Week 7-Death Valley- John Infante

Titus Canyon

I first decided to visit Titus Canyon. From figure 1 you can see the many cuts across the mountain ranges and how rocky it is. I also noticed the almost green like vegetation as if was growing there. One question I would ask is if the color of these rocks related it been submerged beneath tropical seas at one point? The data I would like to have to answer this is the name of rocks and layers of the area. It would be useful to know how high the sea level got when it was submerged. Finally, what type of algae was there in the area to compare to the minerals that are currently there.

   

                                                                                    Fig. 1 Titus Canyon 

                                                                                    Photo credit: Marli Miller

Artist's Drive

The second stop was Artist’s Drive. I found this one very interesting with its different contrasting colors and many rocky peaks. From figure 2 I could tell that a major event would have had to happen to cause the distinct scene. From the color to the number of curvy peaks. When looking at the image I asked myself why the area became this way and why in the background further out there is less color and peaks. The data I would need to answer this question is to know more about what happened at this location. Are there any volcanos in the area?

Fig. 2 Artist's Drive

Photo credit: Tom Bean, NPS.

Ubehebe Crater

The last stop I made was to Ubehebe volcanic field for my Death Valley geology field trip. What I found interesting here was, of course, the huge crater and mini craters next to it. Figure 3 shows the craters and how some areas are smoother than others. The gray color does look like this image was not taken on earth. Also, some areas look to have water but I am not sure if it is just the image looks this way. The craters themselves have ridges going down them that could be due to lava flowing down when the volcano erupted. A question that I have when seeing this scene is why are the rock so gray in an area that seems to be mostly desert colored sand and rocks. I would have to go and see the area first hand to answer this. I good map with the type of sediment and rocks found in the area would also be helpful.

Fig. 3 Ubehebe volcanic field

Photo credit: Peter Sanchez, NPS