New York and Philadelphia

Shortly after my analytical trip to California I returned home and immediately left for the East Coast.  For our trip we visited Philadelphia, Long Island, and New York City.  Although there wasn't a major portioning of geology for our trip I did see some interesting things it was great to see some of the landforms and features of the Eastern US.

In Philadelphia, we visited all of the typical tourist spots of American History: the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the US Mint.  We also walked around a great deal, soaking in the city and resting in the parks of the city, most placed in large squares about a square block in area.  I saw a fair amount of schist and gneiss in the walls of Eastern State Penitentiary, the famous prison of Pennsylvania.  The walls sparkled with micas but were otherwise drab metamorphic rocks with regular foliation.

On Long Island we visited the beach, where I was surprised to see the local park service people were working to protect sand dunes.  In New York City, I was glad to visit Central Park which was very near our hotel.  It was fascinating to see evidence of glacial activity preserved in the middle of a city.  I had never had a chance to actually feel the striations of glacial movement, so it was a real treat.

We also visited the American Museum of Natural History, where I took enough pictures just of the paleontological to run through my camera's battery.  I was really pleased to see how well done their general geology section was, and their sampled deep sea chimneys from the Juan de Fuca Ridge were fascinating.

 
We took so long walking through the museum that we had the gem and mineral section close on us just 15 minutes after we walked in, but that just means I will have to come back and give it the attention it deserves!

Colorado Plateau Trip (South-East Rim of the Grand Canyon)

We awoke in Bonito Campground to frost on our tents and a cold breeze blowing off the nearby mountains.  I had forgotten to check with someone who had a copy of the schedule of duties for our trip and had slept in, unknowingly neglecting my group's turn to prepare breakfast.  After everyone had their fill of oatmeal and bagels, we made up for our mistake by doing the dishes and cleaning up instead of the scheduled group.

We headed out and stopped to take another picture of San Francisco Mountain and then began our drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at Desert View.  It was a relatively short drive (83 miles) and although we saw a few minor canyons on our approach, it was relatively plain scenery with a slight climb in elevation as we approached the Grand Canyon.

We parked in the huge lot for the Desert View visitor center and walked to the observation point.  Speaking personally, every time I see the canyon for the first time, it takes my breath away.  Its size is just staggering, and its colors are so varied that it seems more like a work of art than layered strata.

I found myself frustrated by the hazy conditions of the canyon that day because, due to the winds of the moving cold front that just seemed to follow us, dust was picked up in the turbulent conditions.  Still, it was sunny and warm enough to truly enjoy the magnitude of erosion and time that lay before us.

Our guide and teacher Dr. L discussed the roughly 1° dip of the Kaibab limestone (shown in the photo, possibly exaggerated due to my poor photographic skills).    He pointed out for us where strata pinched out and where new layers of rock appeared as you looked further down the canyon to the West, and reminded us that the river once flowed North-East (shown by reversed dendritic features of the Colorado outside of the Grand Canyon in the picture below).  We had a view of John Hance's old asbestos mine.  My peers presented posters on the the general canyon and on caves and waterfalls within the Grand Canyon, especially in the Muav and Redwall limestones.

No comprehensive trip to the Colorado Pleatau could ever be said to be complete without visiting the Grand Canyon, and although I'd been there once before it was still as amazing to see it at another visitor center.  This visitor's center was really interesting because it had a watchtower which, although under construction, an amazing view 70 feet above the ground.