Rafting Trip in Desolation Canyon, Utah

I have wonderful friends! They like to explore the rivers and canyons of the American Southwest and we do it in style. I enjoy their company, the hiking, the way they can whip up a gourmet meal in the wilderness, the thrill of running the rapids in our small inflatable kayaks, and sharing the world-class scenery and geology with them. I had previously run Desolation Canyon in 1980 but didn't remember much about that trip. I was surprised to find such glorious red rock scenery (in the Wasatch Formation) in the central parts of this canyon.

This is a view of the rocks on the way down to the put-in at Sand Wash. It is a stark beauty carved out of the Uinta Formation, when a large lake filled the Uinta basin some 50 million years ago.


Our first nights camp was on an island in the Green River and within the graceful embrace of Sumner amphitheater (rear and named by John Wesley Powell for his much admired river companion). The buttresses in low angle light were spectacular.


Looking east from this island camp, we observed a rocky profile cut into the opposite wall. The generally concave profile of the top of this ridge may be the former location of the Green River's channel. Some geologists have suggested that the Green River has meandered wildly from former positions in the canyon. Our guidebook showed one channel alignment that existed when the river flowed about 400 feet higher than today (perhaps a few hundreds of thousands of years ago). Those meanders are quite unrelated to the pattern today. What would cause a river to change its path so dramatically after having been already incised in a canyon? I can only think of canyon in-filling and later retrenching in a different course. In this view, the river flowed through the gap from left to right.


Here are 10 of our 14 trip members enjoying the shade of an alcove on a hot summer day. From left to right: Wayne, Norm, Sam, Bryan, Nathan, John, Frank, Jamie, Leif, and Lee. Not pictured: George, Lisa, Cassie, and Katie.


There are many relics from the Old West in Desolation Canyon. Here Frank peers through the door of a "still" hidden up in a side canyon near a spring. Imagine making whiskey in a hidden canyon.


One of the joys of a river trip is stopping for lunch at a small sand bar. This is one that we stopped at on July 18 and is called Nutter's Rock. Nutter was a rancher in the canyon in the 1800's.


A view of our boats on the water in Desolation Canyon.


The Fremont Culture left many petroglyphs along streams and the river. We hiked up Rock Creek to see this panel in the late afternoon.


At the mouth of Rock Creek was an old ranch abandoned after WW II. Most of the ranch accouterments were still present on site.


Here's a view of the interbedded nature of the Wasatch Formation (light-colored, massive sandstone cliffs) with the Green River Formation (dark, thinly-bedded shale and mudstone). This interbedding represents the fluctuating shoreline of the Green River Lake some 55 million years ago. The sands were derived in streams that fed the lake (during relative low-stands of water) and the shale formed when the lake water expanded across the landscape. Note the channel forms present at the base of the shale. A great one is just above the green trees in the center.


The landscape of the American Southwest at the time that rocks in Desolation Canyon (shown with thin black line) were laid down.


While camping below Rock Creek one night, a giant thunderstorm rolled in at 2:30 AM. We could hear distant thunder becoming louder until it filled the canyon with echos and flashing light. Then a hard rain fell for half an hour. Eventually the cell moved northeast but not before inundating the camp with water. This is the beautiful morning scene after the storm.


The scenery was fantastic throughout Desolation Canyon!


Last August a giant debris flow roared down Joe Hutch Canyon and reorganized the rapid here when new debris was flushed into the river. This was a great ride in our duckies.


Frank wielding his cooking apron for an Italian repast that was phenomenal. Everyone made great meals as we took turns cooking for the group.


The strata continue to rise as floaters move downstream and the profile and color of the rocks get more dramatic. The name "Desolation" was used strictly to mean uninhabited and for the geology or scenery buff, there is nothing desolate about this place. It is a cathedral in stone that beckons the soul to "pay attention" to this moment in our lives.


The largest rapid is called Three Fords and here Bryan takes his raft through the waves.


Jamie shows good form in her whitewater canoe.


Eventually, gray Cretaceous rocks are lifted above the river bank and the view changes dramatically. We climbed a bluff along Range Creek to obtain this view.


Gunnison Butte is a well-known landmark that signals the end of the 87 mile run through Desolation and Gray canyons. It was named for Capt. John Gunnison.


Final sunset at Swasey's Rapid. The air is hot with summer but so serene as it moves among the spires and temples of rock. We camp one more night beneath the majesty and count our many blessings to have emerged safe, renewed, and ready for our next adventure.

20,000 Copies of "Carving Grand Canyon" and a Forthcoming 2nd Edition

On July 12, 2009, someone with an interest in the scientific origin of the Grand Canyon walked away from a Grand Canyon Association bookstore with the 20,000 copy of "Carving Grand Canyon". This is a phenomenal milestone for a book that deals with geology and has only a regional base. (Okay, Grand Canyon is an international destination but still, this is a regional book). I am heartened by the success of this little book, not so much because I was involved with its publication but because it means that so many people are interested, dare I say hungry, for a science-based treatment on the theories relating to the origin of the canyon.

To understand better the significance of 20,000 copies, consider this ironic tidbit associated with the books publication: when I first approached the Grand Canyon Association in the mid- to late-90's about such a book, it was turned down as being not a salable item. "No one is interested in that story", I was told. However, the geology symposium held in June, 2000 did a lot to spark interest in the ideas of canyon development. I pursued the idea again with GCA in 2004 and this time with different results. The rest as they say, is history

And to highlight the importance of this book, on July 6 of this year I signed a contract to produced an updated 2nd Edition of the book. Newer ideas generated since the 2000 symposium will be included in this new edition, due out in early 2010. "Carving Grand Canyon" continues to be an important book for visitors to the park and scientists with an interest in landscape development, incision history, and events at the grand Canyon. Thanks to everyone who has helped to support this book!

I've Been Away, I Know ... but

Yep. It's been awhile since I blogged but I've got a good reason. I was married to Helen on Sunday, June 21, the summer solstice. We had a very nice celebration one week later with over 150 people in attendance. The festivities started on June 13 with a one week bachelor's party that took in three different baseball games in Phoenix, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Our wedding was a private event with only 8 folks at what is now being called 'Ranney Point' on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The wedding reception was held on June 28 at the USFS Ten-X group site just south of the canyon. It was so much fun. Here is a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Ranney on the day of the wedding. Thank you for your patience.

Backpacking in Coyote Gulch, Utah

Imagine getting to go on a backpack to a place you haven't visited for over 32 years. That was my good fortune during the week of May 25 when I led a group of eight friends to Coyote Gulch in the Escalante River country of southeast Utah. The trip was coordinated through the Museum of Northern Arizona's Venture Program. This organization provides quality educational backpacks and van excursions on the Colorado Plateau and it has been my privilege to be a leader for the program since 1982. This was an excellent trip with great travel companions who accompanied me to the Hall's Creek Narrows in May, 2008. Check out the pictures from this lush, southwestern oasis.















Our group starting the seven-mile hike to camp. The Straight Cliffs line the plateau in the background and once extended out over the Escalante country. When rocks peel off their face, the cliff edge recedes slightly and through time the line of cliffs retreats back to the west.

Roman Escamilla, a very strong yet gentle 18-year-old who accompanied his father Eluterio on the trip, examines disrupted strata in the Carmel Formation near the trailhead. Soft-sediment deformation caused this block of siltstone to rotate around in a mass if highly deformed layers. The disruption is most likely due to pressure from the weight of overlying strata.

Entering the narrow in Hurricane Wash, our chosen approach route.

About a mile upstream from Coyote Gulch a spring emerges from the bed of Hurricane Wash. Let the greenery begin!















Our first view of Jacob Hamblin Arch along the course of Coyote Gulch.





And a view from the opposite side of the arch. The creek makes a wide turn around the arch and one day soon (10,000 years?) the creek may remove the last 30 feet of material in the floor of the arch and it will be come a natural bridge through which the creek will flow.


















From high above, this was a view of our base camp beneath a large, overhanging alcove. The energy of the stream when in flood continues to eat its way deep into the rock creating these alcoves. Although we camped on the inside bend of the creek, we were well covered by the 400-foot high ceiling that was overhung from the outside bend.

A wide-angle view towards the sky from inside our base camp alcove.















After a restful nights sleep within the womb of red earth, we took a hike the next day downstream to see more wonders. The "trail" wanders repeatedly in and out of the creek.

Coyote Natural Bridge where the stream flows beneath its own creation. A cut-off meander bend was found to the right side of this bridge where we enjoyed lunch.

There was only one place where the trail ascended out of the bed of the creek and that led to this narrow, high neck of land where we gazed in wonder at the huge bend that is entrenched into the Navajo Sandstone.















A beautiful waterfall descends over ledges in the Kayenta Formation. We wewre only about two miles from the Escalante River but the day was getting long and we still had to retrace our steps back to camp.

Beautiful patterns created by the stream in the sand.

Beginning our way out of this watery and rocky paradise.















One night while camped in our cozy alcove, we heard the unmistakable crash of a rockfall somewhere in the canyon. The next day we saw the evidence for it and although it was quite small compared to the size of the canyon, we gingerly scuttled away knowing that the canyon is constantly becoming larger.















I've always wondered what the surface of a 'desert tapestry' looked like and the rockfall allowed us a view of the rather thick mat of lichens and moss that make up these black streaks















A look at a beautiful bend containing the tell-tale signs of a spring - maidenhair ferns.















Our group in Coyote Gulch.

"Ancient Landscapes" and "Images" Win Awards!

This past Saturday, May 9, I attended the annual Arizona book awards presented by the Arizona Book Publishers Association. The event was held on the top floor of the Chase Tower in downtown Phoenix and was attended by about 80 people. I am happy to report that my books won three first place awards and my publisher, the Grand Canyon Association, won a special award for Excellence in Publishing. Here is the group's web site announcing the awards.

"Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau," co-authored with Ron Blakey won a Glyph Award in the Science/Environment category. "Images," co-authored with Jack Dykinga and Charles Bowden won two Glyphs in the categories of Nature/Environment and Coffee Table/Large Format. These awards were judged by librarians across the state and book store managers who track interest in new books. The awards are significant because they highlight the interest that people have for readily accessible geologic information.

You can also follow this link to Lee Allison's blog for more information of the awards.

Here are the photo's.

A scene from the awards dinner. From left, Kathryn Conrad and Holly Schaffer, both of the University of Arizona Press, and Gwen Henson, the Executive Director of the Arizona Book Publishers Association.


Here I am with the first Glyph for "Images"


Helen Thompson accepted the award for "Ancient Landscapes" on behalf of the Grand Canyon Association


Wayne and Helen with two of the three trophies


Glyph Awards, 2009

A Geology Class in the Henry Mountains

During the last week of April, I took 13 students from Coconino Community College on a six-day field trip to the Henry Mountains in Utah (GLG 298). It is a very unique area that is remote, little visited, and full of surprises. We explored the Mt. Hillers stock, the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef, some nearby slot canyons, and other geo-gems along the way. Take a look.  

Here we are, the 14 of us outside the Mt. Hillers stock for a group shot. We are seated on an upturned, vertical fin of sandstone within the Jurassic Morrison Formation.

Mt. Hillers is the middle of five separate laccolithic intrusions. These features are not volcanic but rather were intruded into the sedimentary rocks as sills, which later became inflated into subsurface domes.

Our target on the first day was to visit the very place where the beds of sandstone were upturned by the intrusion. The red beds are Wingate and Navajo Sandstone. 

My goal for the class was to hike into the upturned beds and visit the contact of a sill with the redbeds. It was very tough going on an off trail route but we managed to find it. Note the students climbing in the lower part of the photo.

Here we are taking a short rest at the contact. Somewhat surprisingly contact metamorphism is not prevalent in these types of intrusions.

Jean admires the power of magma to upturn beds of sandstone 

After completing the hike, we drove around Mt. Hillers on a loop road through Stanton Pass. Here is a view of Mt. Ellen, the highest peak in the Henry Mountains at 11,522 feet. 

Along Straight Creek we saw our first outcrop of the Summerville Formation. Its even bedding makes it one of the most attractive units on thew whole Colorado Plateau.

Starting out on the second full day of the trip, we drove on the Egg Nog Road to the southwest of Mt. Hillers. The Henry structural basin displays Cretaceous rocks like these.

We passed an oyster shell reef within the Dakota Sandstone and stopped to take a look. These are from a species known as Gryphea newberryi, common name "Devil's toes." 

Beautiful exposure of the Mancos Shale capped with the Ferron Sandstone near the southeastern edge of Capitol Reef National Park. 

The great Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park. Crustal compression during the Laramide Orogeny (70 to 40 Ma) caused the once flat-lying strata to become bent or folded into this spectacular structure. Beds from the Triassic Moenkopi Formation (top right) to the Jurassic Morrison Formation (left cliff) are exposed in this view. 

There is a trail that leads down into Hall's Creek and we took the 800 foot plunge. Along the way we observed very coarse conglomerates in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation. 

These clasts were derived from mountains to the west and south in late Jurassic time and the dinosaurs found these river environments to their liking.

Next on our list was a trip to the Burr Trail, an old uranium haul road from the 1950's that climbs the Waterpocket Fold. Note the road visible in the lower sections of the photo. 

Most folks just drive the Burr Trail but geology students want to walk the route (downhill of course) to view the wonderful geology. Here students inspect the contact between the lower Kayenta Formation and the capping Navajo Sandstone. 

On the way back to camp, we took the southern extension of the Burr Trail into the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The road followed a high ridge between Hall's Creek and Bullfrog Creek seen here. It was an amazing drive! The bright orange unit near the creek bed is the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, and it is capped by the banded Summerville Formation and the Morrison Formation.

Day three saw us exploring some slot canyons on the east side of the Henry's. This is Butler Canyon just east of North Wash.

Mary Lea is checking out this channel that was cut within the Kayenta Formation. Note the lower bed of sandstone and the channel-form she is sitting on. The deposits within the channel have wonderful examples of mud rip-up clasts.

This is a close-up of some rip-up clasts in the fluvial Kayenta Formation. We saw mudstone in place that had filled stream channels. Later, this mudstone was ripped up to yield mud clasts like those seen above. It was real dynamic.

Gisela found these ripple marks in an eroded bed of Kayenta Formation

Students walking along the cross-beds in the Navajo Sandstone 

We found a slot canyon and hiked up into it This was our lunch spot in the canyon