Zion National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

Zion National Park

• Southern Utah
• 220 sq miles - small
• 1919
• stream erosion, mass wasting, structural control, weathering

Zion National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. stream erosion and weathering

2. Mesozoic

mass wasting

When the gravitational force acting on a slope exceeds its resisting force, slope failure (mass wasting) occurs.

Causes canyons to widen over time

Unconformities are gaps in the geologic  record that may indicate episodes of crustal deformation, erosion, and sea level variations.  

Deposition stopped, an interval of erosion removed some of the previously deposited rock, and finally deposition was resumed.

Grand Canyon

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Arizona
• 1900 sq miles - big
• 1919
• stream erosion, mass wasting, differential weathering, unconformities

Grand Canyon

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. stream erosion and weathering

2. Paleozoic (all later deposits have been eroded)

differential weathering

different rocks weather at different rates:  the rocks that are resistant weather slowly and end up as cliff - rocks that are not resistant end up as slopes

structural control

      land form is the result of intensive fracturing and the weathering in the fracture causes the fracture to gradually widen and the slab of rock is unsteady and collapses. Creates vertical cliff faces

Bryce Canyon Nat Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Southern Utah
• 55 sq miles - small
• 1928
• stream erosion, differential weathering, structural features (pinnacles, spires, & chimneys)

Bryce Canyon Nat Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. stream erosion and weathering

2. Cenozoic

National Parks formed by:

Stream Erosion and Weathering

(5)

• Grand Canyon
• Zion
• Bryce Canyon
• Arches
• Mesa Verde

Arches National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Utah
• 100 sq miles - small
• 1971
• stream erosion, differential weathering, structural features, arches, salt anticline (graben)

Arches National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. stream erosion and weathering
2. Mesozoic

Arches National Park

Describe formation of Arches

Arches formed in Entrada sandstone

 start off with a block which has major fractures running through it.  Weathering goes on in the fracture and on the front wall – entrada made up of little grains of sand cemented together with calcite – rainwater and snow melt is a dilute acid which dissolves the calcite, which happens mostly at the bottom, as it erodes begins to form an arch. 

salt anticline (graben)

(Arches National Park)

early deposits of salt hundreds of ft thick, with overlying layers deposited on top.  When you get all the layer on top, the salt is light density and the pressure of the overlying rocksmakes it flow, which makes it arch up the overhead rocks(folded up referred to as anticline).  The rising of the salt dome cause extensive faulting and fracturing of the area.

Mesa Verde National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• SW corner of Colorado
• 80 sq miles - small
• 1906
• the cuesta, erosional features (the mesa & canyons), weathering, water supply (water ran off cliff and pooled inside cliff, Indians didnt have to leave cliff for water), dwellings (multi stories, built into the cliffs using the runoff eroded sandstone from the cliff wall)

Mesa Verde National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. stream erosion and weathering
2. Mesozoic

the cuesta

(Mesa Verde National Park)

gently sloping flat area, on the upslope end there is a steep slope – then a gentle slope on the low end.  First dwellings on top of cuesta

National Parks formed by:

Glaciers

(2)

Glacier National Park

Yosemeti National Park

Glacier National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• NW Montana
• 1500 sq miles - medium
• 1910
• glacial erosion, glacial deposits, mass movement, thrust fault, continental divide, precambrian fossils, igneous activity

Glacier National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. Glaciers
2. late cretaceous (mesozoic) - some Precambrian due to thrust faults.  Oldest algae fossils in the world found here in the Precambrian rock

glacial erosion

(plucking, firn, erosional features)

Glaciers created by accumulated snow of 150ft, called firn, once it starts moving is called a glacier.  Mtns that havecome into contact with glaciers have jagged peaks due to glacial erosion called “plucking”. 

Erosional features:  waterfalls, smaller tributary valleys, deep valley from main glacier, jagged peaks, moraines (end, lateral, and ground), plains

glacial deposits

glaciers eroding the landscape, when glacier is gone, left over sediments are glacial deposits. 

Ground moraines - material dropped out of bottom of glacier

 End moraines - outwash at the end of the glacier

Mass Movement

Rock on the valley wall falling down from pull of gravity, i.e. avalanches

Thrust Fault

Most faults are vertical, but thrust faults are horizontal because of lateral movement.  Pushes the Precambrian rocks (earliest) over the cretaceous rocks (later).  Can only have that layering in a thrust fault. 

Continental Divide

(Glacier National Park)

The highest ridge that goes through the  mountains - rainfall and snowmelt on the west side ends up in the             Pacific ocean, on the east side ends up in the Atlantic ocean. 

Yosemeti National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• CA - Sierra Nevada Mtns
• 1100 sq miles - medium
• 1890
• exfoliation domes, fractures & joints, glacial features (u shaped valleys and plucking), waterfalls, tributaries, hanging valleys, kettle lakes

Yosemeti National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. Glaciers
2. Cretaceous (Mesozoic)

Exfoliation Domes

(Yosemeti)

  most of the rock that makes upYosemite are igneous and metamorphic rock that have come up to the surface, then they expand and crack (which occurs more or less parallel to the surface), this process is called exfoliation. Creates rounded peaks

Mt St Helen's National Monument

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Washington
• Elevation 8000ft, 170sq miles
• 1982 Nat monument - erupted 1980
• volcano, landslides, lava tube, composite cone

Composite cone

main kind of cone for volcanoes around world (Mt St Helens and Crater Lake both composite cones)

Shield volcano

volcanoes in Hawaii are this type, much wider and higher than composite cone

Cinder Cone

Relatively small, sunset crater is a cinder cone.  Most common form of volcano.  smaller and simpler than composite cones

(sunset crater is a cinder cone)

Crater Lake National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• SW Oregon
• 290 sq miles - small
• 1902
• caldera, ash pinnacles, igneous dikes, cinder cone in middle of lake (called Wizard Island)

caldera

When the top of a  volcano blows away the opening at the top is called a caldera.

Creation of Caldera:

• Eruption
• Magma chamber
• Collapes of overlying material

Yellowstone National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Wyoming
• 3500 sq miles - big
• 1872
• geysers, lava flows, pyroclastic and fossil forests, calderas (most of park sits on 3 calderas, walls have been obscured by eruptions), stream valley and waterfalls, glacial features, landslides

Formed by Igneous Activity

(5)

• Mt St Helens
• Crater Lake
• Yellowstone
• Sunset Crater
• Hawaii Volcanoes

pyroclastics and fossil forests

(Yellowstone)

pyroclastics are volcanic blow out material.  A forest is growing near the volcanoand the pyroclastic material buries the forest, after a while another forest grows on top of the ash, then comes another eruption and the second forest is buried, fossilizing the forest.  In this area, there are 27 fossilizedforests.  Ground water has silica in it and petrifies thewood.

Sunset Crater National Monument

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Central Arizona
• 5 sq miles - small
• 1930
• cinder cone, lava flows, lava tube

lava tube

within the lava flow, the lava tube forms when the lava flow is moving down a slope, the surface of the  lava cools off and hardens first, inside is still liquid.  Underthe right conditions the liquid part pops out, and you now          have a hollow tube – big enough to walk through.  Local  Indians used it for food storage (sunset crater).

Hawaii Volcanoes

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Hawaii
• 350 sq miles - small
• 1916
• active shield volcano, fault scarps, lava flows, tree molds and footprints in volcanic ash, wave-cut erosional features, stream valleys and waterfalls, mudflows, green-sand (olivine) beach

Formed by Mountain Building and Uplift

(2)

Great Smokey Mtns

Grand Teton

Great Smokey Mountains

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

•  Border of TN and NC
• 800 sq miles - medium
• 1934
• basement complex, folded rocks, thrust fault, metamorphic zone, granitization, sedimentary features (cross beds)

basement complex

refers to old Precambrian rocks at the

 bottom and everything deposited on top, mostly igneous and metamorphic 

Great Smokey Mountains

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. Mountain building and uplift
2. Paleozoic

granitization

(Smokey Mtns)

granite formed from magma, granite type rocks can also form as a result of intense heat and pressure, so the rock doesn’t completely melt into magma, can crystallize as granite, converts metamorphic into granitic rock.

Grand Teton National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• NW Wyoming
• 480 sq miles - small
• 1929
• fault-block mountains, cross-cutting relationships, continental divide, glacial features

Grand Teton National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. Mountain building and uplift
2. Paleozoic and Precambrian

Fault-block Mountains

(Grand Teton)

Occur when stress is pulling away resulting in fractures along which movement occurs.  Mountains go up along the fault    

Formed by ground water

(2)

Mammoth Cave

Petrified Forest

Mammoth Cave National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Western KY
• 80 sq miles - small
• 1941
• caves, stalactites, stalagmites, cave life, karst topography

Mammoth Cave National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. Ground water
2. Paleozoic rocks - cave development began during Cenozoic.

karst topography

includes sink holes (where water has come down a channel into the top of the cave, sinks the surface because it’s starting to fall into the cave), disappearing streams (stream flows along and goes down a sinkhole then flows in the cavern), natural bridges, dry valleys

Petrified Forest National Park

• location
• size
• when established
• geologic features

• Arizona
• 140 sq miles - small
• 1962
• petrification of wood, fossils, badlands topography,

badlands topography

(Petrified Forest)

 the Painted Desert – made up of layers of sandstone and shale, very little rain, but when it does rain it scours out the more easily weathered shale and end up with sandstone ridges, forming slopes and valleys.  The color of the rocks changes based on the location of the sun, hence the painted desert. 

Petrified Forest National Park

1. geologic activity mainly responsible for forming attractions

2. Rocks at the surface are what age

1. Ground water
2. Mesozoic

petrification of wood by ground water

bottom part of Mesozoic, the Chinle formation made up of bits of fine sand and silt, shale, and volcanic ash.  Volcanic ash made mostly of silica, ground water moving through formation picks up the silica in the ash and carries it along and the wooden logs are an excellent environment so the silica fills out the pore spaces in the wood and replaces the plant cell structure of the wood.  Logs typically 100 feet long, 3-4 ft wide, all turned into stone and many are broken because when area was being broadly uplifted it fractured the logs.