GEL 25 Lecture 2: Lecture 2- Zion & Bryce
Document Summary
National park service geology of zion np http://www. nature. nps. gov/geology/parks/zion/index. cfm. National park service geology of bryce canyon np http://www. nature. nps. gov/geology/parks/brca/index. cfm. Wikipedia geology of zion and bryce canyon http://geomaps. wr. usgs. gov/parks/province/coloplat. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/zion_national_park http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/bryce_canyon_national_park - geology/ Colorado plateau - characterized by 1) generally flat to gently inclined, broad plateaus: elongate escarpments, 3) deeply incised canyons, 4) horizontal to gently dipping sedimentary rocks and 5) a series of faults along the western side. A major geologic reason for the escarpments and raised plateaus (and overall elevated topography) is the existence of faults we"ll discuss faults in a few classes. Zion canyon is about 2500" deep & ~1 km wide. Created relatively recently (past few million years) by the virgin river cutting down into thick mesozoic redrock. Zion noted for its near-vertical, extremely high, red-stained cliffs, ~2000" high. Zion np is mostly a high plateau that has been eroded along a main canyon as well as along a system of vertical fractures.
