Telluride
Colorado has a history of mining. One day we went out to Silverton to visit the Old Hundred Gold Mine. We would take a mine train about half a mile into Galena Mountain to see the remains of this former mine. The guide modeled how some of the equipment was used (so loud!) and took us through the tunnels. You could see some gold in the bedrock but it wasn’t enough to make it worth mining. I didn’t leave with any gold but I did collect a sample of rhodonite so I count this as a win!
Next we made our way to Telluride. We weren’t here to experience the town and we quickly made our way to the gondola. At the top of the mountain we were able to see quite a few geologic features (including two types of faults in the surrounding bedrock). Next we took the gondola down to Mountain Village which is a touristy-ski center. Not one of the high points but the gondola ride was interesting.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Disclaimer: I don’t actually dislike sand. I just had to include this clip in case certain parties come across this page…
Colorado really has it all. Great Sand Dune National Park is a collection of sand dunes in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is so unexpected to see such a feature when you think about everything else we have seen. There was not ample time to climb any of the dunes but we had plenty of time to explore the base. Watching ripple marks form in the sand in real-time was so exciting because I have seen so many preserved ripple marks in the bedrock in New York. At one point I dropped a rock into the sand and and could see how the depositional features changed. Sand was deposited behind the rock as the velocity decreased. My Earth Science students would be so excited to see this!
For dinner we went to Alamosa. Don’t go to Alamosa. The windows were all covered by bars. We did go to a delicious Mexican restaurant and I was able to find some horchata though.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks
If you visit Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument you can see a combination of volcanic and fluvial features. This site is a sacred religious site of the Cochiti Pueblo, and one can understand why. The features seen are unique and I have not seen anything similar. Most of the rock is igneous composed of pumice and tuff formed by pyroplastic flows millions of years ago. A layer of sandstone sits atop this layer. The sandstone is more resistant than the volcanic rock below so it protects the rock below. This results in formations known as hoodoos (or tent rocks). There is a narrow slot canyon that you can hike through which provides plenty of time to examine the geology of the rock faces. If you look closely you could see small pieces of obsidian (Apache Tears) embedded in the wall. Now for the question you have been wondering… We calculated the angle of the slope of the tents to be about 60 degrees.
Everything Else
How can one truly explain every wonder that we saw over those three weeks? There are so many other great things that we saw or did. We marveled at the Taos Gorge, formed by the Rio Grande Rift. I didn’t know that we had a rift valley here in our country, did you? My whole life has been a lie! It is estimated that the floor of the rift is a ridiculous 36,000 feet deep! The Rio Grande River is following this rift.
We visited the Blue Mesa Reservoir to learn about how different water-management policies are out west. As someone who has a passion for all things water, I found this interesting and I could not stop asking Kevin about it.
For another trip we visited the Jemez Springs Soda Dam & hot springs. This sure was something to see and it prepared me for the geology trip I took to Saratoga Springs State Park the next year. The Soda Dam was much more interesting though, especially since we got to go inside of it.
A quick stop was made to the Valles Caldera. We had visited a cinder cone volcano and then we got to visit a caldera. This is not something that most people would recognize as a volcano (or remnants of one). This area is a 13-mile wide circular depression caused by a massive volcanic eruption just over one million years ago. Fun fact: this is where the ranch scenes were filmed in the TV show Longmire. The town was actually Los Vegas, NM. I should add that no volcanoes erupted while I was out west.
We stopped by Monarch Pass, along the Continental Divide. When it rains water flows down one side toward the Gulf of Mexico and on the other side toward the Pacific. This was my first experience at high elevation and I went for a short run (like 100 meters) just to say I went for a run at over 11,000 feet of elevation. There wasn’t enough time to do much else.
Our journey took us through Roswell, NM. Enough said!
I decided that Santa Fe, NM is my favorite city of all time. We spent two nights there and I didn’t want to leave. I’m not going to live there because I enjoy having ample supplies of water and seasons but I want to go back and visit. It was such a happening town and there was so much to do, even on a Tuesday night.
That Is All, For Now…
I can not thank Saudi Aramco, Texas A&M, and the G-Camp staff for such a wonderful experience. I could not have worked with a greater group of educators while on this trip. In time I will revisit most of these destinations and spend more time there. If you want to hear more about the geology of one of the areas we visited, let me know! I have lots more information to share!