Arizona State Features

By Emily GreeneDecember 11, 2011

GEO-104-001W

The Wave Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area Arizona

LandscapeThere are many beautiful sights to see in the state of Arizona. Among my favorites are Meteor Crater, the Wave Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs, and Pronghorn. There is much to be learned about these formations, and such an interesting animal. Both of Earth history and cosmic history can be learned. Each formation tells a vast story and tell us a lot of the area that is deemed barren by so many people.

The Wave Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs

• This formation is located at about the Utah/Arizona border (Beck,2011)

• The rock is composed of Navajo sandstone, eolian sandstone, and iron deposits to give it the red, pink and orange colors (Beck, 2011)

• Below the canyon are Kayenta and Moenave Formations. (USDI, 2011)

• Because of the yearly flooding, it is likely that the formations will soon be eroded to nothing but sand.

• The Principal of Original Horizontality and Lateral Continuity are present in this formation. Water and wind are the cause of folding and tilting, whereas Lateral Continuity is seen in the thin banding

The Wave, cont.• From a distance, nonconformity can be seen in the general area.

The Wave is just a small part of the Kayenta area and other surrounding formations.

• Interestingly enough, there are bipedal dinosaur tracks on the slick-rock slab to the north, likely from a Grallator or Anamoepus stating that the formation has been around since the Jurassic Period.

• Essentially these are calcified sand dunes that have been around for 190 million years, Wind and water erosions are what give the dunes their shape. (Science, 2011)

• Due to how brittle the sandstone is, there is a strict limit of 20 visitors per day. (Beck, 2011)

Meteor Crater• If anything, this is a formation

that has sparked my imagination and love for geology and space.

• A meteorite weighing in at approximately 300,000 tons at 26,000 mph. (BCC, 2010)

• Due to the speed and the weight, the meteor was mostly melted to nothing, but it did manage to distribute thousands of tons of limestone, sandstone, silica and meteoritic iron a mile in every direction. (BCC, 2010)

• This event occurred during the last ice age (50 thousand years ago) when the Arizona area was a heck of a lot cooler and saturated.

Meteor Crater, cont.• As the Earth began to warm, ice and snow melted into liquid water

which eventually began to fill part of the crater, erode, and erase it’s history. (BCC, 2010)

• If not for the ending of the ice age and the immense warming that occurred over time, the crater may have been completely erased.

• Rock strata at the rim of the crater, when compared to the surrounding plains, occur in opposite order of each other. This shows that the top most strata was thrown from the crater first. (BCC,2010)

• Unlike many other large meteor impacts on Earth, Meteor Crater has been well preserved, whereas others have been erased or mostly destroyed by tectonic activity, erosion and volcanoes (BCC,2010)

• The Principal of Superposition is completely turned on it’s head when it comes to craters. The land begins oldest at the bottom and youngest at the top, but the impact forces the area around the point of impact to completely reverse in order.

• Crater Slide Show explaining what happens upon impact

Pronghorn(Antilocapra americana)

• In today’s view, the Pronghorn is a reddish tan color, with white sides, and 12-20” long black horns atop it’s head.

• The sub-species is currently federally endangered due to over hunting of predators and humans.

• Partly due to cheetah preying on the Pronghorn during the Pleistocene, and disasters such as fires, floods, and droughts, they have become one of the fastest running animals in the western hemisphere reaching speeds about 45mph, and are able do this by running with their mouths open forcing air into their lungs and creating endurance.

Pronghorn, cont.

• As time has gone on, they are the last surviving species of ruminants, and the “only living descendants of the family Antilocapridae.” They are not of the Antelope family.

• Interestingly, this species has a very unique breeding capability. There are 5-7 embryos, but usually only about 2 survive resulting in twins on a regular basis. This aids the animal staying alive for so many centuries, even though their life span is a bit short. (Geist, 2011)

• They are herbivores, which makes them easy prey to the carnivorous animals while grazing. (Geist, 2011)

• If to look back at primitive animals, the Pronghorn has a life similar to that of the Siberian Roe Deer. (Geist, 2011)

Work CitedPhotos:Chapman, Clark. The Risk to Civilization from Extraterrestrial Objects . 17 Oct 2001. 1 Dec 2011 <http://www.boulder.swri.edu/clark/chance.html>.

Photography Match. The Wave Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area Arizona - Arizona Photography Desktop Wallpapers . 2009. 1 Dec. 2011 <http://www.photography-match.com/wallpapers/7820_the_wave_paria_canyon_vermilion_cliffs_wilderness_area_arizona/>.

TravelPix. The Wave . 2011. 1 Dec. 2011 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelpix/>.

Wilson, Kevin. Field Judging Pronghorns. 28 Aug. 2009. 1 Dec 2011 <http://www.biggamehunt.net/articles/field-judging-pronghorns>.

Work CitedData: -Beck, Bo and Tanya. Paria Canyon - Coyote Buttes. 2011. 1 Dec. 2011 <http://www.zionnational-park.com/coyote-buttes-paria.htm>.-Science and Hindsight. . 2011. 1 Dec. 2011 <http://scienceandhindsight.tumblr.com/post/6351169020/this-spectacular-sandstone-formation-is-called-the>.-USDI Bureau of Land Management. Geology . 25 March 2011. 1 Dec. 2011 <http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/arolrsmain/paria/geology.html>.-The Barringer Crater Company. Crater History - Baringer Meteor Crater. 2010. 1 Dec 2011 <http://www.barringercrater.com/about/>.-Ratkevich, Ron . Cretaceous Period in Northern Arizona. . 1 Dec 2011 <http://www.t-rat.com/pages/cretaceousperiodnaz.html>.