Detail of Structural Rearrangements to N of Crater

A Young Hogback has been Created by Surface Sediments rotating into the void left by Magma evacuation (greatest along the Hurricane Fault)

Ancient and Current Earth Movements near Hurricane and its namesake Fault
Refer to accompanying photos, to see the movements revealed in the rocks outcropping near the lands bordering the Hurricane Fault, Hf: S 26, 27, 34 & 35, T41S, R13W, Utah.
Hikes and Field Trips during the years 2004-07, by our local Earth Science group ( www.PorOgle.blogspot.com ), have shown that the Earth’s Crust is moving continuously in the region near Hf, in several ways:
1. The Colorado Plateau, CP, is uplifting- relative to the Basin and Range, B&R, to the west- along Hf;
2. Additional subsidence along the same fault occurs on the west side, due to past evacuation of magma through several vents. Although the vulcanism is not active now, the shrinkage of the cooling subsurface rock causes the overlying surface rock to sink into the contracting space and form Hogbacks running north to south, N-S (more so near the fault);

Look Carefully, and you will see changes in dip on the west side of the Hogback, as distance from nearby vents increases

3. CP, in addition to uplifting, is rotating along Hf in a right lateral manner, as shown by slickensides on the east side of Hf;
4. There is undulation of the rock segments along Hf, where some crust moves more than its neighboring outcrops. This creates lenses of contrasting-movement rock, as well as grabens along Hf;
5. There are large fracture systems which intersect Hf, creating multi-faulting segments in the outcrops. These appear to trace NW-SE, contrasting with the N-S trending Hf. At the intersection there is instability, such as in the Laverkin quarry. One such trace moves SE from the Pine Valley Mountains, PVM, along the Wet Sandy Creek towards Toquerville (possibly feeding the Ash Creek Spring there), and then traces along Hf until reaching the quarry- where the trace moves SE toward the large fissures above the Virgin River, near the diversion dam west of the town of Virgin;
6. The Crust occasionally shakes from unknown causes, with earthquakes, such as happened in 1992; and,
7. There is abnormal expansion due to geothermal activity, such as that at Pah Tempe and near the Veyo volcanic cone.
8. Large scale fracture systems, which by definition have little movement along them, exhibit shear in NW-SE linears and probably maintain openings in the sheared rock- so that fluids may move slowly along the linears.
All of the above movements or tendencies manifest themselves in the rocks as shown in accompanying photos. The trick is to verify the movements by looking at what appears to be static earth, but is in actuality motion at a rate which the eye cannot directly determine. Rather, the motion must be found from clues such as open fissures, inability of erosion to keep up with the uplift or downdrop, unsteady abnormal temperatures, spring water anomalies, strange rock movements, and landslides.


Dip Irregularities are noticeable along the West edge of the Hogback (looking north)


Basalt Flows entered the ancient Virgin River, as well as through Faults and Fractures

Grand Geological View to N, from Hurricane Crater

Looking North along Hurricane Fault

Looking N across Virgin River presents Turmoil to West and CP undisturbed Beds to East (across Hurricane Fault)

NW Hurricane has a Crater with a low Rim remaining (beside Gould's Wash)

Young Meanders in an actively-uplifting Area- Hurricane, UT

The large View of the Sky Mountain Golf Rim and its nearby Meander, above the Virgin River

Closeup View of Meander and Conglomerates

How can the Virgin River have a “youthful” Meander, in an area (Zion Highlands and Hurricane Fault) which has been uplifting for millions of years?

Meanders are created in streams which are old (for the sections of rivers where they occur). A meander requires that there be almost no stream gradient, that is, the velocity of the water is low enough to prevent active downcutting of the river bed- rather, the stream works sluggishly and laterally as in the Mississippi River, seen in lower Louisiana (almost at sea level elevation).

The Hogback northwest of the Virgin shows the severity of the slopes due to compression (uplift and Buckling)

An area which is uplifting will develop a high energy stream- with a rapid current. This will not allow a meander to develop. However, accompanying photos show not only a meander below Sky Mountain Golf course in Hurricane, but also flat and level conglomerates or sandstones which would be typical for a place where the sediments were dumped (the current was reduced to near zero, and its sediment load was placed in the river bed). The Virgin River is known to become violent sometime during each year, either when the snow melt washes down, or during the summer monsoon when violent storms develop. How then, did the large meander and its flat and level conglomerates form (in this area of ancient beds which are rapidly changing in elevation, with obvious drastic slopes and cliffs)?


Cooling Cracks create Hexagonal Columns, as the lava shrinks (Similar to Mud Cracks forming multi-sided blocks- but due to shrinkage by drying rather than cooling)
The answer is found by looking at the vulcanism which is also presented in the photos. Melted Basalt flows similarly to river water- running into the low elevation locations and displacing water (in the city limits of Hurricane, there are at least 3 young volcanic craters with age less than 200,000 years). This creates a damming of the previous river and develops a lake in its place. A lake has no noticeable current, and any sediment flowing down from nearby rivers would drop to the bottom- creating a sedimentary bed. A conglomerate is one type of deposit, indicating that indeed the streams feeding the lake had high energy (enough to bring in large boulders), but that the lake had a sluggish velocity. This low energy stream would create a meander, and the surrounding cliffs would be subject to wave action of the lake and to softening due to ice and annual weather- allowing the river loop or oxbow to enlarge sideways. This is a Meander and it would be restricted by the surrounding pre-existing cliffs and volcanic deposits. Incidentally, a meander is named after the original feature in Turkey seen by me, in the Menderes (a family name, made famous by a recent Turkish Premier) River- over which the ancient town of Ephesus presides.

Conglomerates (Cobbles and Boulders) are flat and almost level on both sides of the Meander

Eventually the water in the lake raises enough to broach the volcanic dam downstream, after which the increasing current would not only downcut the previous conglomerates but straighten the river. The first noticeable remains of this action is one of several canyons cutting the beds younger than (on top of) the conglomerates, where the river is low enough in elevation, to allow the youngest sediments to remain for us to see.
Look through the series of photos, to determine whether you can see the sequence of events, occurring over the last 100,000 years:
1. Sudden damming of the Virgin River by a basalt flow;

Volcanic Basalts flows are heavy and dark, filling the low spots where the Virgin resided- creating a dam for a Meander

2. Creation of a conglomerate bed, which is almost flat and level, at an almost constant elevation over the length of the meander;

View of Plc conglomerates on south side of Meander

View of the Plc Conglomerates on north side of Meander

3. Breaching of the volcanic dam, allowing the river to downcut previous beds and basalts;


4. Formation of small canyons in the beds in the center of the meander, as the rapidly-flowing water eroded the lake bed and surroundings;

5. Creation of side canyons, still continuing today, an example of which is Gould’s Wash flowing from the Hurricane Fault on the east side of town; and
6. Downcutting of the whole area by a fast-moving Virgin River, creating deep canyons and steep banks in the area of the volcanic basalts.


Before the vulcanism, there were flat and almost level sandstones of about 200,000 years age- which are seen on both sides of the Virgin River



Gould's Wash (A Canyon in this location) has eroded rapidly into the Virgin- showing how fast the fractured basalt shears



When first breached, the river level was higher- cutting small washes into the youngest sediments

Recent Vulcanism in Hurricane, UT

A grand view of The Hurricane Fault, Permian Kaibab Peak, Pk,and Sullivan's Knoll, SK, may be seen from Santa Fe Springs Fossil Dunes, Jn (Jurassic Navajo Sandstone), near Sand Hollow Reservoir:

Telephoto Image (above)of SK shown in wide field below:

View to NE of Sullivan's Knoll, from Santa Fe Springs (Notice the gradual basalt slope downward to the North):


Last Eruption (Sullivan’s Knoll) of Hurricane vulcanism:

Sullivan’s Knoll (SK) - an approximately 10 kybp (thousand years before present) crater- lies on the west side of Hurricane and was the last of at least three volcanoes to erupt within the present city limits. There are two other cones closer to the center of town which are older- on the order of 100 kybp- but they are much more eroded and show little of the original crater.
SK has most of its crater remaining, but the north side has been breached by erosion from rainfall. It is composed mainly of ash and lapilli- attesting to its more violent nature, as contrasted to the base, which is mainly basalt. The violence of the eruption is caused by large amounts of silica (volcanic glass), compared to relatively quiet flows at its base- which have large amounts of iron- and which flowed similarly to slag in a blast furnace.
That the basalt flows, which are older than the crater, came from south of the SK, can be seen in the accompanying pictures; the slope shows a downward trend towards the present Virgin River, from south of SK (where there are at least two older eroded basalt vents). These indicate that the basalt came first, and finally the explosive SK.

Considering that a melt of magma has risen from the bottom of the Earth’s Crust, or from the Upper Mantle just below the Crust, it is expected that the composition would contain more iron- which contributes to the heavy basaltic rock, and which is characteristic of Mantle material. Most of the Colorado Plateau eruptions are basaltic, which yield the characteristic dark color and higher density of these non-dangerous flows. These are similar to that on the big island of Hawaii, where Life has sufficient time to avoid the 2000 degree lavas. The explosive blasts, such as would come from SK, would be more sudden and dangerous. Further, they would be accompanied by noxious gases- which can kill. The older basalts have been measured for radioactive decay time since flow, and found to be somewhat less than 200 kybp in age. They would have flowed toward the low elevation of the area- that is the Virgin River of that ancient time. The photos show that the top of the basalts decreases in elevation to the north.

What about the explosive eruptions, which formed Sullivan’s Knoll? Shouldn’t they have arrived earlier, since they have more silica (which comes from shallower rock melting- such as sandstone)? As magma moves upward from the deep crust, it will incorporate the surrounding sedimentary rock into its melt, and form a volatile upper melt, and therefore blast out the melted glass, or silicates, first. The evidence indicates otherwise, that the basalt moved rapidly through large fractures and flowed out first- not having had time to incorporate the wall rock significantly. The magma, having lost some of its impetus, then slowly incorporates the surrounding sandstones and builds a more explosive mix- which comes last. A similar feature has been found on the Hawaiian Islands, where the last feature to occur on a volcanically-formed island is an explosive crater on the SE side of the otherwise dying magma-formed island. Later, or frequently earlier than the explosive cone, the basalt flows occur further to the SE on a new island.
What causes violent volcanic eruptions (compared to quiet slow flows such as with Basalt)?
The explosive eruptions are caused by the contribution of the shallow crust to the magma via sandstones and shales. But sandstones do not occur on Pacific Islands until the older basalts have been attacked by weathering processes to yield higher silica fraction sediments (quartz or silica- as in sand- remains practically insoluble, while feldspars and irons are dissolved in seawater). These sediments can then be incorporated into shallow magmas to form explosive eruptions such as Diamond Head or Koko Head, to the SE of the earlier basaltic eruptions (In addition, there is the complication of precipitation moving downward on a mountainous island- to cause steam explosions).
How to get There (SK is in S5 T42S R13W):
State road 9, which is the Hurricane Hiway from I-15 and St. George, allows a view of SK, from the road. To get to the location of the photos, take Sand Hollow Reservoir road south from highway 9 (the Santa Fe housing development road) turning at Santa Fe Springs Road to the east. There is an outcrop of Navajo Sandstone protruding on the otherwise rolling ground, which you can climb to view the Sand Hollow Park to the south or the Pine Valley Mountains to the north.
Navajo ss. or Jn (Jurassic Navajo sandstone) is a fossil sand dune deposit of about 150 mybp age. It was formed by the wind blowing from the north, as can be seen by studying the cross-bedding (the blowing sand falling away from the wind over the crest of the dune is preserved, and this is the downwind direction).
Influence of Latitude on prevailing wind direction, fgr a round globe:
How is it possible that the prevailing wind in those ancient years came from the north? Nowadays, the prevailing wind blows from the southwest. The answer lies in the formation of dominant wind patterns on the globe, according to the 30 degree latitude spread in which the rocks are formed. The first 30 degrees north of the Equator has winds blowing from the north at the surface of the earth, the next 30-60 degrees has wind blowing from west (varying over the year from NW to SW, which is the wind noticed now). These fossil dunes tell us with this single piece of information that Dixie and its sand dunes were in latitudes close to the Equator at that time, and that the land containing these rocks has since moved to the next higher latitude band- which geologists now realize occurs due to the crust moving northward, as it still is doing with the Pacific Crustal plate heading toward Alaska!
When you take an outing to the Sand Hollow Park and reservoir, make a left turn and climb the Jn fossil dunes to first view the beautiful lake, the fairly young volcanic cone, and finally the ancient dunes where dinosaurs once trod.

Return to Dixie and its weather and Geopoetry

Grass Valley Flow Created a hogback, similarly to One in Laverkin by Ash Creek

Hurricane Fault Activity continued- Uplift of Colorado Plateau to the east, or Downdrop of the Basin and Range to the west?
(Fredonia GPS Station measures nearly 1 mm/year Rising, while Basins to the west are sinking between N-S ranges- Death Valley has some below Sea Level flats)

The omnipresent Raven Sees and witnesses ALL (but rarely reveals anything WORTHWHILE!)

THE RAVEN (Edgar A. Poe, and Tamarisk Tree in Death Valley)

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“Tis some visitor” I muttered, “rapping at my chamber door-
Only this and nothing more”
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I had sought the morrow, vainly I had hoped to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Nameless here forevermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each velvet curtain
Thrilled me, filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
“Tis some visitor entreating, entreating entrance to my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
This it is and nothing more”.
Presently my soul grew stronger: hesitating then no longer,
“Sir” said I “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and you so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping on my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you” Here I opened wide the door-
Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken, was the whispered word “Lenore!”
This I whispered and an echo murmured back the word “Lenore!”
Merely this and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely” said I “surely that is something at my window lattice,
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
Let my heart be still a moment, and this mystery explore-
Tis the wind and nothing more.”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he, not a moment stopped or stayed he,
But with mien of lord or lady perched above my chamber door-
Perched upon a bust of Pallas, just above my chamber door-
Perched and sat, and nothing more.
Then, this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou” said I “are sure no craven,
Ghastly, grim, and ancient Raven, wandering from the nightly shore;
Tell me what thy lordly name is, on the night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning, little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing, that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing birded bust above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust, just above his chamber door-
With such name as “Nevermore”
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered, not a feather then he fluttered;
Till I scarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have flown before;
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before”
Then the bird said, “Nevermore”

Startled by the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless” said I “what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master, whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster, till his songs one burden bore,
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of “Never-nevermore”.
Since the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore,
What this grim ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird just lastly swore
In croaking “Nevermore”

Thus I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl, whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom core,
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease inclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o’er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloated o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then methought, the air grew denser perfumed from an unknown senser
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
Wretch”, I cried “Thy God hath lent thee- by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite- respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!
Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”.

“Prophet!” said I, “Thing of evil! Prophet still if bird or devil!
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet still undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by Horror haunted- tell me truly I implore:
Is there- is there balm in Gilead? - tell me- tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
Prophet!” said I, “Thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or devil!”
By that Heaven that bends above us, by that God we both adore,
Tell this soul with sorrow laden, if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden, whom the angels name Lenore:
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked upstarting;
Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul has spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! Quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore!”
And the Raven never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- Nevermore.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49)

See Mary Tussel in a Blog posted earlier, for an indication that The Lost Lenore is "Lost, once more".

Beginning a new hiking season, we are once more stimulated by a view of the Colorado Plateau. An introduction to the CP is gained by riding the rivers- such as the San Juan, Green and the Colorado- to visualize large swatches of Utah and Arizona. Here are some writings, made while camping on the banks, during week-long forays:

The Green (Visibly noted as the Brown)

There was an old man from AZ,
Who thought he would just take a spree;
So he cleaned out his flat,
And lost all his fat- just to make ready, you see.

With copious enthusiasm he planned;
All superfluous motions he banned-
He filled out his beard,
E'en his toenails he sheared (all for a spree on the sand).

'Twould be in the year ninety-seven,
That the fling would be made to his heaven;
He would drive to the Green
And hope to be seen, with a crew of 3 plus eleven.

He would throw all his cares to the winds,
Would abandon all his graces for sins;
He would have a great time-
Even fashion a rhyme, and much later do all his amends.

The first evil omen he found
Was that raindrops were coating the ground,
And the crystal clear stream-
Being the heart of his dream- had turned up a chocolate brown.

The mosquitoes which relished the mud
Persisted e'en during a flood
They gnawed on his vitals,
Even relinquished all titles, so they could draft on his commoner's blood.

The sand which was central to Grace,
Was nowhere to be found in that place;
But not to be daunted
All the elements he taunted- his ashes now reside in a vase.

The boat promptly sub-marined down
Causing all the mosquitoes to drown;
But it took our ol' man
With his expression dead-pan, to Davy Jones' locker in Brown.

It was never quite clear, how his spirit so dear
Remained ever so strong in that realm;
But a smile on his face, remained TRANSFIXED in all space-
When his corpse was found strapped to the Helm!


Song of the River

Relentless, forceful, surging- goes the prelude
When I listen to the sounds
Of the Premier Western river, as it hastens ever seaward
On its annual cleansing rounds.

It has a duty, never ending
As it drives on to the sea,
To disperse the excess baggage
Which Living Things have caused to be.

How it sings about its’ seasons
As it goes about its’ chores-
First a whisper, then a babble,
Then a splashing along its’ shores.

Soon it’s surging, then it’s roaring-
As it widens in its’ prime-
Giving life to myriad creatures,
And a setting for a rhyme.

How it fits into the psyche
Of the artist on its’ bank-
Annual Rhythm, cleansing Ritual,
Life Renewal, Canyons dank.

But its’ Song is more possessing
For the Spirit of mankind
As it stimulates the Vital-
At the center of our mind.

No! The very Core of our existence
Which is very rarely struck,
Is soon singing with the River,
As our heartstrings get a pluck.


Finally, there’s a crashing- yea Crescendo,
As the cataracts soon give way
To the Bedrock of the lakebeds
Where serenity, as Life, manifests its final say.

San Juan River

The ghostly canyon walls so steep
Imbued my spirit, lacking sleep,
When the moon- yielding up its formless thought-
Gave hazy shadows (my attention caught)
On the waters (which they'd never keep).

Suffice it forever, now to say,
That those forms and shades that day
Would leave a frame of fantasy in my mind,
Which would never, never, e'er unwind
Till within the earth my soul they'd lay.

How soon my psyche quit the chase,
As the frames of thought did so erase
Those moonlit walls which took my view
And cast it far, but not askew,
To cause my heart to lose its' place.

But now those walls are far away
My heart has changed once more to stay
And so it seems ephemeral dreams
Are only mixed with common schemes-
To make the rainbows turn once more to grey.


A further introduction to the area is through its weather (this missive was penned during an AZ Christmas, to send to the hikers- compare this to a following one about Utah):


'Tis the Season to do Folly (sanitized)

'Twas the desert during Christmas, and all was deferred,
Not a creature was moving, not even a mouse stirred!
Down through the mountains, and all through the pass,
The calm night prevailed, 'cept for Donner’s belched gas.

I watched with amusement, with occasional cackles'
The scene in the desert, somewhat inhibited by the sheriff's new shackles.
The pack rats were carrying all the presents with glee,
'Specially the shiny ones, purloined from the tree.

The lynx and the bobcat were hot on his trail
And I suspect that ol' pack rat would lose a piece of his tail.
Further behind, and violently shaking his fist
Was the belabored gardener, who was thrown off the list.

He had hoped for Viagra, to raunch up the gopher,
So he'd work on the pussy cat- who was never a loafer.
But all he got was a handful of seeds-
Which upon closer inspection produced nothing 'cept weeds.

His fruit trees had been stripped of their produce that year,
By herds of omnipotent, free-ranging deer.
When he covered his thorns with rocks over mats,
He found this the perfect habitation for ground squirrels and rats.

With voluminous labor, he had covered his grapes
With great sheets of netting- many times he did traipse-
But the tiny green bird, which could climb through the web,
Ate them all very lustily- he could feel his life ebb.

His nuts- all his pecans- he had harbored them well;
The deer couldn't eat them- they were harder than hell!
But the exasperating grey jays, they had their own style-
They cleaned out the lot, carrying them more than a mile!

Whereas the desert had been reputed as a most fragile place,
After his appearance 'twas bonanza, for critters saying grace.
His melons were hollow, looking ripe from afar,
But the omnipotent gopher had bored 'neath them, 'thout leaving a mar.

His idyllic li'l plot, which promised independence,
Was reduced to black rot, after critter frequen-dance.
He then retreated to his hovel, where was heard his last whine,
Before he blasted all the critters with a remote-controlled mine.

The neighbors didn’t react to this with the greatest of glee,
At this act of self expression, in this land of the free.
So the sheriff soon appeared, just after forgiveness time-
Allowing the poor gardener access to the Barred of all rhyme.

So he gave up his thoughts of making great views
Of desert scrubland and raising fine brews.
He'd revert to enjoying and re-living the clean
Arizona-produced Christmases, through his cell window scene.


This was followed by Utah weather-inspired writings:


's tea's on, by Golly

It was blowing like Hell, and all thru the West
The weather was becoming altogether a Pest!
I pulled up my Bloomers, so delicate and fine
To avoid the wind's Rip-pence, sounding much like a whine.

They told me that Dixie was just like its name-
So warm (Desert-influenced), putting Northwest to shame.
But e'en before Winter, in fact early 'Vember,
I had put on four layers and stoked up the ember.

Hoping to take out the Chill, from this overbuilt house,
Which had shrunk ol' imported Rat, down to Kangaroo Mouse.
Evil Forces, from below, had shoved up a Range
With a name like Pine Valley- a Moniker so strange;

And when storms hit the crest, some two miles above-
They descended on my Homestead- entirely sans Love.
I now find that the Ancients weren't quite so Arcane,
When they plucked an appellation- now quaint "Hurricane".

I selected in mid-August, at heat one-one-seven,
This hotspot (like the Phoenix) which would winter like Heaven;
But now I'm soon getting a strong indication
That e'en before solstice, there'll be bone-ly vibration.

The Natives are inured to this Howling Sensation-
Considering it to be a most life-ly vocation;
But to my thin Dermis, most would agree
Utah's shrill Winds will not fill me with GLEE!

This was followed by an additional one about the hottest weather, the following summer:

Hurricane in Summer

I see from my magazine, that you are a-burning
A-burning my backyard, just a mile from my home.
Come stay on the back slopes, and satisfy my yearning-
My yearning to extract my house from the firefighter’s foam.

I thought to go natural, I thought to go free-
In Utah’s prime desert, in Zion’s bright scene,
Where the earth would speak frankly, and I could walk thank-ly,
While the soft breezes fanned me, over red rocks pristine.

But I hobbled most weakly- just as I strode weekly,
O’er conglomerate and sandstone, as followers would see.
My legs (76ers) were hospital fixers,
I was propped up so masterfully by the dispensary.

Serendipity has restored me- all my friends have deplored me,
They jeer from the sidelines, they point with great pride,
At my swaying torso, my waistline made more-so,
They hasten to note that my intellect’s no bride.

Soon, I’ll return gracefully, soon I’ll return true-
To the land of my Earth Model,
The great Fault I’ll again coddle,
Before reaching ambient temperature, ‘neath the skyline so blue.

Termination of Salmon Season and return to UT via Mammoth L. ,CA

Glenn Wasson’s Hiking Pole rejoinder:

A hiker whose tastes were baroque
Made a cane of poisonous Oak.
No one understood
This was the real wood
People thought it was a knotty old joke.

Glenn offered $20 to the one naming the tree trunk from which his staff was carved- Anita correctly guessed Poison Oak, and gleefully claimed the Prize (after everyone else had failed). Notice that they are standing on columnar basalts, which appear as floor tiles, after they were smoothed by mountain glaciers in the last Ice Age!


The Mono Lake has no fish, but abundant brine shrimp and flies


Petroglyphs near the Village of Chalfont (North of Bishop, CA) are vastly different than Anasazi (note the unusual symbol of a "leaking Gourd").



Owed to the Lagoon-a Point well taken
(Composed near Lagoon Point, Whidbey Island, where I caught over 100 pounds of Silver and Pink salmon this season).

O, massive salmon in your lair
I cast a treble note in the air;
It zinged, it hummed, it made a spell,
It rang in rhythm, like a bell.
You saw the flash, you saw the lure,
You took the symbol to conjure
A symbol of the future brood-
That you would broadcast while in mood-
But you have harmonized with a man,
And now you feed a larger PLAN-
Your genes will implant about my mind
A greater view of all your kind;
I'll cast again a larger thing-
An icon which will certain bring
A greater prosperity for us all,
So both will stand, and neither fall.

Harold L. Overton

Mammoth Lakes Pleistocene Movements

An Alpine Meadow (Sierras, from Berkeley, 1967)
A splash of yellow on a field of green
Caused the bees to stir-
Raising hopes of winter honey,
Where snapdragons previously were…

Sunlit slopes and fragrant air
Keep the bees a-hum
Raising petal fetishes,
Where the bees are from.

What is your secret of activity
All the summer long?
I hope to break the meadow code
Of your flower song.

Harold L. Overton






Mammoth Lakes Elderhostel (Sept. 16-21, 07)

A fisher named Fisher fished a fissure
For Brown Trout, a notable delight- a fish, sure!

But the fish, being fissile,
To the depths, went like a missile-
Pulling the fisher quite deep in the fissure.

The fish and his plan, readily outsmarted supercilious Man;
Now other fishers are fishing the fissure for ‘ol Fisher.
Harold L. Overton

Glenn Wasson and I made yet another Elderhostel, in the eastern part of California, to fit the Bishop fault and the vulcanism along it into my scheme of continent-wide fracturing and faulting.


Pleistocene Fissure trends North to South, N-S

The Long Valley (Mammoth Lake) caldera is in the general trend of young violent extrusions, such as Monocraters and others along the border of the Sierras adjoining the western edge of the Basin and Range province (found in Eastern California, Nevada, and Utah- as well as parts of AZ, ID, and NM).
The town of Mammoth Lake (a ski resort) lies on California state hiway 203, which is a dead-end road proceeding westward from Federal 395, near the town of Lee Vining. It lies south of Monocraters and Mono Lake, which are closer to Lee Vining in Eastern California.
The vulcanism in the Basin and Range province interior is mostly basaltic and slow-flowing, as opposed to that at the western boundary- such as the Mammoth Lake caldera, which is silicic and explosive (a caldera is larger than a crater, being classified as one with a diameter much larger than its height). This relates that the phenomenon is basically different on the edge of B&R compared to that in the interior. Even on the Colorado Plateau, most of the vulcanism on the side adjoining the B&R is basaltic in composition-indicating that the flows are high iron content, quiet, and slow compared to that on the California border. Mammoth and Monocraters contain light rocks (in both color and weight), such as tuffs and ash, and were drastic, violent, and sudden, in comparison. This empathizes that the mechanism is altogether different at the border of B&R relative to that in the interior of both the Colorado plateau (CP) and the B&R. What is the reason (or better, the fundamental mechanism) for the divergence of rates and composition? Of course, the initial reason for the two varying types of vulcanism is that of silica content- a high glass content, as in rhyolitic and andesitic magmas, produces a violent endpoint (similarly to glass-blowing), compared to the high iron content of basalt, which flows rather than explodes. This analysis hopes to advance a mechanism, and relate how it fits in with the understanding of the mechanism creating the CP.

Surface Observations about the Mammoth Lakes Caldera
A surface geographical map is shown below, as prepared by the Park Service, which indicates that the creeks and valleys orient either N-S or NW-SE mainly. We will test again whether the north to south orientations are created by stresses which are younger (as postulated in all of my other work around the CP).




The youngest craters and major faults do orient N-S, and these are shown in photos for Panum (estimated at 700 years), Mammoth craters (some 760k ybp), and the Bishop fault and its spurs. Silver Lake lies outside of the caldera, but exhibits a N-S fracture on its south side.

Silver Lake, outside the caldera, exhibits a N-S fracture

Even inside the multi-mile caldera, the hot creeks tend to orient similarly. However, Inyo Crater Lake orients in a NW direction, and we should test whether the fracture which produced it is older than 2 million years- the time of the reorientation of crustal stresses as shown in my previous work in this Blog.

INYO Crater exhibits a NW-SE trend, indicating a previous fracture orientation

There is also some regularity to the age of the various eruptions. For the latest cones and craters, there is a tendency for the sites to become more northerly with time- Panum near the south coast of Mono Lake being the latest. These are in the N-S trend of craters probably associated with the magma under the Long Valley series.

Mono Lake and Paoha Island show N-S trend of extrusions (Basalt Crater)
Outside of this trend, the older volcanoes appear more random, which could be because of the postulated change of the crustal stresses from NW to N-S at about the 2 mybp time. In this area, as well as in the Hurricane Fault region shown earlier in this Blog, there occur both NW and N-S faults, which may have bifurcated within this Pleistocene time.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The dominant trends of surface features orient either N-S or NW-SE, and the northerly orientation appears to be the younger.
2. The extrusions appear to move northerly with time, indicating an advancing fracturing and faulting trend for the Long Valley caldera;
3. The rocks are mainly more siliceous for this border of the Basin and Range- Sierra Uplift Province; and
4. The whole feature is actively heating, rising, and shearing now.