THE DKos ROAD TOUR SERIES
This is the second three-part installment of The Dkos Road Tour series. See explanation at the close of this diary. Hope you find the information enjoyable and educational. Our destinations today will take us, first, to southeast Utah, then to northwest New Mexico, and from there to northern New Mexico. As a reminder, the information herein is “layered.” Meaning, the reader chooses how much or how little read, graduating from the essentials to more in-depth details.
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
Location/Geography: East-Central Utah. Grand County. Closest City or Town: Moab. Area: 76,358.98 acres; 119 square miles (308 km²).
Coordinates: 38º40’0”N 109º34’0”W (http://bitly/1uczOOS)
Geologic graphics/illustrations: http://bitly/1lJaNuj
Google Images/maps: http://bitly/1kRpIT6
√ Spotlight: This fascinating landscape has more arches than any other place on the planet! Primal salt evaporates is what eventually gave way to a tilted topography showcasing sandstone marvels. Delicate Arch is the most famous landmark in the park. Hot, dry summers and temperate winters usually free of snowfall accumulations. Ideal year-round national park to visit. Focus: geology, natural and human history.
√ Snapshot: Arches NP boasts meticulous geologic formations featuring a plethora of engaging arches. Most are ginormous. The blueprint of nature to create an arch requires critical development in the process: ideal materials (where sandstone works best), erosion (the wind and water), location of the arch, and timing in the millions of years. While the park’s numerous spires, balanced rocks, eroded monoliths and fins are impressive enough, the number of arches here is incredible. In fact, Arches NP namesake is ideal. It is indeed a veritable parkland of sandstone sculpture on a grand scale boasting over two thousand arches. A prime example of an arch is one of the most famous on the planet, Landscape Arch. To gaze upward at this monstrosity of grace, with a 290-foot (89 m) span, is indeed one of those delightful ooo-ahhhh moments. Some arches are seen from the road while others show up along the pathway while others entail longer hikes (i.e., the trail to Delicate Arch). The park's highest elevation is 5,653 feet (1,723 m) at Elephant Butte while the lowest elevation is 4,085 feet (1,245 m) at the Visitor Center. Since 1970, an amazing forty-three arches have toppled because of erosion. Originally designated as a national monument in 1929, in 1970 the setting was later deemed a national park status. One other notable fact about the park is the acclaimed eco-warrior and author, Ed Abbey, once worked here as a seasonal ranger.
√ Guided Tour Essentials: Remarkably, none of the majestic landmarks would be here were it not for the basic mineral of salt. That’s right: ordinary salt has something important to do with Arches’ NP’s unparalleled sculpturing and its array of eye-catching arches. For instance, the physiographic environment in this region amounts to stratified layers of sandstone formations shaped into alternate corrugated ridges, in which the strata slopes downward, thereby creating what is classified as an “anticline.” In fact, there are several northwest-trending layered formations seen here, which explains the oblique angle of the park’s mesmerizing landscape.
From the geologist’s point of view, Arches, the park, is essentially a sprawling environment of anticlines, with the oldest beds at the bottom of the pile (the core). Naturally, anytime there is a major fold in the planet’s crust the process requires a potent geophysical force capable of bending formations of the folded layers. And here that force amounts to an anticline (see below for a complete explanation). That specific force was also caused by a slow and gradual uplift assisted by a consequential movement of salt. In short, the combined weight of numerous sandstone layers was initially laid over a salt bed. As a consequence, the weight of the layers exerted pressure, then eventually evaporated material (salt) beneath the pile liquefied and thrust upward through the multiple layers of sandstone. Over time, the process created structural salt domes. These, in turn, formed the more singular salt anticlines. (Think of a convex fold of exquisite fold of rock layers and the image should be clear in one’s mind.)
The net result given the above description has created spacious valleys from an eventual and major collapse of the landscape. The Salt Valley and Cache Valley anticlines in the park are prime examples. Both sectors are uniquely tilted, revealing irregular masses of rocks much younger than those seen on the valley's walls. This occurrence suggests these sectors were initially produced by a colossal collapse millions of years ago. It’s quite amazing to think how ordinary salt was responsible for the enthralling view we see and admire in this sandstone sanctuary spread out below the towering backdrop of the majestic La Sal Mountains. Of course, there’s more to the blueprint of nature that makes the park what it is. For instance, faulting, where entire sections of rock have subsided into pavement tracks between the salt domes, and in places are turned almost on edge. Faults also create some of nature’s most awesome offset land features. At the Visitor Center, which is a highly recommended stopover before entering the park, the Moab Fault is plainly visible. Its large displacement measures 2,500 feet (760 m)!
Directions: To Moab, Utah, drive south of I-70 on Hwy. 191 for 26 miles (40.8 km). From Kayenta, Arizona, take Hwy. 163, then at Bluff take Hwy. 191 (134 miles/215 km). Arches NP is just north of Moab.
Contact Information: Arches National Park, P. O. Box 907, Moab UT 84532-0907. Phone (visitor information): 435-709.2299; Fax 709.2300
Here's my recommendation for a follow-up URL: http://1.usa.gov/1cCv1Tf
AZTEC RUINS
Location/Geography: Western New Mexico. San Juan County. Closet City or Town: Aztec; Farmington; Bloomfield. Area: 318 acres (1.2 km²). Halfway point between Chaco Canyon (65 miles/104 km) headed south and Mesa Verde (40 miles/64 km) to the northwest.
Coordinates: 36.835833°N 107.998056°W (http://bitly/1kRrUtH)
Google Images: http://bitly/1s9clT3
Maps: http://bitly/1qBtYX0
√ Spotlight: After Chaco Canyon, this archaeological site was the second largest settlement of the Ancestral Puebloans. Designed and built not too long after the nearby Salmon archeological ruins, Aztec ruins represent the next architectural floor plan in an intended series of future settlements (of a similar model). An important Chacoan outlier and an outstanding walled village. The Great House constructed on this site mirrors so-called downtown Chaco. The Aztec site was designed to match Chaco’s exact square footage. Dwellings are all angled toward and away from another, just like Chaco’s Great Houses. All were elevated around one another in a similar manner and distances between the more prominent kivas are nearly the same. Directions of lines formed by various walls of dwellings are repeated to within a small degree of accuracy. The West Ruin is the same dimension of Chaco’s Pueblo Bonito. Over four hundred different designs of pottery vessels were discovered here. The site may have functioned as a trade center. Dwellers related to the Mesa Verde people. One of the largest pueblo villages in the Southwest. Defensive structures indicate a potential threat from outsiders. Focus: human history, archaeological ruins, and pottery.
√ Snapshot: Like Montezuma Castle in central Arizona’s Verde Valley region, Aztec ruins were mistakenly thought by mid-19th-century Anglo explorers to be built by the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma II (often spelled Moctezuma). However, these ruins precede his Mexican empire dating from around the 12th-century (or even much earlier). First arrivals of Ancestral Puebloans between 1088-1091 and constructed around 1100 by people indigenous to this region. It is thought by some cultural scientists they were related to the Mesa Verdans in southwest Colorado. Both cultures had close ties to the Chaco culture. Other clans also related to the Mesa Verdans eventually took over the Aztec site but only after it was abandoned by the original builders around 1226. Aztec preserves structures of notable architecture and was inhabited for about two hundred years. The deepest excavations have uncovered Chacoan pottery. Major innovative changes in the architecture were made soon after the new tenants arrived. New floor plan called for mainly dividing spacious rooms and building numerous small kivas within the large square and rectangular rooms. As each succeeding group moved in, the inhabitants depleted the resources of the area according to their preference. Eventually, each group moved on. According to tree-ring dating, the West Ruin was built between 1111 and 1115. This pueblo with four hundred and fifty rooms on three levels features over a dozen ceremonial chambers, including one of the few tri-wall kivas ever discovered. By the 13th-century, Aztec may have equaled Chaco in size and most likely held similar religious and ceremonial significance. What remains today is the ruins of a walled village of exceptional design. Aztec Ruins was declared a national monument in 1923. Governing body: NPS and part of Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.
√ Guided Tour Essentials: Likely, Aztec typifies a new locus of power. With a reliable year-round water resource and a favorable climate, these factors were likely a determining factor for a near duplicate Chaco compound in this locale. It was also built and reborn; that is in the semblance of a continuing empire during a time of prevailing drought. Built on a broad terrace overlooking the Animas River, Aztec was one of the largest and best-constructed settlements of the Ancestral Puebloans in the Southwest. The entire region was saturated with their culture, representing many distinct tribal bands of satellite communities throughout the Four Corners region. It’s believed these individual sects formed a greater community and were informed of the important news by long distance runners or signal fires alerting distant neighbors to threats of invasion. The ruins are divided into east and west sectors; however, only parts of the western sector are open to the public.
Although occupied at different times, the exact nature and extent of the interaction of these prehistoric occupants mixing with their regional neighbors are not known. For construction, a core-and-veneer style was used, applying a thick rubble core and laid within a finely shaped stone veneer. Aztec's multistoried village uniquely faces inward, enclosing an open plaza dominated by a Great Kiva nearly 50 feet (15 m) across. Four massive tree columns supported a roof estimated to have weighed 95 tons (86 metric tons). A stack of four stone disks, with an estimated weight of 375 pounds (170 kg), supported each column. Like Chaco and nearby Salmon ruins, timber used for supports were carried on the shoulders of laborers and transported from distant mountains of western New Mexico or southern Colorado. Additionally, fifteen surface rooms encircled the sunken chamber, each with an outer doorway that opened onto a spacious plaza. What may have been something akin to an altar stood in the north alcove. A masonry bench circled the kiva floor and was exclusively used by adult males from the community. Each entered the dimly lit ceremonial room by stairways on the north and south. The monumental scale and ritual design of this particular Great Kiva reflected its noteworthy importance to the inhabitants and talented builders. At its peak, it is estimated several hundred people may have lived in this village. Aztec was also one of the greatest architectural designs ever built by the Ancestral Puebloans.
Directions: Take Ruins Road about .5 mile (.8 km) north of Hwy. 516 in the City of Aztec, New Mexico; from Albuquerque/Bloomfield: follow Hwy. 550 north to the City of Aztec, turn left at the "T" intersection onto Hwy. 516 for .3 mile (1.2 km), then turn right after crossing the river onto Ruins Road.
Contact Information: Visitor Services, #84 County Road, Aztec NM 87400. Phone: 505-334.6174; Fax 334.6372
Here's my recommendation for a follow-up URL: http://1.usa.gov/SR83zB
BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT
Location/Geography: Northern New Mexico. Sandoval, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe Counties. Closet City or Town: Los Alamos; Santa Fe. Area: 33,677 acres (136 km²). Monument entrance elevation about 6,500 feet (2,000 m). Santa Fe National Forest.
Coordinates: 35°46′44″N 106°19′16″W (http://bitly/SGFuo8)
Google images/maps: http://bitly/1hRb66z
√ Spotlight: Human habitation for over ten thousand years. Geology that’s ideally suited for cave dwellings––tuff (volcanic ash). Bandelier was populated from 1150 to 1350. For tourists, the big adventure at the monument is climbing the ladder to Alcove House high above the canyon, then descending into a reconstructed kiva built inside the cave (not for the unwary). Focus: human history, archeology, trails, and geology.
√ Snapshot: Bandelier's main attraction is Frijoles Canyon, which features a number of dwellings, kivas, and petroglyphs. Some Ancestral Puebloan structures are built on the canyon floor while others are scored in alcoves high in the canyon wall. These sizable openings, called cavates, were later enlarged by humans and immensely improved conditions for habitation. Bandelier’s rugged landscape maintained an indigenous people who lived along streams in the canyons and in some cases on mesa tops. The Rito de los Frijoles (meaning “Bean Creek”) in Frijoles Canyon runs nearly year-round while most other canyon drainages have seasonal streams that dry up during parts of the year. Having the advantage of a dependable water source is another reason Bandelier was heavily populated. The monument’s primary resources are cultural––archaeological and anthropological. The scenic canyon and mesa country also matter, and both features melding into high country mountain vistas at the upper end of Bandelier’s periphery. Surrounded by the Santa Fe National Forest, the monument's elevations range from around 5,340 feet (1,655 m) at the Rio Grande to 7,800 feet (2,300 m). Bandelier’s environs on top of the Pajarito (pronounced “par-a-rito”) Plateau, which is part of the nearby Jemez (pronounced “hay-mez”) mountains defines a rugged topographical setting. Thus, well off the beaten track (at the time of occupation). Bounded on the west by the famed Valles Caldera, and on the east by the White Rock Canyon of the Rio Grande, the volcanic ash flow that formed the plateau originated from a major eruption in the Jemez Mountains. Named after the Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, who initially surveyed the ruins, the site was declared a national monument in 1916.
√ Guided Tour Essentials: Elevation often plays an important role regarding natural history and human inhabitation of a region as does the geology of the setting. At Bandelier, both primary aspects worked in concert for the dwellers. From 5,340 feet (1,655 m) at the Rio Grande to the south, and 10,199 feet (3,108 m) to the summit of Cerro Grande to the north, there is nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) of elevation change in just under 12 miles (19 km). This gradient creates a unique and ideal diversity of habitats peculiar to northern New Mexico. Such diversity, along with easy access to a dependable water source, helped support a relatively large population at Bandelier. Human presence in the area has also been dated to over ten thousand years while permanent Ancestral Puebloan settlements have been dated to 1150. However, they lived closer to the Rio Grande by 1550. Surprisingly, primal volcanic eruptions later favored human habitation, in part to the generous distribution of basalt and the much prized obsidian (volcanic glass). Prized for its razor-sharp qualities for making spear tips and arrows, obsidian, a shiny volcanic glass remnant, was a popular trading commodity, along with other goods exchanged. As an added note of interest, many structures at Bandelier were built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). These talented workers first constructed the largest assembly of CCC-built structures in a national park area that has not been altered by new structures in the district.
Directions: From Santa Fe, take St. Francis Drive (Hwy. 84/285) north toward Los Alamos, then right onto NM 502 (toward Los Alamos), then another right turn and exit onto NW 4 toward White Rock. Continue 12 miles (19 km), passing White Rock to the monument entrance (on the left).
Contact Information: Superintendent, Bandelier National Monument, 15 Entrance Road, Los Alamos NM 87544. The Visitor Center number: 505-672-3861, ext. 517; Fax 672.9607
Here's my recommendation for a follow-up URL: http://1.usa.gov/TTkmfw
FYI: This second installment of THE DKOS ROAD TOUR SERIES provides an excerpt from the larger text, SCENIC ICONS OF THE SOUTHWEST (http://amzn.to/2on3z89). The soft cover 8.5 x 11 format (491 pages) provides the same information but also includes a thorough background on geology, natural and human history and miscellaneous subject matter. Additionally, there is an Android app there is an Android app available and the less expensive Kindle version. For information about myself and my books featured on Amazon, feel free to drop by www.richholtzin.com and leave a comment. I also write under the nom de plume, RK ALLEMAN. For more background about this tour series, please read my 3/29/2017 diary, HIT THE ROAD TOUR SERIES: An Introduction.
Another installment of this series will be next Sunday. Hopefully, every Sunday there will be a trio of new scenic icons for the reader’s enjoyment and enlightenment. (For those who want to know where they’re going in these upcoming tours, the previously mentioned introduction lists a Table of Contents (in alphabetical order).
About The Author: Rich, who writes under the nom de plume, RK ALLEMAN, has worked in the field as an outdoors educator and interpreter for the likes of the Grand Canyon Field Institute (nearly 20 years), Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff), and Yavapai College (Prescott, AZ). For nearly 40 years, he has backpacked some 8,000 miles, not including hiking sorties. Most of his works focus on the geosciences (mainly, geology, archaeology, and ecology), human and natural history applicable to the Colorado Plateau Province (aka the “Four Corners Region of the Southwest).
Note: the first tour series can be found at this URL: bit.ly/...