Transcript File - Western Kentucky University Mojave Field Course

Good Afternoon
!
Rocks,
Lakes, and
Springs
!
Western Kentucky University
Mojave 2014
Ron Waterbury
This is a hot Hyper arid Desert with a mean-annual
temperature around 9.5°C (49.1°F), and during the
summer reaching above 45°C (114°F).
Tecopa,
Area -18.6 Square Miles
Location -35°50′54″N 116°13′35″W
Elevation Population Median House Hold Income
Inyo County
California, USA
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy and mapping: Understanding the chronology of
that layers of sediment were deposited is critical to interpreting
earth history and preparing geologic maps. Likewise
understanding how erosion and tectonic forces affect the
landscape over time is equally essential to mapping-related
sciences. This generalized stratigraphic diagram for the central
Mojave Desert region of southern California. The diagram
illustrates a working interpretation model that includes both
basin-fill deposits (lake, stream, and floodplain deposits) and a
geomorphic profile of stream channel terrace deposits on alluvial
fans. This stratigraphic model is an essential component to map
and interpret the changes to the landscape caused by movement
along faults in the Mojave region. The offset of basin fill and
especially alluvial deposits are an important component of
unraveling fault motion and earthquake history in the region. It is
the careful study of such deposits (using radiocarbon dating and
other geochronologic dating methods) that fault movement
history can be determined, and estimates for earthquake
frequency, intensity, and potential impacts can be made.
Death Valley National Park Through Time
Death Valley Today - 10,000 years ago to present
Badwater
As low as you can go; fault scarps, salt pan
Death Valley dunes
Desert sands
Devil's Golf CourseSalt deposits
Furnace Creek
Focus on water
Harmony Borax works Early mining in Death Valley
Racetrack Playa Mysterious sliding rocks
Saratoga Springs Desert oasis
Ubehebe Crater Maar volcanoes
Quiet to chaos 65 million to 10,000 years ago (Cenozoic)
Dante's View
Basin and Range
Amargosa Chaos
Death Valley rocks sliced and diced
Split cinder cone Cinder cone sliced by fault
Artist's Drive
Colors of nature
Zabriskie Point
Remnants of ancient lakes
tracking Death Valley's extinct inhabitants
Golden Canyon Ramble through the Furnace Creek Formation
Shoreline Butte Pleistocene lakeshores
The Earth Shook, the Sea Withdrew 250-65 million years ago (Mesozoic)
Uplift and erosion
Death Valley at the Equator - 570-250 million years ago (Paleozoic)
Titus Canyon
Tropical Seas
Death Valley Dawn - 1.8 billion years to 570 million years ago (Precambrian)
Badwater
The oldest rocks - relics of the Precambrian world
Mosaic Canyon
Slot canyon, deformed and polished marble
Mineralogy
Tecopa Hot Sprngs
Could Tecopa have the answer to the presence of Life?
Nope can’t go there, can’t do it, evolution doesn’t exist. I would be crazy if I
tried to bring it up in a classroom presentation.
The Inyo County Tecopa Hot Mineral Springs
are classified as Hot Springs. While the
temperature of the water fluctuates between
different sources, the water temperature
usually measures between 116 - 118° F. The
ambient temperature of the water in the
summer months, however, can be as a high as
121 - 135° F.
Analysis of Mineral Water in PPM
Calcium.......... 7.2
Iron............. 0.094
Lead............... 4.0
Magnesium..... 9.7
Boron............. 9.2
Selenium......... 8.0
Sodium....... 725.0
Fluoride........... 2.4
Potassium..... 22.3
Arsenic.......... 0.24
Carbonates... 45.2
Bicarbonates.668.
Sulfates....... 497.5
Chlorides.... 371.0
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Wulff, Andrew Dr. Western Kentucky University Geology, Geography Department March 1st, 2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecopa,_California
http://digital-desert.com/tecopa-ca/
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/originoflife.html
http://whyfiles.org/2011/biology-critters-that-should-not-exist/
http://deathvalleychamber.org/444
http://www.tecopahotsprings.org/thoughts.html
https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pod6BBTji8A3XeJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzNHRmN240BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMwZDBhNjMwNzdlZjgzOWM0OGVlYjVkYWQ1NDN
hNzhkYgRncG9zAzE4BGl0A2Jpbmc?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DHot%2Bsprings%2Bdiagram%26_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DHot%2Bsprings%2Bdiagram%26fr%3Dyfp-t901%26ri%3D166%26spos%3D24%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D18&w=275&h=400&imgurl=media-2.web.britannica.com%2Feb-media%2F29%2F95629-0047EF6B7AB.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbuzz-master.com%2Fwp-includes%2Fhot-springdiagram&size=16.7KB&name=%3Cb%3Ehot+%3C%2Fb%3Espring+%3Cb%3Ediagram%3C%2Fb%3E&p=Hot+springs+diagram&oid=0d0a63077ef839c48eeb5dad543a78db&fr2=&fr=yfp-t901&tt=%3Cb%3Ehot+%3C%2Fb%3Espring+%3Cb%3Ediagram%3C%2Fb%3E&b=0&ni=256&no=18&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11lq1oah7&sigb=14v52nd99&sigi=11tddsr5n&.crumb=P9IlBNRmcl4&fr=yfpt-901
California Geological Survey, Geologic Data Map No. 2
Compilation and Interpretation by: Charles W. Jennings (1977)
Updated version by: Carlos Gutierrez, William Bryant, George Saucedo, and Chris Wills
Graphics by: Milind Patel, Ellen Sander, Jim Thompson, Barbara Wanish and Milton Fonseca
http://www.indiana.edu/~g105lab/images/gaia_chapter_13/vent_communities.htm
http://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/lake-tecopa-in-the-eastern-mojave-desert-history-essay.php
http://digital-desert.com/mono-lake/geology.html
http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/neotectonics/html/qstrat.html