canyon (they've either been worn away or were never deposited)" (NPS.gov. 2006).

The second geologic story at Grand Canyon concerns the origin of the canyon itself: When and how did it come to be?

On one level the answer is simple: Grand Canyon is an erosional feature that owes its existence to the Colorado River (which is largely responsible for the depth of the canyon).

Of equal importance are the forces of erosion that have shaped it and continue to shape it today. This is due mainly from running water from rain, snowmelt, and tributary streams which enter the canyon throughout its length. Data recorded by the weather service shows that, "The climate at Grand Canyon is classified as semi-arid (the South Rim receives 15 inches (38 cm) of precipitation each year; only 8 inches (20 cm) each year reach the canyon bottom)" (NPS.gov.2006). But what rain received comes suddenly in violent storms, particularly in the late summer of each year, and the power of erosion is therefore more evident here than in places which receive more rain.

Grand Canyon owes its distinctive shape to the fact that the different rock layers in the canyon walls each respond to erosion in different ways:

 Some form slopes

 Some form cliffs

 Some erode more quickly than others

The vivid colors of many of these layers are due mainly to small amounts of various minerals, most containing iron, which impart subtle shades of red, yellow, or green to the canyon walls.

The history of the Grand Canyon region is just as interesting. Grand Canyon was largely unknown until after the Civil War. According to historians, in 1869, "Major John Wesley Powell, a one-armed Civil War veteran with a thirst for science and adventure, made a pioneering journey through the Canyon on the Colorado River. He accomplished this with nine men in four small wooden boats (only six men completed the journey)" (NPS.gov.2006). His party was as far as known the first ever to make such a trip.

Environmental issues of concern to park managers at Grand Canyon are as diverse as the park itself and include air quality, fire management, the impact of increased visitation and endangered species, to name just a few.

The issue of air quality at the Canyon is a prime example. In the summer, the view from the rim obscured by regional haze carried in from urban and industrial areas to the south, and west, from far outside the park. Even in winter, emissions of sulfur dioxide from local sources can significantly impair visibility at Grand Canyon.

Water is another significant issue: most of the water which finds its way into the Canyon comes from outside the park, and the flow of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon is directly controlled by the rouse of water from Glen Canyon Dam. In the past few years a great deal of research has been directed