Day six

After a fairly early start a stop at the local supermarket to stock up on our junk food was appreciated.
Greg however was more concerned with providing his bus with card and pencils to make flags and posters to compete with Janet’s amazing Jack“son” and Daughts team spirit. (bit of bus jealousy we think!!)
Greg did admit however that his may not be the best but it is always number one!

After a short drive we arrived at Arches’ national park for a day full of fun packed work. Our mission was to find out how the arches where formed.
To help us find this information we spoke to Park Ranger Lori. Although there is no single way that arches are formed it is manly done by chemical and mechanical weathering.
Mechanical weathering is where water enters crakes in the rock, freezes and expands putting pressure on the rocks and enlarging the openings.
Chemical weathering is where water enters the Slick rock which gets stops by the Dewey bridge rock. The acid in the water erodes away the weaker sediment and the arch is formed

Picture

We also went to view a video on how the arches were formed. Silly Clare however forgot lights went off in movie theatre and fell over the stage lol! We think she should have got the silly badge.

Back on the buses and a short trip up a hill we went to see the north and south windows of Arches national park.
Boys will be boys and decided to climb on the rocks making it a competition, as who can get the highest. This then made them reinact the Lion King!

Picture-lion king

The group then split into two. The more adventurous students went to see the delicate arch which was a hard hike. Where as we decided to take a leisurely stroll to landscape arch.
The toilets where a pretty sight.(not!) Everyone thought the toilets where broken as they didn’t flush. But Faith reminded us they where only pit hole toilets so wouldn’t flush! (I would hate to be the person to clean them out haha!) But to be fair they smell better than most.

We started our relaxing walk and arrived at landscape arch. Was beautiful but slightly scary as previously in 1991, a huge chunk fell off. This means now you can no longer walk under it, and only observe from a distance.

While we where here we did the junior ranger task and had some lunch. We soon found a little friend (fury kind)
On the trip back the group got separated, with everyone a bit lost. Mary-Anne’s hat made a break for it, with Janet slow running after it, soon giving up for Vicky to get.

The next stop was back to the visitor centre to get another Junior Ranger badge. A very proud moment!

Soon back on the bus again to Moab and our hotel for everyone else to leave and do another Adventure tourism activity, while we write this sitting by the pool.
Good times!!!

Vicky, Sam and Clare

Day 9 - Zion National Park

ZION NATIONAL PARK

Zion National Park is a short two hour journey of 83 miles traveling south west of Bryce Canyon along Highway 89, until we reach Springdale, Utah. Zion National Park covers 229 square miles of protected area, with a thriving wildlife and large diversity of plant species inhabiting the area, Zion National Park is a very diverse and interesting place for tourists to visit.

People have inhabited Zion for over 12,000 years, originally inhabited by the Anasazi, whom moved on due to environmental conditions. In the 1860's, after an initial visit to Zion by John Weasley Powell, Mormon pioneers began to settle in the area. With the Mormons actually naming Zion; meaning 'place of quiet sanctuary'. Formed initially through uplift and undercutting of the Virgin river, Zion began to form the outstanding features that can be seen today; rock formations, the canyon and the plateaus. In 1909 Zion Park became a National Monument, and just ten years later, in 1919 it was granted National Park status.

MISSION STATEMENT FOR NATIONAL PARKS

“…To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations...”

An act of congress to create the national park service, Aug 1916


Zion National Park maintains the mission statement set out by congress in a variety of ways; most importantly it is one of the leading National Parks for sustainable tourism. Zion has strategies in place with almost all activites relating to the site, making every effort to limit environmental and cultural impacts of tourism. Some of these strategies include: a shuttle bus system, recylcing facilities, water bottle filling stations and the use of Trombe (including solar panels) to power the lodge.

The range of activities on offer at Zion appeal to a range of tourists; eco-tourists, environmental tourists, geo-tourists... There is something on offer for everyone. The physical features of the area which have been formed over thousands of years (initially from undercutting, then erosion by the Virgin river) offer a view into the entire landscape of the south-west. The layer of rock visible in this area is the Navajo sandstone, which is the youngest layer visible of the Grand Canyon. However the landscape is everchanging; In 1994 there was a landslide resulting in not only a section of the road to Zion being cut off and the park being shut for six weeks but it also led to a dramatic change to the landscape. Evidence of this can still be seen in the form of large boulders on the river edge, however much of the landslide has been since eroded and transported downstream by the Virgin river.

There are a number of trailsnot only leading to visually awesome scernaries, but also interesting geological formations, at a range of fitness levels. By following the Emmerald trail, you reach a number of naturally formed pools, each being inputted by a waterfall falling pituresquely of the local rock formation.

One of the key activites that Zion offers, like all other national parks, is the opportunity to be educated about the sourrounding environment. The junior ranger scheme offers the chance for young (and old) to learn about the park, and how they can help to retain the area and limit their impact. As part of this, the museum offers the opportunity to learn about the geology and history of the area. Rangers are also regulary on hand to help assit in further understanding of the area.

Hannah: "In my personal opinion, Zion was one of my favourite places visited on this trip so far. Even though the Grand Canyon was awesome, there was something untouchable about it. At Zion, the trails allowed you to access all reaches of the park, experiencing a variety of different features (the presence of water and vegetation was a nice change!). By going along the Emmerald pool trail, we were able to witness the beauty of a waterfall cascading into a pool of water tucked away up a trail. The way it was hidden yet accessible gave it a sense of a very magical place, different to its other surroundings with a beach, pool and rocks."

Josh: "I have been looking forward to visiting Zion all throughout this trip and it did not disappoint! You get a completly different perspective to other National Parks; whereas in the Grand Canyon and Arches you are looking down into the park, Zion lets you into it's secrets. It lets you feel, smell and hear things you couldn't in many other parks. After the desolation of the desert in the surounding area the vegetation makes a beautiful change. The scenic drive into Zion adds to the experience, when half way down into the park a view of the road winding through mountains gives you a sense of energy and inspiration."

Aaron: We believe that Zion was one of the top National Parks to go. It offered outstanding scenery that would literally take your breathe away. What makes Zion so spectacular was the distribution of trees in the surrounding area of the trail. The Emerald Trail in particular was incredibly impressive in that it offered a new water based pool at each stage of the walk. As you ascended up the route the pools grew and were more outstanding than the previous. Once you reach the top pool you are met with incredible views and scenery near and far. At the top there is a monumental view of a waterfall above you when standing on a beach. Despite it being a strenuous walk it was definitely worth it!!

Day 3 - 03/05/2010

3^rd May 2010 – The Gut Busting Grand Canyon and its Trails

The Grand Canyon is merely a stone’s throw away from any tourist hotspots such as Flagstaff which has hotels, restaurants and historic attractions to cater for all needs and requirements. A good starting point is to take in the breath taking scenery from the visitor centre viewpoint. Next port of call before you proceed any further should be a ranger’s talk within the confines of the informative visitor centre itself. This talk on the geology of the Grand Canyon is not only educational but also entertaining and easy to listen to and understand. You should listen with open ears whilst the ranger is talking, due to the fact that the exposed environment lacks signs that illustrate the natural beauty that is all around you. With great beauty comes a slight risk, therefore a minimum of 4 litres of water should be taken, along with some food when tackling the trails.

A Map of the Grand Canyon Trails, including the Kaibab Trail

There are many routes around the canyon that can be taken and the easiest access by shuttle bus is the challenging Kaibab trail. The bus driver is not only exceptional at his duties as senior coachman but also very knowledgeable and helpful in the terms of information about trails and general Canyon facts. When you arrive at the start of the Kaibab trail one can’t help but be overwhelmed by the natural beauty and presence. The trail is a fantastic chance to get photos so it is good to take your time on the way down, taking in the spectacular views because the way back up is easier said than done. Mainly tackling the trail is a mixture of school visits, enthusiastic tourists and hikers, who are all friendly, easy to talk to and will help to keep you going when the trail becomes tough. As walking down the trail the transition of the rock types that the ranger spoke about earlier becomes clearer as you descend deeper in to geological time. During the trail there are ideal places to sit and look out into the truly ‘Grand’ Canyon and if you are lucky you may spot a huge California Condor soaring on the thermals above. At a gentle two and half miles you come across Cedar Ridge which is a perfect spot to stop for some food, use the restrooms and take in the scale of the Grand Canyon, however whilst eating you must be careful of the cheeky Kaibab squirrels that may fancy a spot of your lunch.

If you are a more driven walker then carry on further to the spectacular Skeleton Point where you can see down in to the river channel canyon. Keep an eye on your watch because the route back up is more time consuming then the decent. Taking regular breaks to top up on water and air is strongly advised as is the topping up of sun cream. When you reach the top again you have a real sense of accomplishment when you look down the canyon and see how far you have walked. If you still want more of the views then getting off a stop before the visitor centre is a good opportunity to enjoy the delights of the relaxing rim trail. This takes you along the stunningly beautiful South Rim and this walk mixes views of the different native trees and flowers alongside the awe-inspiring views that the Grand Canyon has to offer. This tops off a breath-taking day at one with nature at one of the world best natural wonders.

Muchos Love. Matt, Luke and Freddy

Day 4 - Grand Canyon, Tusayan ruins and Dinosaur tracks

Description of location: Grand Canyon; Arizona, Tusayan Ruins; GC, Arizona and Moenave Dinosaur tracks; just before Tuba City, Navajo.

Aspects of geography going to talk about: Tourism, Resource Management and Physical Geography.


Map showing the Grand Canyon; Arizona and the Navajo Indian Reservation

Tourism

There are many forms of tourism; the ones that will be discussed are sustainable tourism, economic tourism, educational and adventure tourism experienced during the day.

On day two at the Grand Canyon some of us woke early to watch the sun rise at Yavapai view point. This view point gives tourists the opportunity to watch the Grand Canyon go from darkness to light with amazing light rays and shadow during the rise. This point is in a great place for this to happen. Information about the daily sunrise times are located in the visitor centre and leaflets given on arrival to allow tourists the option of doing this. After this we went on to do the Bright Angel trail.

The Tusayan ruins came next on the day’s activities; these could be seen by walking along a path past the Gathering Loop, storage area and living quarters. At both the Grand Canyon and the Tusayan ruins there were sufficient car parking areas and restroom available and accessible for all.

Finally we visited some dinosaur tracks in Navajo on the way to our motel in Kayenta. These were not as formal a places as we had been travelling around, however they were interesting and the people there seemed to know how to market there rare tourist experience.

Adventure Tourism

Grand Canyon - involved walked the Bright Angel Trail. This is the most popular trail into the canyon. It is a gentle walk offering plenty of shade. These factors enable the trail to be accessible for the majority of tourists which is possibly why it is so popular. The trail starts west of Bright Angel Lodge. Like the other walks the first Rest house on the trail is 1 and a half miles down. If you were an adventure seeking tourist then you could hike to the 4500ft to the bottom of this trek ending in Plateau point (12.2miles). However even for the most thrills seeking tourist it is unadvisable to walk up and down the canyon in one day. We on the other hand only walked a very little bit as were all hiked out after the Kaibob trail the day before.

The elevation of the Bright Angel starts at 6900ft so tourists with chest of breathing difficulties should take it slow and everyone needs to keep hydrated. If this was thought to be a problem then there is the option of going on the trail on a mule. We didn’t participate in this, however whilst we were walking down the trail a group of mules were returning to the top.

Educational Tourism

Grand Canyon - this involved us finishing off the Junior Ranger program. This is designed to keen children engaged and attempts to get them interested in geography and geology. This also includes generally looking at information boards and leaflets on the trail.

Tusayan Ruins – this was in the form of information boards around the path area displaying what everything was and how it was used 800 years ago when the Tusayan’s were inhabiting the area. For example, there was a big sage bush which uses included boiling the leaves to make dye and using the bark to weave baskets. Educational tourism also was apparent in the museum displaying artefacts and with guided tours.

Dinosaur tracks – no signs or information boards here, however the people who run this small business seem to know there stuff. Although the dinosaur footprints were real they do exaggerate what they have on offer by creating a story around them to enhance the tourist experience. For example they told us the prints were from common dinosaurs and they had planted eggs and bones to keep the illusion going.

Sustainable tourism

Grand Canyon - To make what we did more sustainable environmental wise the park could limit the numbers of people that trek this at a given time and over the course of the day as it did get quite busy which for some people spoilt the experience slightly. Litter bins are not provided on the path, however there are plenty at the rim and judging by the cleanliness of the area tourists are making use of the bins and not ruining this wonderful landscape.

Tusayan ruins – this area was sustainable as you couldn’t walk on the actual ruins but around a path, therefore preserving the area for generations to come. There were also litter bins and ashtrays at the entrance encouraging tourists to be kind to the environment. In the museum and at the entrance there were also signs to encourage ecotourism. The place was very clean so this is obviously working. Some areas were cornered off while we were there as revegetation work was occurring.

Dinosaur tracks – these were not very environmentally sustainable as we were as tourists allowed to walk over them, however this is probably the only way they could do the tour at all as they don’t have finances or backing to manage it any other way.

Economic tourism

Grand Canyon – this here included paying for the hotel, which incidentally was the most expensive hotel of the whole trip. So long as this money goes to the upkeep of the National Park that’s ok. This also included for us paying to enter the National Park, food shopping, eating ice cream, shopping in the tourist designed shops for souvenirs and for some paying $15 to the area for phone cards that don’t work……but hey maybe they’ll buy an air freshener for the toilet at Ceder ridge with that money! (There’s always hope)

Dinosaur tracks – this isn’t marketed as economic tourism as there is no fee to see them, however it is courteous to buy some of there jewellery or leave a donation. We decided to buy bracelets that were $8 each for 2 for $10. however if they were to charge at least the money would go directly to them as apposed to be eaten up by finances if they were taken over by a National Park or Government organisation.

Overall, the tourism varied from place to place with not every place offering the same types of tourism. The Grand Canyon offers more adventure tourism, and the ruins and dinosaur tracks almost being historic tourism. All sites provided educational aspects and need tourism to survive!


Resource Management

How do you preserve something so delicate and beautiful so that we, the current generation can enjoy it, as well as future generations?

In America, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is dominantly responsible for the management and preservations of resources, especially those associated with the use of public land. The Grand Canyon is a national state park, where as the Navajo Nation which we drove through, and Moenave Dinosaur Tracks are not designated public lands.

The Grand Canyon
Within the National Park of the Grand Canyon, resource management is taking very seriously. There is a highly recognised ranger programme (including junior ranger which we all got the badge for yeas!) In the desert of the SW USA, resources can be hard to retain, such as water. The Grand Canyon stores water, the amount for three days usage, in case the springs do not supply water is kept as a reserve. With out water many of the facilities would not be able to function, then causing a strain on other resources, such as food and restrooms. (Not all restrooms have running water though!) Environmental areas of re-vegetation had also been established to allow species of plants to be undisturbed by animals as well as humans.

Tusayan Ruin’s are managed with in the Grand Canyon, leading to a ranger being present at the site, and educating through talks and visits amidst the ruins. The resources are managed as the same to the rest of the park, and are also being developed with the increasing numbers of tourists.

Picture of Grand Canyon!

The carrying concept of the canyon (O’Reilly, 1986), looks at the amount of people in which an area can uphold. At the Grand Canyon, the capacity is always being reviewed, with constant development of facilities, thus developing the management of resources and how to keep the park running.


Moenave Dinosaur Footprints
Navajo Nation displayed a very different resource management in the attractions that were on offer. At the dinosaur footprints, the actual foot prints were not protected from the human interference (as mentioned above), leading to a poor management of land. The resources available at this location were also limited, no rest rooms or water were available, although jewellery was driven to the site to be sold.

Picture of Navajo Nation!!

Physical Geography

In context to the Grand Canyon and Navajo Nation, the physical geography is plentiful and able to be seen everywhere you look from geology to cloud formations.

Geology of the Grand Canyon
The geology of the Grand Canyon is one of intense diversity with rocks on display that date back over 2 billion years yet carved by wind and water over a period of only 5 million years. The rock strata on display shows many different periods of geological time and show constant periods of dryness and periods when the whole are was a shallow sea. One the day the group could only get down to the first two layers of the many that are present and they are the Kaibab limestone and the Toroweap formation. The Kaibab limestone’s where laid down when the area was covered by a shallow sea and the sand and sediments at the bottom where compressed until they turned into sedimentary rocks. This is evident by the presence of small marine animals that are present as fossils in the rock layer and also the presence of marine sands that the fossils are buried in. The stone is very crumbly and turns to sand very easily when broken down by wind or water and this makes it very easy to erode which happens on a regular basis. There are also large amounts of sandstone mixed in with the limestone and this also shows that there were coastal processes in evidence as the sand would of have to come from the coast as well as the sediments from the bottom of the seas. The second observed sediments was the Toroweap formation which is similar to the Kaibab as the sediments are similar but the Toroweap shows evidence of more sands than the Kaibab and this was probably dune sand coming in from onshore and being deposited at the mouth of a larger river of in the basin of a shallow sea. These two layers are concurrent with the known history of the area as that area of America was underwater during the Permian era when they were laid down but the seas where retreating which is shown in the rocks by the presence of more and more sand as the layers progress.

Picture of layers!!!!

Navajo Nation

The rocks in the Navajo nation are very similar to those at the Grand Canyon but with one important difference and this is the presence of dinosaur fossils. Theses where laid down in the early Jurassic when the area was many braided rivers flowing into the sea about where the Rockies are today. Theses river sediments allowed for very good impressions of footprints when a variety of dinosaurs walked across them and these where then covered by more sediments. Millions of years later they have been exposed by a combination of erosion factors both wind and water based and they have now been exposed to the wonderment (and scepticism) of many generations of university students!

Personal reflections on day
Very good day, watching sunrise and the sunset was awesome over the Canyon. The trail was a nice relax after the day before on the Kaibob. The Tusayan ruins were a good example of how America’s history has only just started to be preserved. Finally the dinosaur tracks were interesting as it brings a normally hard concept to comprehend (the fact dinosaurs existed) to life as there is clear evidence. The contrast between a national park and the Navajo nation was rather distinctive.

From reflecting on the day through this blog, it is evident that all three of the field trip themes are both clear and also inter-link with each other.



p.s. were all safe and having a wiked time :D



much love, andrew, cat and mary-anne

Vince Carroll

Rafting the Colorado

Day 3 Grand Canyon Yo!

Day 3 Grand Canyon 03/05/10
Katy, Adam & Katy

Hey Fans!
Today we visited the Grand Canyon!! It is situated in north west Arizona, south west USA spanning 277 miles long, 16 miles wide and 1 mile deep.

Jim, the park ranger, took over enthusiastic (and quite creepy) joy in lecturing us on the formation and geology of the Grand Canyon. So we better inform you guys, because it’s AMAZING!

Firstly, let’s get one thing right, it may not be the only Grand Canyon in the world, but it is THE Grand Canyon – From the man himself, Jim.

Here we are listening to the ranger talk for 30 minutes about Spongebob Squarepants and his nose picking baseball days in 1955:

Although not the deepest canyon, or the widest canyon or the longest canyon in the world, it is the deepest longest widest prettiest canyon. Jim taught us four words to remember the Grand Canyon:

Enormous Proportions, Colouful Scenery.

For those of you who can’t remember that, try remembering the words 'large' and 'pretty'. Jim talked us through the geological time frame of the Grand Canyon and how it is 1.7 billion years old, which is ‘the blink of an eye’ in earth history. The Grand Canyon contains clear distinctive layers in the rock highlighting these different geological time periods, starting with Kaibab Limestone at the top, all the way through different strata to Vishnu Schist at the bottom. Most rock forms were created in shallow tropical oceanic marine environments that were originally a desert. Jim said ‘water can cause a lot of damage in deserts, proved by the Grand Canyon.’

The Colorado River deepened the Grand Canyon, exposing strong and weaker rock, causing walls to collapse and the canyon to form. These minerals created different colours in the rock exposures indicating the different time periods.

Another Park Ranger (from YouTube) once taught us about D.U.D.E

Deposition Uplift Displacement Erosion

Another way of learning about the processes involved in making the one and only Grand Canyon.

For you 'humans' (geographers joke), resource management and tourism are important in the National Park. The Grand Canyon National Park, from our experience today is well managed. The park draws a whole range of international and national tourists, contains facilities that cater for everyone (there is even a trail suitable for wheelchair users) and the park also encourages eco tourism through recycling and solar panels.

Resource management at the park is signified by its many signs telling visitors not to feed the animals, step to one side for mules, keep to the tracks etc. The recycling bins, although not on trails were available at the visitor centre and rim areas. Solar panels were used to create electricity for the buildings, and water used was pumped up from the Colorado River.

The Junior Park ranger scheme improves tourist experience and knowledge of the park, with activities to complete and a ranger badge to gain. (Which all 29 of us achieved- including the ‘legend’ that is Dr. Greg Spellman) -> Do we get an A now Greg?

This was our first view of the Grand Canyon, it’s big.

Here we all are at the Northern rim, just before heading out to Navajo Nation:

OMG! You are not gonna believe what just happened, here we are blogging away when the laptop froze. It’s all your fault, we tried to get a map from Google for you when it froze, so forget it, there will be no map. We even had to wake up Greg (pink pyjamas on Greg is not pretty!)

Anyway...
Although we have provided photos, no picture you will ever see will compare to the real thing. You can’t capture its, beauty, scale and geological formations. You have to come and see it for yourself!

To finish our blog we wanted to share our most prized experience at the Grand Canyon, the Kaibab Trail. We chose the steepest, hardest, life threatening trail down into the Grand Canyon. Despite Faiths warnings about needing 4 litres of water, high energy foods (trail nut mix) and factor 60, we survived the hike! The walk down was amazing, the scenery was spectacular and every turn was photo worthy.

The CLIMB back up was strenuous to say the least, but extremely rewarding. Practically on our hands and knees we sweated, bled, and burned our way back to the top in the thin air that was provided. Bed by 10.30. LOL

Peace out. (Stink one).

Bare Loves. Katy, Katy and Adam. J