Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Annotated "Where on Google Earth?" #2

Last week, I posted my first of these images. Today I follow up with another spot in the same state as last week's A.W.o.G.E. Annotations are described in detail below. The first one to correctly identify the location wins a "GEOLOGY ROCKS" bumper sticker. The contest is open not just to my students but to the whole world (though I'm hoping someone in the U.S. wins it so I don't have to pay some outrageous postage to send the winner their bumper sticker!) Last time the winner was helped along by comparing the Google Earth image to photos on my website, but I don't have any photos of this area up on the website, so it ought to be more challenging!


Here are your clues: Two dominant joint sets (A & B) have fractured the granite monzonite in this area, and then spheroidal weathering has taken over to produce the landscape of rounded domes. Location (C) is a parking lot for visitors to this area. Location (D) is an ephemeral pond, originally dammed (where the sinuous stream channel exits to the west) by a rancher named Barker. Now this enclosed area is dry for much of the year, but becomes an oasis after sufficient rainfall. The area around (E) is a favorite rock climbing location. And location (F) is approximately where I was walking one day when the sun was really beating down. I decided to seek some shelter to rest, and spied a little cave up on the side of one of the granite domes. I climbed up & crawled in, & found a half-dozen pictographs painted on the walls -- some ancient Native American had pulled exactly the same routine I just had, many years ago. Cool experience. Name the area as specifically as possible. Good luck!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Tuff Cookie said...

Looks like Joshua Tree National Park to me!

To be really specific, it's about seven miles west of the northern entrance station, and near the Hidden Valley Campground.

(For me it was the rock climbing that gave it away - I'm not good enough yet for trad climbing, but I hear a lot about that spot!)

And I can even save you on postage - I'll be at the GSW meeting tonight!

January 23, 2008 10:37 AM  
Blogger Callan Bentley said...

Well done! I'll bring your sticker to GSW tonight. See ya there.

January 23, 2008 10:45 AM  

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