Bibliographies: 'Canyon Lake' – Grafiati (2024)

Abstract:

AbstractTeeth of northern bog lemming, Mictomys borealis, are reported from Cathedral and Smith Creek caves and represent the first Wisconsin remains of the genus from the Great Basin. Specimens from Cathedral Cave, Snake Range, are associated with U-series ages of 24,000 to 15,000 yr B.P. Previous work with pollen and packrat middens, dating to the same age as the Mictomys, indicate that Smith Creek Canyon contained a riparian, locally mesic community, including Picea engelmannii (spruce), Betula sp. (birch), Cercocarpus sp. (mountain mahogany), and Artemisia sp. (sagebrush) among other species. Exposed canyon slopes and the adjacent valley apparently contained a more xeric steppe community including sagebrush and Chenopodiineae species; rocky outcrop permitted Pinus flexilis (limber pine) and P. longaeva (bristlecone pine) to grow adjacent to Lake Bonneville or low in the canyon. The region apparently experienced a dry climate (not necessarily drier than today); however, Smith Creek Canyon was fed by glacial meltwater from Mt. Moriah. The northern bog lemming probably lived only in the riparian community and possibly on the north-facing slope below Cathedral Cave. Few canyons of the Snake Range would have had the unusually mesic conditions found in Smith Creek Canyon.

Abstract:

There has been a literary tradition supporting the restoration of Glen Canyon in southern Utah ever since construction began on Glen Canyon Dam in the late 1950s, and the canyons began to disappear behind the rising waters of Lake Powell. While some of Glen Canyon’s literary protagonists put forward a strong political and anarchical refrain for a ‘Glen Canyon restored’, this article considers those writers and texts that instead look to the power of appeals to emotion in defense of the desert. In particular, this article considers the evocative capacity of environmental writing to convey emotional and affective landscapes. This article examines the desert writings of Ellen Meloy and Terry Tempest Williams, and the ways in which they employ rhetoric, myth, story, motifs, metaphor, symbolism, and allegory to speak back to the environmental condition, and the ongoing call to restore Glen Canyon. Meloy’s and Williams’ works present individual testimonies molded by personal engagement, experience, and investigation in the desert – but also contribute to ecological and political discourse in the Glen.

Abstract:

AbstractOne of the most intriguing episodes in the Quaternary evolution of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Arizona, was the development of vast lakes that are thought to have backed up behind lava erupted into the gorge. Stratigraphic evidence for these deep lava-dammed lakes is expectedly sparse. Possible lacustrine deposits at six areas in the eastern canyon yielded no compelling evidence for sediment deposited in a deep lake. At two of the sites the sediment was associated with late Quaternary spring-fed pools and marshes. Water-lain silt and sand at lower Havasu Creek was deposited ∼3000 cal yr ago. The deposit contains an ostracode assemblage similar to that living in the modern travertine-dammed pools adjacent to the outcrop. The second deposit, at Lees Ferry, formed in a spring-fed marsh ∼43,000 cal yr ago, as determined by 14C and amino acid geochronology. It contains abundant ostracode and mollusk fossils, the richest assemblages reported from the Grand Canyon to date. Our interpretation of these sediments as spring-fed deposits, and their relative youth, provides an alternative to the conventional view that deposits like these were formed in deep lava-dammed lakes that filled the Grand Canyon.

Abstract:

Zion Canyon hosts millions of visitors each year, yet few are aware of the massive prehistoric landslide that played an important role in shaping the iconic landscape. South of the Sand Bench trailhead and bridge, a large hill encroaches on the canyon bottom around which the North Fork Virgin River flows. North of the bridge, Zion Canyon’s fl at bottom stretches into the distance. The hill is part of an enormous rock avalanche deposit known as the Sentinel slide that is nearly 2 miles (3.2 km) long and more than 650 feet (200 m) thick. After failure, the Sentinel rock avalanche dammed the North Fork Virgin River creating a lake (known as Sentinel Lake) which persisted for approximately 700 years (Grater, 1945; Hamilton, 1976; Castleton and others, 2016). Over the course of the lake’s lifetime, sediment settled at the bottom of the lake to create thick deposits of mud, clay, and sand. Sediment eventually fi lled in the canyon bottom behind the landslide dam, and the lake ceased to exist. Th ese sediment layers are still visible today and are responsible for the remarkably fl at fl oor of upper Zion Canyon (Grater, 1945; Hamilton, 2014; Castleton and others, 2016).

Abstract:

Winter outdoor recreation opportunities in Utah are directly impacted by the effects of climate change and deteriorating air quality. We examine the influences of daily weather conditions and air quality on winter use of two prominent Utah canyons located just outside Salt Lake City-Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Daily weather data were collected both within the canyons and in Salt Lake City; daily air quality data were collected for just Salt Lake City. We hypothesized that desirable weather within the canyons (i.e., cooler temperatures, more snowfall, and deeper snow depths) serves as a “pull” factor, positively influencing the volume of traffic. We also hypothesized that poor air quality within the city acts as a “push” factor on individuals’ travel behavior, this too would positively influence the volume of traffic up the canyons. We used a panel time-series regression model to determine the influence of both these “push” and “pull” factors on use of the canyons during the winter months. Our results revealed that, as expected, cooler temperatures and greater amounts of snow in the canyons, as well as poorer air quality in the city, have a positive and significant influence on winter canyon use. These findings suggest that warmer winter temperatures, as well as deteriorating air quality in the city, may have substantial impacts on Utah’s outdoor recreation economy.

Abstract:

Rock Canyon near Provo, Utah is an ideal outdoor laboratory. The canyon has been known and explored for many years by scientists and students for its fascinating geology, biology, and botany. It is also a favorite location for rock climbers, hikers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Facilities near the mouth of the canyon including parking, restrooms, a lecture amphitheater, and a covered pavilion with picnic tables provide an ideal location for visitors. Geology is the focal point of this beautiful canyon with a history that stretches from the Precambrian (about 700 million years ago) to the Wasatch fault and Lake Bonneville, which covered much of western Utah at its peak roughly 18,000 years ago. Excellent exposures of the rocks allow visitors to see features clearly and piece together the history of the canyon. The oldest rocks are glacial deposits of the Mineral Fork Tillite. The tillite is overlain by a thick section of Paleozoic rocks of Cambrian to Permian age, all of which have been deformed into an asymmetric, overturned fold formed during the Sevier orogeny, a roughly 140 to 50 million year old mountain building event. The upper reaches of the canyon were sculpted by glaciers during the Pleistocene and deposits of the Provo and Bonneville levels of Lake Bonneville are found at the mouth of the canyon, now cut by a recent alluvial fan. Also, at the mouth of the canyon are excellent exposures of features associated with the Wasatch fault.

Abstract:

The Early Pennsylvanian (Bashkirian/Morrowan) Bridal Veil Limestone of north-central Utah was deposited in the eastern portion of the rapidly subsiding Oquirrh basin. The 420 meter-thick Bridal Veil Limestone displays distinct cyclicity formed by stacked, meter to decameter scale high-frequency sequences and their constituent parasequences. Though no one ideal cycle may be defined for the Bridal Veil Limestone, each high-frequency sequence and parasequence contains a general shallowing upward trend that ranges from anaerobic to dysaerobic mudstone at the base to skeletal wackestone to mud-dominated packstone, capped by heterozoan grain-rich carbonates or siliciclastic tidalites. Cycles bounded by exposure surfaces, indicated by micro-brecciation, rhizoliths, laminated calcite or silica crusts, rip-up clasts, centimeter-scale teepee structures, and/or pronounced erosional relief are termed high-frequency sequences. Those bounded by marine flooding surfaces are defined as parasequences. Thusly defined, the Bridal Veil Limestone is divided into 25 high-frequency sequences designated BVL-1 through BVL-25. Overall, two distinct sets of high-frequency sequences may be observed in the Bridal Veil Limestone. Sequences comprising the lower half of the formation (BVL-1 through BVL-12) are thicker, muddier, and less sand-prone than sequences in the upper half of the formation (BVL-13 through BVL-25), indicating an overall change in oxygenation, depositional texture, and accommodation upward in the section. Tracing of key beds and surfaces between the Thorpe Hills, Lake Mountain, and the Wasatch Range (spanning a distance greater than 50 miles) reveals that deposition was remarkably uniform across the southeastern part of the Oquirrh basin which we herein designate the Bridal Veil sub-basin and distinct from coeval formations in the southern Oquirrh basin, Ely basin, and Wyoming shelf. Mudstone and wackestone textures comprise a large portion of the formation by volume. Grain-rich carbonates are almost exclusively heterozoan in composition, indicating that the sub-basin was subphotic to aphotic through Early Pennsylvanian time.

Abstract:

The chapters of this thesis focus on the history and stories of the people who built and traveled down the highways--Highway 89A, Highway 89, and Highway 67--that branch out from the junction in front of Jacob Lake Inn, the Bowman/Rich family's 87-year-old lodge. The family's role in building roads, supporting and encouraging the growing tourist industry in Kanab and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and the converging effects of these choices have created the unique family culture and contributed to the history of the Grand Canyon region over time. Ultimately this thesis is about relationships, about the connections, influences, and choices of individuals, businesses, and government organizations that have created the myriad levels of local and national memory and unique distinctions between the tourist industry on the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon that have framed my family's lifestyle at the junction to the National Park and surrounding scenic areas.

Abstract:

The Farmington Canyon Complex, situated along the Wasatch front in northern Utah, has been the target for many studies. The FCC has been interpreted to be a passive margin sedimentary wedge. Previous studies have yielded isotopic ages that broadly support an Archean age of formation, and a prominent mid-proterozoic amphibolite grade metamorphic event. Based on this study, a new interpretation for the FCC is presented. Field relations and whole-rock geochemistry as well as recent advances in understanding Archean crustal processes have resulted in the FCC to be considered as an accretionary complex that formed along the SW margin of the Wyoming province in the early Archean. Rock assemblages such as mafic and ultramafic metavolcanics have chemistries that resemble oceanic crust and arc related volcanics. The extensive quartzo-felspathic gneiss and schist units have compositions that reflect greywacke, and are presented here as a melange matrix. The quartzites have chemistries, which may represent cherts or silicified microbial mats. The field relations and timing of these rocks indicate that the FCC may represent a continental arc synchronous with the closing of an ocean basin, forming an accretionary wedge. This culminated with the mid-proterozoic metamorphic event as this continental arc collided with the Santaquin arc, as well as the SW margin of Laurentia. This amphibolite grade metamorphic event has subsequently reset or overprinted isotopic evidence and obscured any textures that may have existed. Although much has yet to be learned about Archean processes, comparison to other recognized Archean accretionary complexes has yielded striking similarities, and it is presented here that the FCC represents an active margin, and is likely an accretionary melange.

Abstract:

Many researchers have attempted to identify best practices, habits, and conditions of English Language Learners (ELs, ELLs) pertaining to school success. It is clear EL students pose unique and significant challenges, yet unclear what strategies and program models educators can implement to motivate learning, improve educational experiences, and appropriately acknowledge and reward these learners’ accomplishments. Few studies have attempted to determine the difficulties and challenges associated with academic success and probability of graduation for Late-entry English Learners (LEELs), defined as those entering the school system as eighth-through-twelfth grade students. Their test scores weigh heavily on high-stakes standardized testing accountability measures. Late-entry ELs are often shortchanged when it comes to resources and teachers. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing reports nearly 7500 teachers currently teaching EL students without proper authorization as there simply are not enough teachers to meet the need. This study will give LEELs a voice to describe their educational experiences and perceptions of pertinent hurdles. They will share recommendations of best practices for Late-entry ELs and for the administrators and educators who serve them. The study draws attention to LEEL experiences, honoring them, while informing educational leaders regarding practices that may alleviate educational obstacles. Additionally, the study seeks to ascertain the best way to foster academic success for LEELs. This research is valuable as EL populations continue to grow in California and across the nation.

Abstract:

As part of the wider European GTS Next project, I propose new constraints on the ages of the Late Cretaceous, derived from a multitude of geochronological techniques, and successful stratigraphic interpretations from Canada and Japan. In the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, we propose a new constraint on the age of the K/Pg boundary in the Red Deer River section (Alberta, Canada). We were able to cyclostratigraphically tune sediments in a non-marine, fluvial environment utilising high-resolution proxy records suggesting a 11-12 precession related cyclicity. Assuming the 40Ar/39Ar method is inter-calibrated with the cyclostratigraphy, the apparent age for C29r suggests that the K/Pg boundary falls between eccentricity maxima and minima, yielding an age of the C29r between 65.89 ± 0.08 and 66.30 ± 0.08 Ma. Assuming that the bundle containing the coal horizon represents a precession cycle, the K/Pg boundary is within the analytical uncertainty of the youngest zircon population achieving a revised age for the K/Pg boundary as 65.75 ± 0.06 Ma. The Campanian - Maastrichtian boundary is preserved in the sedimentary succession of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and has been placed ~8 m below Coal nr. 10. Cyclostratigraphic studies show that the formation of these depositional sequences (alternations) of all scales are influenced directly by sea-level changes due to precession but more dominated by eccentricity cycles proved in the cyclostratigraphic framework and is mainly controlled by sand horizons, which have been related by autocyclicity in a dynamic sedimentary setting. Our work shows that the Campanian - Maastrichtian boundary in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin coincides with ~2.5 eccentricity cycles above the youngest zircon age population at the bottom of the section and ~4.9 Myr before the Cretaceous - Palaeogene boundary (K/Pg), and thus corresponds to an absolute age of 70.65 ± 0.09 Ma producing an ~1.4 Myr younger age than recent published ages. Finally, using advances with terrestrial carbon isotope and planktonic foraminifera records within central Hokkaido, Northwest Pacific, sections from the Cretaceous Yezo group were correlated to that of European and North American counterparts. Datable ash layers throughout the Kotanbetsu and Shumarinai section were analysed using both 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb methods. We successfully dated two ash tuff layers falling either side of the Turonian - Coniacian boundary, yielding an age range for the boundary between 89.31 ± 0.11 Ma and 89.57 ± 0.11 Ma or a boundary age of 89.44 ± 0.24 Ma. Combining these U-Pb ages with recent published ages we are able to reduce the age limit once more and propose an age for the Turonian - Coniacian boundary as 89.62 ± 0.04 Ma.

Abstract:

Rocks provide insight into ancient times before complex animals existed. The oldest sedimentary rocks in Grand Canyon (the Bass Formation) allow us to glimpse into what things might have been like over a billion years ago. These rocks record the time known as the Mesoproterozoic Era (1.6 to 1.0 billion years ago), otherwise known as the ‘boring billion’. These rocks are thought to be the right age to indicate the end of an oddly stable world when continents were quiet and life was calm, yet they predate younger rocks that record extreme events. The Bass Formation, some of the only rock of this age in the world, contains evidence for life and the carbon cycle, and yields information about Earth’s environments 1.2 billion years ago.The carbon cycle can be studied using carbonate rocks. Assuming that the rock has the same chemistry as the water it formed in, we can measure the relative abundance of carbon isotopes to see a ‘fingerprint’ of the system during the time the rock was deposited. During the boring billion, it is thought that very little variation occurs in this fingerprint. However, as more studies are completed, we see a modest variation in units around the age of the Bass Formation. The fingerprint results from this study can be added to the growing collection of Mesoproterozoic studies and help to further our knowledge about the world from this not-so-boring period of time.