For this week's field trip, we have been directed to pick a location from the website for the death valley national park. As the park is closed due to COVID-19, I will once again travel back in time to complete the assignment.
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| https://www.pinterest.com/pin/190136415487886801/ |
As I looked out over the seemingly endless sea of dunes, I made some observations that I believe would be essential to a topographic map.
1) It would be important to note the height of all the peaks and valleys in the area.
2) Since the Dunes have a very delicate ecosystem, the park system has strong regulations against recreational activities, or driving vehicles on the dunes themselves. So marking out trail pathways, and vehicle accessible roads would also be critical.
3) Due to the relatively fragile composition of sand dunes, it would also be very important to understand where the steepest slopes were to prevent injury.
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| https://www.visitcalifornia.com/attraction/mesquite-flat-sand-dunes |
As I observed the landscape, wishing I had a topographical map, I immediately noticed two distinct types of sand dunes. Barchan Dunes, "...dunes shaped like crescents with their tops pointing down wind" (Ch.16, Pg.436), and longitudinal dunes, "Long ridges of sand that form more or less parallel to the prevailing wind..." (Ch.16 Pg.436).
The main question I would like to ask about this region, is how are there so many different types of dunes present? I would also want to know what the primary composition of the sand was. As you can see in the background there are mountain ranges, so it would be good to know the composition of the surrounding rocks.
To answer these questions, I would do an aerial observation to observe all the geography, and use some instruments to take readings about the wind and pressure in the area.
I would then take samples of the sand, to see if I could determine through close analysis if the composition matched the surrounding mountains, or perhaps other rock formations in the area.
Finally, I would also want to examine the area for any dried lake or river beds, to see if the deposition was originated by water, or wind. While the thought of water in death valley today may be laughable, it is possible that in the geologic past there was a source of water.
After taking some pictures, and enjoying some outdoor time, I hopped back into my time machine and went back to the present in Pittsburgh.
Sources:
Lutgens, Frederick K., Tarbuck, Edward J, and Tasa, Dennis G. (2018). Essentials of Geology, (13th ed). Pearson Publishing.
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