14 October 2021 - THE EXTRAORDINARY NEWSPAPER ROCK IN UTAH

 

THE EXTRAORDINARY

 NEWSPAPER ROCK IN UTAH

G'day folks,

 One of the world’s largest collections of petroglyphs records 2,000 years of human activity. 

For approximately 2,000 years, Native Americans have been carving petroglyphs into a single slab of sandstone located in San Juan County, Utah. While the precise meaning of the petroglyphs is not fully understood, the panel nonetheless provides an intriguing insight into human activities in the area.

Petroglyphs are hard to date, but archaeologists believe the earliest petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock likely date back to the Archaic, Basketmaker, Fremont, and Pueblo cultures, up until around 1300. Later, Utah, Navajo, and Anglo tribesmen added to the panel. In the Navajo language, the rock is aptly known as Tse’ Hane, or “the rock that tells a story.”

 About 650 individual designs cover the surface of the 200-square-foot rock, making it one of the largest collections of petroglyphs in the world. The petroglyphs were made by chipping away at the desert varnish, a dark coating found on exposed rock surfaces in arid environments, to reveal the lighter rock beneath.

 The designs range from abstract shapes and symbols to more recognizable human and animal figures. Some of the stranger designs include wagon wheel-like shapes and bizarre, broad-shouldered humanoid figures with horns on their heads. Others depict deer, buffalo, bighorn sheep, lizards, snakes and turtles.

More recent carvings, beginning around 650 years ago, show men on horseback, some armed with bows and arrows. The relative age of the petroglyphs can be determined by the amount of desert varnish covering the figures, with the older designs typically being darker in color due to the repatination of surface minerals.

Clancy's comment: I could stare at these for hours. Simply stunning. 

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21 November 2021 - CASCADE FALLS - DUCK CREEK VILLAGE, UTAH

 

CASCADE FALLS 

- DUCK CREEK VILLAGE, UTAH -

G'day folks,

An improbable waterfall springs from an orange-white cliff face, tumbling into the headwaters of the Virgin River above Zion National Park. 

Southwestern Utah is known for the spectacular colors of its scenery and is home to several national parks and monuments. The orange-and-white Claron Formation (formerly known as the Wasatch Formation), in particular, is responsible for both Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument. By comparison, the Pink Cliffs formed by the Claron above the Virgin River Rim almost seem dull. Except for one thing: Cascade Falls.

At one point water springs out of the Pink Cliffs and drops into the headwaters of the Virgin River, making an attractive and surreal waterfall. It emerges at an elevation of about 8,800 feet, while the ridge above tops out at over 9,400 feet. The source of the water is shallow Navajo Lake, which has a natural dam of basalt lava and floods the bottom of a valley beyond that ridge. The lake lies at an elevation a bit over 9,000 feet and is a little more than a mile, as the crow flies, from Cascade Falls. The Claron Formation is sufficiently permeable that the lake water has found a path through it.

 

Clancy's comment: Wow. Looks like a great trail, and excellent scenery.

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13 November 2021 - THE AWESOME ZION CANYON - UTAH, U.S.A

 

THE AWESOME 

ZION CANYON 

- UTAH, U.S.A -

G'day folks,

The hike through a narrow river flanked by the 2,000-foot-tall walls of Zion Canyon is one of the best in the world. 

The trek through the Narrows of Zion National Park is a stunning sight: The path can be as skinny as 20 feet wide, while the vertical red canyon walls shoot up to 2,000 feet high on either side. It’s considered one of the best hikes in the world — but be prepared to get very wet.

Slot canyons, narrow canyons that are drastically taller than they are wide, are often on the bucket list for intrepid hikers. However, although they are formed over time by water rushing through rock, only a few still have a river running through them. That’s what makes the Narrows so legendary.

 The hike through the Narrows, located on the North Fork of the Virgin River in Utah’s Zion Park, starts at the section of the canyon known as the Temple of Sinawava, and ranges from two to sixteen miles depending on the route. 

The trek will simultaneously delight your eyes with one of the most beautiful sights imaginable and drench your clothes with cold water. This is because, for a third of the hike, the Virgin River fills the Zion Canyon from wall to wall, forcing hikers to slosh through the water atop slippery rocks to move forward, sometimes submerged as much as chest deep. 

Adventurers looking for a real challenge will attempt the Narrows in the spring, when the snowmelt makes for even higher water levels, although if the flow rate reaches 120 cubic feet per second the river is closed off to tourists.

Hiking through a slot canyon is not without its risk. Despite the dry climate of the American Southwest, the number one danger is the canyon filling with too much water. During a rain storm, the water level can rise quickly in such a narrow space. Tragically, 11 tourists drowned in Utah’s Antelope Canyon in 1997 when the water level rose in the tight, inescapable pit.

 Despite the risk, thousands of adventurers wade through the Narrows every day. After two hours of hiking through the river, trekkers will reach “Wall Street,” a deep, dramatic canyon — appropriately named, considering its wealth of good views.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... I'm not so sure about trekking through this. 

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