A Look Back at Ten Years of Geotripping: You can tell the world is an incredible place when these are the runners up...

This month I've been searching the archives for my favorite posts after ten years of geoblogging. The last two posts involved the ten most incredible places I've ever stood. What's striking is that as wonderful as these places are, I was quickly able to come up with ten (eleven, actually) more sites that weren't any less spectacular. So I posted this on May 19, 2014 as a follow-up to the list of the "best 10 places"...

I've noticed that nearly every movie reviewer puts a list of the runners up at the end of their list of the top ten movies of the year. In that spirit, I'm putting up a set of pictures from the places that almost made my top ten list of the most incredible places I've ever stood. As before, there is no particular order to these personal choices. It's a bit like asking which of your children you love the most...

 Number 20: Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

A few miles downstream of Glen Canyon Dam is a huge entrenched meander along the Colorado River. The deep blue color of the river isn't right; the silt has settled in Lake Powell, but it makes for a memorable color contrast. Learn more about Horseshoe Bend here.

Number 19: Antelope Canyon, Arizona

There are hundreds of spectacular slot canyons scattered across Utah and Arizona, and you don't have to pay to get into them, and the noontime tours can be extremely crowded, as in shoulder to shoulder, but there can be no denying that the long beams of sunlight reaching into the darkness of the labyrinth is a spectacular and unique sight. For more views, check out this link.

Number 18: Observation Point, Zion National Park, Utah

The Angel's Landing Trail in Zion is one of the most spectacular hikes in North America, but I can never forget my adventure of climbing to Observation Point on the other side of the valley and looking hundreds of feet down onto Angel's Landing (the Landing is the peak on the lower right). For more information about Zion, check out this link.

Number 17: Inspiration Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon is one of the most intricately eroded landscapes in the world, and the spires, called hoodoos, look otherworldly. Almost as incredible is to walk among the hoodoos below the rim, so here is a shot of the fir trees growing in the impossible environment of Wall Street Canyon at Bryce.

For more information about Bryce Canyon National Park, click here.

Number 16: Captain Jack's Stronghold, Lava Beds National Monument, California

The northern flanks of Medicine Lake Highland are coated in barren flows of basalt from the gigantic shield volcano. Within the flows are miles and miles of lava tubes, long caves left behind as the lava drained out. This was the setting for the Modoc Indian War of 1872-73, yet another tragic story of destroying the culture and lives of a people, in this case so settlers could have more land to graze cows and grow potatoes. It's a haunting place to stand. For more information, click here.

Number 15: The Big Sur Coast, California

A mountain range rises directly from the sea. That's about the only way to describe the incredible Big Sur Coast of Central California. This is a view of McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park. For more details, check out this post.

Number 14: Muir Woods National Monument, California

I read somewhere that Muir Woods is the most heavily visited national monument in the United States, and I understand why. It's one of the few old growth Redwood Forests left anywhere close to the Bay Area, and it is a wondrous place to wander about. The Redwoods are ancient trees, both in individual age (thousands of years), and in ancestry (back to the age of the dinosaurs). More information about this incredible place can be found here.

Number 13: Pinnacles National Park, California

Around 23 million years ago, a volcanic center of five rhyolitic cones erupted on top of the San Andreas fault. The fault split the volcano, and the two halves are separated by 195 miles. At Pinnacles National Monument, the jointed blocks of lava and lahars have been eroded into towers and spires. The High Peaks Trail is one of my favorite hikes in North America. For more information, check out this link.

Number 12: Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra Nevada

The most incredible wall of rock that I know is the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, a two-mile high barrier to storms and human travel. No highways cross a stretch of something close to 200 miles of mountain peaks. The Owens Valley is a deep fault trough that once was going to be one of the most important agricultural regions of California, but because of water diversions by Los Angeles, is now a sagebrush desert. Each canyon hides treasures, and I spent much of my youth exploring as many of them as possible.

Number 11: The Great Western Divide, Sequoia National Park, California

My own personal terra incognita, the Great Western Divide is a high sub-range in the middle of Sequoia National Park across the Kern River from the main Sierra Crest. It's one of the last major parts of California that I haven't set foot on, but I've looked in from the summit of Moro Rock. There are lots of places left to explore in my life...

And another Number 11 (because it's my blog and I make the rules): Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake probably belongs on another planet. It's one of the strangest sights in a state filled with strange sights, a lake that is three times as salty as seawater, with a simple ecosystem of basically algae, brine shrimp and brine flies, but the simple combination is a food source for millions upon millions of migratory birds. The edge of the lake is lined with strange tufa towers that formed along freshwater springs.

And that's my highly personal list of the second ten most incredible places I've stood, and it was just as hard to pick out as the first ten! I'd love to hear about more of your favorite places. Put them in the comments, or send me a story that I can post as a guest entry in Geotripper!

Tse' bighanilini and Hasdestwazi, "the place where water runs through rocks", and "spiral rock arches."

Glen Canyon was a beautiful, magical place that was unceremoniously flooded under the waters of Lake Powell (and I'm pretty sure John Wesley Powell would have been appalled that his name was given to the lake). Despite the gigantic eyesore of Glen Canyon Dam, there are some incredible places to explore in the immediate vicinity. One of them is Antelope Canyon, one of the Tribal Parks managed by the Navajo Nation. The two parts, upper and lower, of the canyon are called Tse' bighanilini, which means "the place where water runs through rocks", and Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches."

Natural arch within Lower Antelope Canyon

Each of the canyons is worth a look. The upper canyon is justly famous for the noon hour beams of sunlight piercing the near total darkness of the deepest passages. It is also level from one end to the other. But it also requires a ride from town that includes an unbelievable race up a pure stretch of loose dune sand. And it is crowded, especially during the aforementioned noon hours when you might find yourself standing shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other people. It's not a place for the claustrophobic.

On our recent tour, we opted for the lower canyon. It doesn't have the piercing beams of sunlight, and it is not level, requiring steps and ladders for access. But you don't have to be ferried up Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and it tends to be far less crowded (in my three trips, anyway).

The tours of these incredibly beautiful works of nature begin beneath the shadow of the monstrous coal burning power plant just outside of Page. The coal mines are sixty miles away, but the energy infrastructure is here near Glen Canyon Dam. We were given a short safety lecture before walking down the end of the lower canyon.

It's hard to believe that such a treasure lies hidden in these folds of crossbedded Navajo Sandstone. The canyon is more than a hundred feet deep in most places, but only a few feet wide at the top. The guide politely asked us not to jump across the top of the canyon, prompting me to wonder what story was behind that rule...

Antelope Canyon drains an area of dozens of square miles, but the rushing waters of the occasional flash floods are forced to cross two ridges of Navajo Sandstone. The rock is cemented well enough to form vertical cliffs, but at the same time the sandstone is easily and quickly eroded by fast-moving sediment rich water. The result is an incredible labyrinth of looping and curving channels.

The natural curves of the canyon are accentuated by the crossbedding of the Navajo Sandstone. The Navajo formed as a gigantic sand dune sea that extended from Wyoming and Colorado to Nevada and eastern California. The crossbeds are the preserved slipfaces of the sand dunes. The dunes were present during the Jurassic Period, when dinosaurs wandered across what is now the southwest United States.

The narrow canyon can be dangerous. Storms that are dumping floodwaters upstream might not be visible from the parking lots. After a horrific tragedy in 1997 that caused the deaths of eleven people, rescue measures have been put into place, and tours aren't offered when rain threatens the headwaters region.

The canyon is full of abstract shapes and forms, and a photographer could wander for hours through the passageways (two hours to be exact, for an extra fee). Photography is allowed and encouraged by the guides, and they offer advice on shutter speeds and the like. It's been said that one can't take a bad picture here, but believe me, it's more than possible! The sharp contrast between light and dark wreaks havoc with photo framing. It challenging, but wonderful fun as well.

My favorite pictures occur where the sunlight is indirect and reflecting from above. The resulting yellow and golden hues are beautiful; the rocks seem to glow with inner light.

The texture and light are unique. If you are ever in Page, don't be afraid to put out the tour cost (between $20-35, with a $20 premium for those noontime tours in the upper canyon).

As is usual with my visits to the canyon, I have more pictures then I have words. Enjoy!

For the second time in my three tours through the lower canyon, our guide offered some beautiful flute music in the deepest part of the canyon. Here's the video:

Then it was time to go. We climbed up the last ladder into the blinding sunlight.

Where are the Ten Most Incredible Places You've Ever Stood? The Runners Up

I've noticed that nearly every movie reviewer puts a list of the runners up at the end of their list of the top ten movies of the year. In that spirit, I'm putting up a set of pictures from the places that almost made my top ten list of the most incredible places I've ever stood. As before, there is no particular order to these personal choices. It's a bit like asking which of your children you love the most...

 Number 20: Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

A few miles downstream of Glen Canyon Dam is a huge entrenched meander along the Colorado River. The deep blue color of the river isn't right; the silt has settled in Lake Powell, but it makes for a memorable color contrast. Learn more about Horseshoe Bend here.

Number 19: Antelope Canyon, Arizona

There are hundreds of spectacular slot canyons scattered across Utah and Arizona, and you don't have to pay to get into them, and the noontime tours can be extremely crowded, as in shoulder to shoulder, but there can be no denying that the long beams of sunlight reaching into the darkness of the labyrinth is a spectacular and unique sight. For more views, check out this link.

Number 18: Observation Point, Zion National Park, Utah

The Angel's Landing Trail in Zion is one of the most spectacular hikes in North America, but I can never forget my adventure of climbing to Observation Point on the other side of the valley and looking hundreds of feet down onto Angel's Landing (the Landing is the peak on the lower right). For more information about Zion, check out this link.

Number 17: Inspiration Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon is one of the most intricately eroded landscapes in the world, and the spires, called hoodoos, look otherworldly. Almost as incredible is to walk among the hoodoos below the rim, so here is a shot of the fir trees growing in the impossible environment of Wall Street Canyon at Bryce.

For more information about Bryce Canyon National Park, click here.

Number 16: Captain Jack's Stronghold, Lava Beds National Monument, California

The northern flanks of Medicine Lake Highland are coated in barren flows of basalt from the gigantic shield volcano. Within the flows are miles and miles of lava tubes, long caves left behind as the lava drained out. This was the setting for the Modoc Indian War of 1872-73, yet another tragic story of destroying the culture and lives of a people, in this case so settlers could have more land to graze cows and grow potatoes. It's a haunting place to stand. For more information, click here.

Number 15: The Big Sur Coast, California

A mountain range rises directly from the sea. That's about the only way to describe the incredible Big Sur Coast of Central California. This is a view of McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park. For more details, check out this post.

Number 14: Muir Woods National Monument, California

I read somewhere that Muir Woods is the most heavily visited national monument in the United States, and I understand why. It's one of the few old growth Redwood Forests left anywhere close to the Bay Area, and it is a wondrous place to wander about. The Redwoods are ancient trees, both in individual age (thousands of years), and in ancestry (back to the age of the dinosaurs). More information about this incredible place can be found here.

Number 13: Pinnacles National Park, California

Around 23 million years ago, a volcanic center of five rhyolitic cones erupted on top of the San Andreas fault. The fault split the volcano, and the two halves are separated by 195 miles. At Pinnacles National Monument, the jointed blocks of lava and lahars have been eroded into towers and spires. The High Peaks Trail is one of my favorite hikes in North America. For more information, check out this link.

Number 12: Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra Nevada

The most incredible wall of rock that I know is the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, a two-mile high barrier to storms and human travel. No highways cross a stretch of something close to 200 miles of mountain peaks. The Owens Valley is a deep fault trough that once was going to be one of the most important agricultural regions of California, but because of water diversions by Los Angeles, is now a sagebrush desert. Each canyon hides treasures, and I spent much of my youth exploring as many of them as possible.

Number 11: The Great Western Divide, Sequoia National Park, California

My own personal terra incognita, the Great Western Divide is a high sub-range in the middle of Sequoia National Park across the Kern River from the main Sierra Crest. It's one of the last major parts of California that I haven't set foot on, but I've looked in from the summit of Moro Rock. There are lots of places left to explore in my life...

And another Number 11 (because it's my blog and I make the rules): Mono Lake, California

Mono Lake probably belongs on another planet. It's one of the strangest sights in a state filled with strange sights, a lake that is three times as salty as seawater, with a simple ecosystem of basically algae, brine shrimp and brine flies, but the simple combination is a food source for millions upon millions of migratory birds. The edge of the lake is lined with strange tufa towers that formed along freshwater springs.

And that's my highly personal list of the second ten most incredible places I've stood, and it was just as hard to pick out as the first ten! I'd love to hear about more of your favorite places. Put them in the comments, or send me a story that I can post as a guest entry in Geotripper!

Out in America's Never Never: What Water Does to Rock...

The Navajo flute player at work

The geology of Antelope Canyon is simple. Water (lots of it in a short time) and rock (specifically, the easily eroded but cliff-forming Navajo Sandstone). That's all it takes. There are other ingredients that make Antelope Canyon a memorable awe-inspiring experience: Sunlight and shadow for instance. The rock seems to glow with an internal golden light.

In the last post, I described the lengths we went to in order to arrive in Page, Arizona in time for our tour. These pictures should make clear why we tried so hard to add Antelope Canyon to our itinerary through America's Never Never, despite 140 mile detours. It is an extraordinary example of a sandstone slot canyon.

One thing that must be considered when visiting Antelope Canyon is whether you will visit the Upper Canyon or the Lower Canyon. The entrance fees are essentially the same, and you must be accompanied by a guide in each one.

The upper canyon is the most popular, probably for two reasons: it is a level walk on sand, and at the right time of day narrow beams of sunlight pierce the darkness of the canyon, which in places almost requires a flashlight (the entrance fee almost doubles for tours during those hours). It also requires being shuttled up a three mile long sandy wash that must be driven on to be believed. The lower canyon must be accessed by a series of stairways and ladders, and doesn't have the beams of light. But you park right next to the entrance and won't need to be shuttled. But it is my favorite for a different reason: the serenity. We've been herded like cattle in the upper canyon, shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other people. On our tour of Lower Antelope, we felt like we were the only people in the canyon (and we may very well have been).

By definition there isn't a lot of water in Antelope Canyon most of the time. It's a desert after all. The water comes during cloudbursts in the watershed upstream. The flash floods will send fast-moving slurry mixes of sand, mud, and boulders through the bottom of the canyon. Tours aren't held if there is a chance of thunderstorms in the canyons above. Tourists have been killed and injured in the past, and safety is a priority these days.

Simple geology, but a work of natural art. Enjoy the photos that follow, and look to the end of today's post for a special treat...

The flute player in the first picture? He played a beautiful composition that echoed off the glowing cliffs. I'm hoping he has some appreciation for the beauty he brought to our day. Here's a portion for your enjoyment!

There were other parts to this beautiful day. I'd show pictures of Horseshoe Bend, but I'm afraid I was grocery shopping while the crew hiked to see it (that's something that happens when you are the leader of a trip). Here is a post from last year's visit to the incredible entrenched meander...

I recalled the Navajo Beauty Way prayer...

With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
With beauty around me, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.