US National Parks
GEOLOGY AT KSU STARK

PHOTO GALLERY

 

US National Parklands are great places to explore GEOLOGY!

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

These structures are called hoodoos, and they are a result of weathering and erosion.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Arches, mesas, canyons, and buttes are all results of weathering and erosion.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Entrail pahoehoe lava forms from low viscosity flows.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Low viscosity lava flows tend to move quickly downslope.  Photo by the USGS.

 

Arches National Park, Utah

Arches form from weathering and erosion by water and were smoothed and sculpted by wind.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

Arches National Park

This ephedra plant, also called Mormon tea, is a primitive angiosperm, or flowering plant.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

At Mesa Verde, you can see Native American cliff dwellings and impressive sedimentary rocks.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park

The circular structures are kivas, used for religious and ceremonial purposes.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

back to top

 

Bryce Canyon National Park

This bristlecone pine tree is over 1000 years old.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Chaco Culture National Historic Park

The ruins of large pueblos, inhabited between AD 850 and1250, are preserved at this World Heritage site.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Everglades National Park

The Everglades are a large, freshwater wetland that is home to hundreds of species of birds and other animals.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan

Miner's Castle, on the south shore of Lake Superior, is a result of wave erosion.  Photo by C. Schweitzer.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The Grand Canyon was carved by the Colorado River over the last 2 million or so years.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The rocks at the top of the Canyon are approximately Cretaceous in age, while those at the bottom are Precambrian, which means that there is about 1 billion years of history in the rocks of the canyon.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

back to top  

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The mountains in the background are the upthrusted fault block, and the bog in the foreground is on the down-dropped fault block.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The Grand Tetons were formed by horst and graben block faulting and were later shaped by glaciers.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

 

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington

Ruby beach includes a Rocky Intertidal Zone, featuring this starfish eating a crab and some sea anemones.  Photo by C. Schweitzer.

Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington

Douglas Fir trees can grow quite large.  Photo by C. Schweitzer.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona

The layers you see in this sandstone are crossbedding, remnants of the environment in which the rock formed.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado

This stump of a relative of Redwood trees was petrified by volcanic ash that fell in this area about 35 million years ago.  Photo by R. Feldmann.

 

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

The South Dakota badlands are composed of sedimentary rocks that have been weathered into fantastic rock formations by rain water.  Photo by N. Saraceno.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Many Oligocene mammal fossils have been collected from the Badlands in South Dakota.  Each year, digs are conducted to collect these important finds.  Photo by N. Saraceno.

back to top