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San Rafael Desert
The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. The San Rafael Swell, measuring approximately , consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 60–40 million years ago. Since that time, infrequent but powerful flash floods have eroded the sedimentary rocks into numerous valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas, buttes, and badlands. The swell is part of the Colorado Plateau physiographic region. Geography Interstate 70 divides the Swell into northern and southern sections, and provides the only interstate access to the region. The swell lies entirely within Emery County. The northern Swell is drained mainly by the San Rafael River, while the southern Swell is drained mainly by Muddy Creek, which eventually joins the Fremont River to become Dirty Devil River northeast of Hanksville, Utah. The Dirty Devil River flows sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of 336,700 km2 (130,000 mi2) within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, southern and eastern Utah, northern Arizona, and a tiny fraction in the extreme southeast of Nevada. About 90% of the area is drained by the Colorado River and its main tributaries: the Green, San Juan, and Little Colorado. Most of the remainder of the plateau is drained by the Rio Grande and its tributaries. The Colorado Plateau is largely made up of high desert, with scattered areas of forests. In the south-west corner of the Colorado Plateau lies the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. Much of the Plateau's landscape is related to the Grand Canyon in both appearance and geologic history. The nickname "Red Rock Country" suggests the brightly colored ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the country. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 (US 40, the old National Road) east of the Rocky Mountains. West of the Rockies, the route of I-70 was derived from multiple sources. The Interstate runs through or near many major cities, including Denver, Topeka, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. The sections of the Interstate in Missouri and Kansas have laid claim to be the first Interstate in the United States. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has claimed the section of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, completed in 1992, to be the last piece of the Interstate Highway System, as originally planned, to open to traffic. The construction of I-70 in Colorado and Utah i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geologic Fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. Faults may also displace slowly, by aseismic creep. A ''fault plane'' is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A '' fault trace'' or ''fault line'' is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault. A ''fault zone'' is a cluster of parallel faults. However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault. Prolonged motion along closely spaced faults can blur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Precambrian
The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon, which is named after Cambria, the Latinised name for Wales, where rocks from this age were first studied. The Precambrian accounts for 88% of the Earth's geologic time. The Precambrian is an informal unit of geologic time, subdivided into three eons ( Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic) of the geologic time scale. It spans from the formation of Earth about 4.6 billion years ago ( Ga) to the beginning of the Cambrian Period, about million years ago ( Ma), when hard-shelled creatures first appeared in abundance. Overview Relatively little is known about the Precambrian, despite it making up roughly seven-eighths of the Earth's history, and what is known has largely been discovered from the 1960s onwards. The Precambrian fos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Grand Canyon
The Little Grand Canyon (officially named Grand Canyon) is a box canyon located in Shawnee National Forest in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, south of Murphysboro. It is located on east bank of the Big Muddy River across from Turkey Bayou to the west, between Swallow Rock to the north and Chalk Bluff to the south. Access to the park is gained from Hickory Ridge Road to the east. The area was designated a National Natural Landmark in February 1980. Description Erosion carved this deep box canyon from the sandstone of the Shawnee Hills, and it opens into the floodplain of the Mississippi River near Turkey Bayou. The canyon contains several seasonal and a few permanent waterfalls, some descending through dramatic cascades of sculpted sandstone. The trail is marked by white diamond blazes and begins in the upland hardwood forest. The trail then descends through a steep and sometimes slippery sandstone side canyon to the lusher, damper habitat of the canyon floor. The asce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fremont River (Utah)
The Fremont River is a long river in southeastern Utah, United States that flows from the Johnson Valley Reservoir, which is located on the Wasatch Plateau near Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy Creek near Hanksville where the two rivers combine to form the Dirty Devil River, a tributary of the Colorado River. Course The Johnson Valley Reservoir is fed by Sevenmile Creek (from the north) and Lake Creek (from the southwest). The Fremont River passes through Fremont, Loa, Lyman, Bicknell, Teasdale, and Torrey and provides year-round irrigation for the agricultural lands of Rabbit Valley and Caineville. Then it heads through Hanksville and afterward to its mouth. Miscellaneous The Fremont River has a drainage area of fed by spring snowmelt off Thousand Lake Mountain, Boulder Mountain, and the northern Henry Mountains. The river is named after John Charles Frémont. It gives its name to the Fremont culture, a Precolumbian archaeolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badlands
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation, lack of a substantial regolith, and high drainage density.A.J. Parsons and A.D. Abrahams, Editors (2009) ''Geomorphology of Desert Environments'' (2nd ed.) Springer Science & Business Media Ravines, gullies, buttes, hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in badlands. Badlands are found on every continent except Antarctica, being most common where there are unconsolidated sediments. They are often difficult to navigate by foot, and are unsuitable for agriculture. Most are a result of natural processes, but destruction of vegetation by overgrazing or pollution can produce anthropogenic badlands. Badlands topography Badlands are characterized by a distinctive badlands topography. This is terrain in which w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green River (Colorado River)
The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of the U.S. states of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing through Wyoming and Utah for most of its course, except for a short segment of in western Colorado. Much of the route traverses the arid Colorado Plateau, where the river has carved some of the most spectacular canyons in the United States. The Green is slightly smaller than Colorado when the two rivers merge but typically carries a larger load of silt. The average yearly mean flow of the river at Green River, Utah is per second. The status of the Green River as a tributary of the Colorado River came about mainly for political reasons. In earlier nomenclature, the Colorado River began at its confluence with the Green River. Above the confluence, Colorado was called the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy silt load. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora. Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River and its tributaries are a vital source of water for 40 million people. An extensive system of dams, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanksville, Utah
Hanksville is a small town in Wayne County, Utah, United States, at the junction of State Routes 24 and 95. The population was 219 at the 2010 census. Situated in the Colorado Plateau's cold desert ecological region, the town is just south of the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek, which together form the Dirty Devil River, which then flows southeast to the Colorado River. The Hanksville-Burpee Quarry is located nearby, and the Mars Desert Research Station is northwest of town. The Bureau of Land Management's Henry Mountains field station is located in Hanksville. History The town was settled in 1882 and known for a time for the name given to the surrounding area, Graves Valley. It took the name of Hanksville in 1885, after Ebenezer Hanks, an early settler. It was not incorporated until January 6, 1999. The REA brought electricity to the community in 1960. Today agriculture, mining, and tourism are the main drivers to the local economy. Tourism is parti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirty Devil River
The Dirty Devil River is an tributary of the Colorado River, located in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows through southern Utah from the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek before emptying into the Colorado River at Lake Powell. Course The Dirty Devil River is formed in Wayne County near Hanksville at the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek. It flows generally southward through a canyon in Wayne and Garfield counties. Its lower flows through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where it finally disembogues into the Colorado River at a point that is now submerged beneath Lake Powell. The canyon carved by the river is particularly isolated and seldom visited compared to other natural areas in the region. The average discharge is approximately 446 cubic feet per second. History The Dirty Devil River was named by the 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition led by John Wesley Powell, which explored much of the Colorado River and its tributaries. It was nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fremont River
The Fremont River is a long river in southeastern Utah, United States that flows from the Johnson Valley Reservoir, which is located on the Wasatch Plateau near Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy Creek near Hanksville where the two rivers combine to form the Dirty Devil River, a tributary of the Colorado River. Course The Johnson Valley Reservoir is fed by Sevenmile Creek (from the north) and Lake Creek (from the southwest). The Fremont River passes through Fremont, Loa, Lyman, Bicknell, Teasdale, and Torrey and provides year-round irrigation for the agricultural lands of Rabbit Valley and Caineville. Then it heads through Hanksville and afterward to its mouth. Miscellaneous The Fremont River has a drainage area of fed by spring snowmelt off Thousand Lake Mountain, Boulder Mountain, and the northern Henry Mountains. The river is named after John Charles Frémont. It gives its name to the Fremont culture, a Precolumbian In the his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
