Bonnie Rannald's Photo-Explorations in focus with nature. : Spring Mountains

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
Part One of a Three Part Series

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area lies west of Las Vegas, Nevada in the Mojave Desert and covers 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land. To extensively explore Red Rock Canyon, we must take a voyage back in history to a time around 600 million years ago, when this area was buried under an ancient sea.

Living within the sea, a unique ecosystem of marine life contributed calcium from their bodies that when combined with the minerals from the sea would eventually form deposits giving us the limestone and dolomites that we now call Red Rock.

Today, Turtlehead Peak towers above the surrounding desert as a remnant of the ancient sea with its limestone beds formed from the marine life during the Paleozoic Era.

Moving forward in time to the Age of the Dinosaurs, 225 million years ago, tectonic shifts caused the earth to move and the sea bed to rise. Rocks, exposed over time oxidized, (rusted) and are now part of the red and orange Moenkopi Formation that is visible across the western U. S.

After many years the climate began to turn arid and around 180 million years ago, the Red Rock area was becoming a desert. Sand blown in by the winds was accumulating in massive shifting sand dunes that stretched for hundreds of miles, thousands of feet in height. Over time, the harsh ever changing winds etched patterns as seen in the Aztec Sandstone of Calico Hills.

Alternating hues of red, white and yellow in the Aztec Sandstone are thought to be the result from groundwater churning through the sand and leaching out oxidized iron.

Iron oxide and calcium carbonate interacted with windblown sand and water, solidifying rock and creating intricate designs.

The colorful Spring Mountains, an escarpment 20 miles long (32km) and around 3,000 feet high (914.4m) are thought to be the western-most extension of the Navajo Sandstone of the Colorado Plateau. The vivid reds, dark maroons and lighter tones of buff stand out across the eastern flank of the Spring Mountains, with contrasting greens of Piñon and juniper thriving at their base.

During the monsoon season, water rushes through cracks in the cliff walls creating waterfalls that cascade down hundreds of feet to the streams below.

Sculpted by the elements of wind, water, sand and intense desert heat, Red Rock stands as a unique creation by nature's hand. Red Rock as we know it today is a thriving ecosystem, so interconnected and so full of life.

http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Canyon_National_Conservation_Area

Follow this blog for upcoming post,

Part II Aquifers in Red Rock Canyon

What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been. I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences.

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

"Reflecting Nature's Artistry"

Many of these images are available on my website:

http://www.bonnierannald.com/

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Nevada, Land of Snow Capped Mountains

From deserts to the alpine forests,

Nevada lives up to its Spanish name of "snow fall"

I have mentioned my adopted state of Nevada so often when posting photographs that I thought it might be interesting to provide some background information on Nevada. The local pronunciation for Nevada is with a short "a", like in cat and never with the long "a" Ne-vah-da, that is often heard on TV or in the movies. Nevada is referred to as the "Silver State" because one of the largest silver lodes in the world was found at the Comstock Mine in Virginia City. It is also know as the "Battle Born State", which is proudly displayed on the deep blue state flag from achieving statehood in 1864 during the Civil War.

The word Nevada is Spanish, meaning snow fall. The name came from the Spanish explorers after they saw the many tall snowcapped mountains that include 172 summits with 2,000 feet (610m) of prominence, making Nevada the most mountainous state in the U.S. Many of the mountain peaks are above 13,000 feet (4,000m), with the valleys no lower in elevation than 3,000 feet (910m).

The Spring Mountains are the largest mountain range in Southern Nevada and lie west of Las Vegas in the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area, which is in the Mojave Desert.

With the summer temperatures in Southern Nevada reaching well over 100°f (37.7°c), the winters can be cold and bring snow to the higher elevations and even the desert floor. The Aztec Sandstone of Calico Hills stands out against the occasional winter snow storm in the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. No matter what the weather, the 10,000 acre (4,000 ha) Red Rock Conservation Area is a must see when visiting Las Vegas. The one-way 13 mile (21 km) paved loop is open during day light hours, providing vehicle access to hiking and interpretive trails.

In Northern Nevada, the Sierra Nevada Mountains run for 400 miles (640 km) north to south, through Nevada and California, and are around 70 miles (110 km) across, east to west. The highest peak of the Sierras is Mount Humphreys near Bishop, California and stands at almost 14,000 feet (4,300 km).

Lake Tahoe is set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is the largest alpine lake in North America. Located along the border of California and Nevada, Tahoe has a surface elevation of 6,225 feet (1,897m) and a depth of 1,645 feet (591m), making it the second deepest lake in the U.S. after Oregon's Crater Lake.

Nevada is certainly a state of contrast with its 110,561 sq miles reaching from parts of Death Valley to the Alpine Lake Tahoe. With a population of 2.7 million, the 7th. largest state is only the 35th most populous state. With so much open space and a warm temperate climate, the State of Nevada is a place for adventure with a lot of nature to explore.

Follow my blog and check back often to see where my next photo-adventure takes me!

For more information on the State of Nevada:

http://travelnevada.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada

http://bonnierannald.blogspot.com/2009/07/weather-tales-of-alpine-lake.html