Room+5A

Grand Canyon Field Trip Created by: Patrick and Drew

Grand Canyon Hike 

(This picture was taken when we were about thirty minutes into our hike. We had a lot of stops and a lot of opportunities to take pictures of the canyon, we just wish that we had more time to hike the canyon and see more things. We had a great view from right here and had a great time! We were on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and we could see the North Rim on the far right in this picture.)

This hike was really cool and we liked how you could see the other side of the canyon for most of the hike. There weren’t many animals that we saw on the hike just a hawk, squirrel, and raven, but there were many different kinds of trees, bushes, and cacti. Some of this vegetation consisted of Yuccas, Prickly Pears, Agaves, Junipers, Pinion Pines, and Ponderosa Pines. We liked that on the hike we got to learn hands on. For instance, instead of being told how the sandstone crumbles in your hands, we got to actually crumble it in our hands. It was cool being able to see the different layers from up close and to see the distinct differences between them. During the hike we learned that:

On the hike we liked all the scenery. The trail that we hiked gave us a bunch of different angles to view the canyon. We didn’t like that the hike was so short. We would have liked to make a day out of it. This was probably our favorite part of the trip because it really involved the Grand Canyon and it allowed us to move around a lot.
 * Tamarisk was planted in the Canyon to control erosion, but became an invasive species that Park Rangers are trying to get rid of.
 * Park Rangers got Tamarisk beetles to try and get rid of the Tamarisk, but there are endangered California condor nests in the Tamarisk so now they are trying to get rid of the beetles.
 * Southwest Willow Flycatcher is endangered at it nests it the tamarisks near the river. The condor is also endangered but it nests on cliff faces in Canyon.
 * The first layer in the Grand Canyon is Kaibab Limestone which holds marine fossils.
 * The second layer is Toroweap, which is about 250 million years old.
 * The third layer is Coconino sandstone.
 * The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is 1,000 feet higher than the South Rim.
 * Hawks in the Canyon ride thermals which are channels of hot air that rise up allowing the Hawk to glide instead of flapping its wings.

River Trip on the Colorado River

(This picture was taken while we were on the boat riding down the river. We chose to use it because it had a small waterfall, and we thought it was pretty neat! The water is coming from inside of the rocks, and sometimes some trickles down the canyon. The rock that holds the water is Navajo Sandstone! Navajo Sandstone is like a sponge because it’s very porous. This sandstone surrounds the lake and river. Water comes out of this sandstone at 2,600 gallons per minute.)

The river ride was very fun. We started off at the Glen Canyon Dam and then floated down the river. We also encountered a couple tiny rapids! On the river ride, we learned a ton of new information and saw a lot of different wildlife and vegetation. The birds that live in this area are Canada Geese, Blue Heron, California Condors, Turkey Vultures, Devil Crested Cormorant, Canyon Wren, and the Osprey. The river guide told us that the osprey’s nest, which was built on a telephone line near the Glen Canyon Dam, kept getting knocked over, so some of the river guides friends, who were bird enthusiasts, built a platform on the telephone line to keep it from falling! One of the plants that was there was the Tamarisk. The Tamarisk has long roots that take a lot of water and it puts salt into the ground! Both of these things kill the nearby plants. On the ride, we also got to stop and swim for a little, but the water was really cold! It was all pretty cool. Some facts that are related to the Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River are:

The river ride was very fun because we had an awesome tour guide, Lauren, who was very informative and fun. It was clear she loves what she does and she loves the canyon. We stopped at one of the sand banks and got to go into the water and see some cool petro glyphs and a big lizard!
 * The Glen Canyon Dam took ten years to build (1956-1966).
 * The Glen Canyon Dam has 10 million tons of concrete in it! All of this concrete is used to hold back the 9 trillion gallons of water in Lake Powell.
 * 25% of the United States produce uses Colorado River water.
 * The Glen Canyon Dam is 710 feet tall!
 * There is a part of the river that makes a 270 degree turn; this part is called the Horseshoe Bend.
 * Fault lines caused earthquakes on the Colorado River, which broke some of the natural bridges that were there. Fault lines play a role in why some of the canyon looks like it does.
 * John Wesley Powell named Glen Canyon after the glens of Scotland that looked like these very green and lush inlets, most of which are now covered by Lake Powell.

Wupatki National Monument

(This was the 100 room building that we saw while visiting the monument.)

This Monument was very fascinating! We got to see unique structures that were built by Hopi and Pueblo Indians who were only 15 years old! In that situation and culture, it is assumed that these teen aged boys (around age 15) were considered the adults. The monument began as a family house, but then grew into a 100 room pueblo with a tower, community room, and a ceremonial ball court. There was also a meeting area, or circle, and a natural blowhole! The blowhole was a crevice in earth’s crust that appeared to breath. Today, the Hopi, descendents of these early people refer to the blowhole as the breath of “Yaapontsa”, the wind spirit. Scientists speculate that the blow had spiritual significance. The wind spirit is is one of the reasons why scientists think these two things are connected. Here are some more facts about the Wupatki Nation Monument:

We really enjoyed this part of the trip because it was full of history and it was very hands on! We got to go into the ball court, and act like we were playing. We also got to play with this natural blowhole that was in the ground. Sometimes you can feel it suck in air, and sometimes you can feel it blow out air! The air was blowing out when we visited and was cold, a kind of natural air conditioning! It was very cool!
 * The monument is over 900 years old.
 * People gathered here during the 1100’s to trade, meet, and make crafts.
 * By 1190, as many as 2,000 people lived within a day’s walk and the Wupatki Pueblo; it was the largest building for at least 50 miles.
 * This monument has evidence of a wide blend of cultures that include Kayenta and Sinagua architectural styles.
 * In this monument, more than 100 pottery types have been discovered!

Sunset Crater National Monument

(This picture was taken at the bottom of Sunset Crater.)

Sunset Crater was a very interesting place to visit. We didn’t have enough time to hike up it, so we just went to the bottom to get some pictures and see the information cards. You could see the results of lava flows all around us. One of the things we learned is that this volcano is located near a hot spot. A hot spot is an area where the mantle is much hotter than other areas in the mantle. As the Colorado plateau moved then the hot spots underneath the plates would create eruptions. There are a number of mountains in the area formed by these eruptions. The Sunset Crater is the youngest volcano on the Colorado Plateau. In these hot spots, the soil is very rocky. This soil doesn’t hold much water, but it is rich with minerals. A tiny organism called Lichen grows on the soil. When the organism dies, it fertilizes the soil with nutrients, and then reproduces. Some Ponderosa Pines grow in this soil too. They are able to do this, despite the lack of water in the area, due to a symbiotic relationship between the Pines mushrooms. Mushrooms grow on their roots, underground. These two plants are symbiotic, which means they live life together; they depend on one another. The mushroom gives the tree water and in exchange the mushroom takes some nutrients. When the mushroom dies, it fertilizes the soil, and then reproduces. When you get close to a Ponderosa Pine and smell the bark, it smells like vanilla, due to the mushrooms! The lichen, the Pines and the mushrooms are the basic vegetation of the area. We also learned that there were these squirrels that lived there that ate some of the mushrooms! Here are some neat facts about Sunset Crater:

Plants are starting to return to this area, which is also bringing back some of the animals. We liked the overall view of this amazing crater, it was just stunning, but we wanted more time. Unfortunately, this is where our journey ended. We both had a great experience, and we learned a lot!
 * John Wesley Powell named it this because of its sunset like color. The volcano's red rim and the distinct colors on the 1000-foot mountain are from iron oxide and sulfur.
 * Sunset Crater is a cinder cone volcano.
 * Last time this volcano erupted was between the years 1000-1100.
 * Sunset Crater is the youngest volcano on the Colorado Plateau.
 * Sunset Crater has a hard jagged surface due to the cooling of the dark lava flows that used to be there.

 Additional Photos

(About to start our river ride down the Colorado River!)



(This is the Glen Canyon Dam.)

(Some of the petro glyphs from the river ride, and a lizard off to the right!) (This was the meeting area or circle at the Wupatki National Monument.)



(While at the ball court at Wupatki, we had to put on some war paint to get into the mood!)

(This is a picture of Sunset Crater that shows just how little vegetation and wildlife there is.)

(Some Ponderosa Pine needles from Sunset Crater.)

(Ponderosa Pine tree trunk, that smelled like vanilla, from Sunset Crater.) (This is Lichen from Sunset Crater.)

(The jagged rock that was created by the lava flows.)