This week, a visit to Death Valley. I chose to focus on the Mesquite Flat Dunes. Death Valley houses the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin in the valley at 282 feet below sea level. This is important in understanding that the valley was once covered by vast seas which left mud salt covering the basin floor, but during the ice age, it was littered with lakes. Mesquite Flat Dunes is one of 5 dune fields which exist in Death Valley. The highest dune is only 100 feet, as compared to the great sand dunes in Colorado which reach 755 feet. There are very complex wind patterns in Death Valley that result in crescent, linear and star shaped dunes. Each type of dune reflects a different wind pattern. Initially, the dune fields are formed by winds blowing the sand into a natural structure that blocks and traps the sand in a "field". Tucki Mountain was the block that trapped the dunes. While these dunes are not high, they do cover a vast area. Overall, this area was formed by multiple events, by continental plate shifts, volcanic activity, erosion and glacial transformation. It is a monument to the vast array of geologic events that can create and transform a landscape. I have attached a picture of the beautiful dunes, and one of the faults and continental plates: the North American, and Pacific Plates.
It fascinates me to look at any growth in the sands, but particularly, to think of the myriad of geologic events that were required to make a valley so low, that it is extreme desert, surrounded by mountains so high that one can see snow on the peaks at the same time stand in scorching heat of the desert. I would like to study the topographic maps, and understand the complexities of the fault systems in this valley as well as understand how the glaciers and flash floods have shaped the entire valley.
http://digital-desert.com/earthquake-faults/
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=46FA3C264EA8B28E552FF179F88BF16869112189&thid=OIP.I3rwln97LG4oyeyvBDr9OgHaEK&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fneihtn.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F10%2Fmesquitesanddunes_img_9851.jpg&exph=2592&expw=4608&q=Mesquite+Flat+Dunes&selectedindex=2&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=1,2,6
No comments:
Post a Comment