Black Canyon of the Gunnison #1

by Gregory Scott

Title

Black Canyon of the Gunnison #1

Artist

Gregory Scott

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

This very high resolution view of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a very wide angle panorama. It has been enhanced to dramatize the veins in the rock that help you see the geological uniqueness of this site. It is also quite tall, so that you can see deep into the canyon. It's hard to appreciate just how steep this canyon is, but it is deeper, in proportion to its width, than any large canyon in the United States. The reason for this is that the rock is very old, and has been repeated "invaded" by magma under extreme pressure. Converted into stronger metamorphic rock by repeated heating and cooling under high pressure, with any cracks being "reinforced" by magma has made very strong rocks, so this rock formation is one of the strongest that exists. These rocks can therefore be carved by erosion into extremely steep canyons, and withstand the forces which tend to widen the canyon due to rocks cracking under the extreme pressure difference that exist where there are tall cliffs. For more information, read about it at this website:

http://www.nps.gov/blca/naturescience/geology.htm

Note that similar "tempered" rocks, with similar geological history, also help make Yosemite Valley such a remarkable geological formation.

Uploaded

November 18th, 2013

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