Northern Arizona Fieldtrip

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Northern Arizona Fieldtrip
This field trip was undertaken to capture some of
the essence of geological features in the
Colorado Plateau region. This region was
uplifted 4000-8000 feet during the Laramide
orogeny, approx. 60 million years ago. Much
later, the Colorado river cut out the Grand
Canyon (about 4 million years ago) and many of
the mesas and buttes in the Grand Canyon and
around northern Arizona have been since created
by weathering processes ( wind, rain, ice,
etc.).
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The Grand Canyon (of the Colorado River)
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The Colorado River
This shot captures the Colorado River at the
bottom of the Grand Canyon
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Hermits Rest, Grand Canyon
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Grand Canyon, West Rim View
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Grand Canyon at Sunset
This time of day, the vivid colors of the canyon
come out. In this view, we can see Bright Angel
Trail, which leads hikers and mules 8 miles down
to the bottom of the canyon.
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Sedona , Arizona
Here we can see some classic buttes and mesas
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Cathedral Rock, Sedona, AZ
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Hoover Dam, Arizona, Nevada
This dam was constructed from 1931-35 to provide
flood control, electric power for southwestern
states, and irrigation. Las Vegas wouldnt exist
if this famous dam wasnt built. The dam
measures 726 feet tall and is 660 feet thick at
the base.
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Hoover Dam Intake Towers
Water enters these towers and then is driven by
gravity through electric generators at bottom of
dam.
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Hoover Dam Power Plant
The turbines on 17 electric generators are driven
by water entering the intake towers at top of
dam. This provides 2 million kilowatts of
electric power to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and
Phoenix. Notice water churning out bottom.
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Hoover Dam Electric Transmission Wires
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Lowell Observatory , Arizona
At this site, Mars Hill, Flagstaff, Arizona,
Percival Lowell built his famous observatory in
1894 in the thin high altitude desert air. He
mapped out his famous canals of Mars, and
later his assistant, Clyde Tombaugh, discovered
Pluto in 1930 here.
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Lowell Observatory