BELOW IS SHOWN THE CLASSIFICATION OF FORMATIONS FOUND IN THE MESOZOIC:
An interesting drive, using a 4WD vehicle, is that to the Grand Canyon North Rim into the “AZ strip”. This is shown on the location map above, and is a 67 km foray (UT border to Toroweep Point) via the BLM road from Pipe Springs. You are going up in elevation along the way, and the Toroweep Park overlooks the Colorado River in piney woods. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is remote, but the Toroweep or Tuweep section of the North Rim is 2.5 hours from any kind of civilization. Situated at 4550' the point rarely gets snow. Unlike the North Rim, the BLM 5 road to Tuweep is open year round, but may be impassible if wet. Call the ranger station, before travel, to obtain road conditions: 928-638-7875.
Along the way, we will pass Mt. Trumbull- a late Tertiary extrusion. It is now inactive, but we will try to determine whether the rotation of the Crust near the Colorado river is still active, and WHETHER to anticipate further emissions from the large volcano. The best reference we have now is that the Kaibab Plateau is rising, and therefore rotating CCW. A curve in the river's path which is concave is a sinking path, but there are many and we first must determine the larger event, before using the small gyrations of the river (from one bank or side to the other):
BELOW ARE COMMENTS ABOUT INTERESTING GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES TO BE VIEWED LOCALLY: Mount Trumbull Wilderness
Forests cover the basalt-rock slopes of Mt. Trumbull (8,028 feet), the centerpiece of this 7,900-acre wilderness located northwest of Toroweap. Oak, pinyon pine, and juniper woodlands grow on the lower slopes; ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, and some aspen cover the higher and more protected areas. Kaibab squirrels, introduced in the early 1970s, flourish in the forests. You might see or hear a turkey, too. The 5.4-mile roundtrip climb to the summit makes an enjoyable forest ramble with some views through the trees. From the marked trailhead at an elevation of 6,500 feet on the southwest side of Mt. Trumbull, the wide path climbs around to the south side, with some good views across Toroweap Valley, the Grand Canyon, and the San Francisco Peaks. The trail then turns north and becomes faint, but cairns show the way to the summit, marked by a survey tower and some viewpoints. You can reach the trailhead by County Road 5 from Toroweap, Fredonia, Colorado City, or St. George; you'll know that you're close when ponderosa pines appear. The buildings and trailers across the field belong to a BLM site; if staff are in, they may be able to help with local information.
John Wesley Powell named Mt. Trumbull and nearby Mt. Logan after U.S. senators. Mormon pioneers built a steam-powered sawmill just west of the trailhead in 1870 to supply timbers for the St. George Temple. A historic marker describes the sawmill operation, and you can explore the site for the scant remnants. Water from Nixon Spring, higher on the slopes, once supplied the sawmill. A faucet near the road between the historic site and trailhead usually has water from the spring—a welcome sight for travelers in this arid land. Be sure to treat the water, as it doesn't meet drinking standards.
Mount Logan Wilderness
Scenic features of this 14,600-acre volcanic region include Mt. Logan (7,866 feet), other parts of the Uinkaret Mountains, and a large natural amphitheater known as Hell's Hole. Geology, forests, and wildlife resemble those of Mt. Trumbull, a short distance to the northeast. A road climbs the east side of Mt. Logan to within a half mile of the summit; the rest of the way is an easy walk—just continue north along the side of the ridge. On top you can peer into the vast depths of Hell's Hole, a steep canyon of red and white rock. The sweeping panorama takes in much of the Arizona Strip and beyond to mountains in Nevada and Utah. Trees block views to the south.
From County 5, just southeast of the Mt. Trumbull trailhead, turn southwest 4.2 miles on BLM Road 1044, then right 2.2 miles on BLM Road 1064 until it becomes rough and steep at its end. Many fine spots suitable for camping lie along the roads in ponderosa pines.
A rough 4WD road follows a corridor through the wilderness, from which hikers can turn south onto the old Slide Mountain Road (closed to vehicles) or enter Hell's Hole from below. You'll need to follow a map closely, as none of these destinations will be signed; roads also branch off to other unsigned areas, adding to the navigational challenge. Loose rock and erosion of the corridor road require a high-clearance 4WD; it's slow going, but the road continues all the way down to the Whitmore Wash Road 1045, one mile north of the Bar 10 Ranch.
BACK TO THE ANALYSIS, I HAVE SELECTED EXAMPLES OF CORIOLIS ROTATIONS WHICH ARE OBVIOUS (LOOK FOR CIRCULAR CONFIGURATIONS ON THE GOOGLE EARTH PHOTO), CCW FOR ONE AT MT. TRUMBULL, AND CW FOR ONE ON AN UNFORESTED AREA- WHICH IS LOWER IN ELEVATION. THERE ARE MANY CORIOLIS ROTATIONS IN THIS AREA NEAR THE COLORADO RIVER- WHICH IS A PATH FOR LATERAL FAULTING CONTAINING LARGE MOVEMENTS (AND THEREFORE VULCANISM, WHENEVER THE ROTATION IS OUT OF SYNCHRONIZATION WITH NEIGHBORING CRUST):
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE OF A SINK BEING SURROUNDED BY A CIRCULAR FEATURE IS SHOWN BELOW. THIS IS NOT THE BEST EXAMPLE, SINCE THERE IS INTERFERENCE BY ANOTHER CELL TO THE NORTH. THIS DEMONSTRATES THE COMPLEXITY OF GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES WHICH EXIST NEAR AN ACTIVE ROTATING AND LATERALLY-MOVING SEGMENT OF CRUST:
CONTINUING, BELOW ARE MORE PHOTOS FOR SIGHTS AND SITES TO INVESTIGATE:
SOME CLOSEUP PHOTOS ARE SHOWN BELOW:
AN INTERESTING FEATURE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF BOTH MECHANICS AND THE GEOLOGY CULTURE, IS THAT OF LAVA FALLS- WHICH SPILLED OVER INTO THE GRAND CANYON. THE USUAL QUESTION IS: WHY DID NOT THE VOLCANO ERUPT IN THE RIVER BED, SINCE THAT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED ABOUT 2000 PSI LESS UPWARD PRESSURE TO EMERGE? THE ANSWER IS FOUND BY THE CORIOLIS SHEAR CIRCLES. MOST OF THE CASES I HAVE ANALYZED HAVE HAD THE LATERAL FAULTING (SHEAR AND ROTATION) OCCUR UNDER THE RIVER BED- WHICH THE RIVER HAS FOUND TO BE THE MOST EASILY ERODED. BUT OCCASIONALLY THERE IS ANOTHER FACTOR, SUCH AS INTERFERENCE FROM A SECONDARY ENTITY- WHICH DIVERTS THE RIVER. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS FOUND NEAR ANDERSON JUNCTION (I-15 FREEWAY AT HURRICANE FAULT AND B&R LATERAL FAULT), WHERE THE TWO GREAT FAULTS DIVERGE, WITHOUT EXISTING ALONG A RIVER PATH. IN THIS CASE, LAVA EMERGES FROM THE EXTENSION AT THE DIVERGENCE LOCATION "Y" BECAUSE THE LAVA COULD HAVE BEEN AT A NORMAL TEMPERATURE AT THE DEPTH AT WHICH IT ORIGINATED, AND THEN MERELY EMERGED BECAUSE OF THE OVERBURDEN BEING SHEARED OR WEAKENED. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE CASE FOR LAVA FALLS. THE LAVA TOOK THE PATH OF GREAT FRACTURES OR OPENINGS AND MERELY EMERGED. THIS WAS EVIDENTLY NOT IN THE RIVER BED. THERE IS MOVEMENT, SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF THE MOGOLLON RIM, WHICH MOVES THE PRESENT PATH OF SHEARING WITH TIME- TO THE NORTH. THIS IS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR THE HURRICANE FAULT, WHERE THE FAULT PRESENTS A TALL SCARP, WHICH REPRESENTS A FRICTIONAL ENTITY FOR EARTH TIDES TO MOVE WEST (BY DAILY FRICTION WITH GRAVITATIONAL ATTRACTION FROM THE MOON) RELATIVE TO OTHER LOW ELEVATION FEATURES. Hf MOVES WESTWARD AT THE TOP RELATIVE TO THE BASE, AND PRESENTS AN ALMOST VERTICAL SCARP. THIS IS AIDED BY THE MANTLE- WHICH IS SLOWED BY TIDES LESS THAN THE CRUST. WITH THE MANTLE SHOVING THE BASE OF THE CRUST EASTWARD, AND THE TOP OF THE CRUST AT Hf BEING DRAGGED WESTWARD BY TIDAL FRICTION, THE OVERALL RESULT IS A TILTED Hf, TILTING SUFFICIENTLY TO OFFSET EROSION TRYING TO ROUND OFF OR DEGRADE THE SCARP.
You can REMEMBER ALL THIS BY THE ACRONYM "MADMACS"- MANTLE DRAG, MOUNTAIN AUGMENTED CRUSTAL SHOVE.
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