Where on (Google) Earth #70?
posted in Geology, Google Earth, Where on (Google) Earth? |Zoltán’s recent Where on Google Earth localities have been really challenging for me – in large part because of the scale – but they’ve shown off some really spectacular geology that you just don’t see every day. I’ve focused on aesthetics on two of my last three, but this time I’ve found a spot with a geologic feature that I don’t think we’ve seen before in a Where on (Google) Earth challenge. The view is an oblique one, once again, and intended to highlight the new geologic feature:
For the newbies: Identify the location of the feature (latitude and longitude will do) and describe the geology as best you can – there are no less than two interesting geologic features in this one. We’re pulling for you!
I’ll invoke the Schott Rule (Post time: 18:45 CST).
oooh….that is beautiful!! Wow, that’s a keeper.
Ron…on another note, we got a good little discussion going on about science education here; i’m sure you have some thoughts that might add to the discussion.
What sort of a hint would you like?
I’m not going to try to find it right now, because I should be grading. But since you are talking about hints… is that an angular unconformity?
That was my assumption Kim, and I even though I’d seen that particular one just outside of Capitol Reef in Utah… but I couldn’t find it there, or anywhere around there… nor any of the ‘Great Unconformity’ sites that I’m aware of (e.g. – Frenchman Mountain in Vegas), I wandered around northern Nevada (a few ang. unc. up there), Death Valley, and also in Arizona. Nada. So Ron, would it be too easy to ask for a formation name? LOL
Here’s another hint: Standing on the highest point in this image one can see across an international border.
Hmmm. Well, I haven’t had any luck, but I’ll share my reasoning so far.
Ok, mountain ranges of the world that should have a post-Carboniferous angular unconformity:
Appalachians: wrong climate.
The African side of the Appalachian collision: I looked in NW Africa, and didn’t see anything with the right resolution. (I might not have looked enough, though.)
Urals: wrong climate.
Andes: gut feeling is that the early Cretaceous is unlikely to be horizontal, but I could be wrong. I might look in Argentina next.
Western North American Cordillera: places with tilted Paleozoic were generally involved in faulting in the late Cretaceous. Plus no the only potential international boundary with a dry climate would be US/Mexico.
Greater Himalayan zone: geez, shouldn’t most of the action be post-early Cretaceous there?
I must be missing some big, obvious mountain-building event, probably in the Gondwana continents which I have very little intuition for.
Are folks still enjoying this challenge, or have I overreached?
i wish i had the time…i check back from time to time to find out the answer
Well, Andrew you really do deserve this one – I just followed you to Big Bend and there it is, a little further west:
29º25’30 N, 103º48’00 W (copy-pasting 29 25 30 -103 48 00 into Google Earth might be easier)
I know nothing about the geology of this area, but my guess is that the larger circular structure of which this view is part is a dome caused by gentle Tertiary folding (due to the volcanism?.. is the steep hill right in the centre of the view a volcanic plug?), exposing the unconformity.
BTW, is that the Solitario dome complex?
OK, here is the next one:
Where on Google Earth #71
While I’m nowhere near skilled enough to participate, I thoroughly enjoy reading the discussion. I always learn something from you guys.
Thanks!
[...] I’m sticking with my recent theme of geologic landforms we haven’t highlighted yet, but this time at a scale that shouldn’t be quite so challenging as my last one: [...]