|
Zion National Park Geology:
Entering Zion Park from the East side, one of the first sites to catch the eye is Checkerboard Mesa, the most famous landmark in Zion National Park due to its unique cross-bedding.
Checkerboard Mesa:
Deep furrows have been cut, like a checkerboard, taking millions of years to carve in the Navajo Sandstone. The horizontal furrows were cut during the Jurassic period by blown sands of the huge ancient sand dunes that spread out over the land in place of the Massive Monoliths you see in Zion Park today. The vertical slits were formed much later after brittle rock had formed.
In time Zion will become Sand Dunes once again:
he formations of Zion are still changing today, slowly over time the great monoliths you see will return to the Great Sand Dunes from where they were born in ancient days. The forces of Nature force their way through layers of sedimentary rock every day of our future, just as they have in our past. The largest monolith in the world, the Great White Throne will be reduced to layers of sand.
East Zion Park:
The East section of Zion Park is known as "slick rock country. Here the rocks are a mixture of white and varied tints of brown or orange, due to the minimal presence of iron-oxide that the other layers of sandstone posses in greater amounts. The slickrock section of Zion showcases the powerful effects of erosion over a great period of time.
Zion Mt. Carmel Tunnel:
The geology of Zion transforms dramatically as one travels from the east section of the park through Zion's long tunnel. The 1.1 mile long Tunnel was blasted and cut in the thick Navajo sandstone during early 1900. Imagine cutting through 2,000 foot thick sandstone with the machinery available at that time. In those days the whole process was considered a technological wonder. The Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel was a network of scaffolding set up on the east side of the tunnel, across pine creek which flowed below. Blasting was used to enlarge the hole and railcars hauled off the debris. On the tunnels south side the task to reach the tunnel was not an easy one because the drop off to the canyon below is 800 feet. It is amazing that in the ninteen-thirties this sort of engineering was accomplished.
Next: Zion Park Geology Continued, Zion Tunnel
|
