Often, the best traveling companions have a lot to teach you. My friend Brent is one of those guys. I can’t remember a trip with him where there wasn’t some sort of field guide pulled out for most of the drive, and I was busy learning about the natural history or some other facet of the land. On one road trip to Utah, we had the “Roadside Geology of Utah” out for 90% of the drive. Although I got tired of the updates at every mile marker, I have to admit that I missed Utah (and the updates) when we crossed the state line into Arizona. I definitely learned some geology on that trip, and I have a greater appreciation of it now.
Geology, as a science, studies the forces responsible for shaping and changing the earth. Sometimes those shapes and changes can simply be otherworldly. On my recent visit to the Vermillion Cliffs-Paria River Wilderness in northern Arizona, I was able to witness the magnificent results of some of these forces firsthand.
On a hike early one morning, we found ourselves on a small sandstone plateau. The sandstone was beautifully colored, but what really grabbed my attention were the bizarre rock formations. They reminded me of some petrified prehistoric gargoyle or ruins of an ancient civilization.
Gargoyle, January 2011
What’s happening in this image (and the one below) is called boxwork. The idea is that the sandstone was fractured at some point, and then some sort of fluid intruded and precipitated out, but it was more completely lithified so the surrounding rock eroded before the boxwork. I’m not entirely sure what intruded (calcite?), but it does make for very cool formations. I hope you enjoy the images.
Broken Cathedral, January 2011
Good stuff Greg. Those are some stunning rock formations. To me that ‘Broken Cathedral’ is especially breathtaking.
Greg, these are interesting images and intriguing formations. I will be there in early March and again in early April, and plan to take a look at these formations. I appreciate the heads up about their existence, thanks!
Still really like these, Greg! That point where geology starts to merge into chemistry is usually where I start getting lost, but those small-scale processes sure produce some amazing patterns and structures.
Really wild formations Greg. I love the color and texture in #2. There is so much diversity in this area that even as popular as it is, there are still new images to be made.
Very cool pictures Greg. I miss that area, haven’t been there for many, many years but looking at your photos does make me think…beautiful!
Thanks, everyone for the comments! These are definitely some trippy rock formations. The only thing that would have made these more otherworldly is would have been some menacing storm clouds in the sky.
Jackson: I think I’m the opposite of you. I can understand the smaller-scale processes, like the chemistry side of geology. The part I have a difficult time visualizing is the large-scale processes that shape the landscape. They’re just tough to wrap my brain around.
Phil: Definitely make sure you get to that plateau. There’s more to see up there than just this!
I came upon one of these other worldly formations hiking up Buckskin Gulch. I agree that that area is one that you have to see to believe. It’s surreal. Have you been to White Pockets yet? It’s difficult to get to but well worth the effort.
Best Regards,
Greg….
Love the light!
Great work. I particularly like the arrangement of the second photograph. I like the composition of the first one too, but feel there is a bit more sky on the left than I would keep. The way the light is highlighting the formation, especially in the second image, makes it a potential portfolio pick.