When glaciers erode landscapes, they often leave behind characteristic U-shaped valleys. This week’s Monday Geology Picture shows a U-shaped glacial valley on the Seward Peninsula in Alaska. This valley is located just outside of the gold mining town of Nome.
Does anyone else have good pictures of U-shaped valleys?
Three out of the four times that I flew between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska, the weather was overcast and clouds covered much of the landscape below. However, when I flew from Nome to Anchorage in August 2013 I was fortunate enough to fly on a day when skies were clear. I was thrilled to obtain a spectacular view of Denali, also known as Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America. Denali towers an impressive 20,237 feet above sea level. Flying over the Denali mountain range was a beautiful, humbling, thought-provoking experience. The landscape is certainly breathtaking. Rugged white mountain peaks are flanked by immense brown-and-white striped glaciers that snake down the slopes before melting into sediment-laden rivers that rush through green valleys then meander across the flat, pale green plain far below the mountain peaks. I found the glaciers particularly beautiful and fascinating. I also wondered and worried about what the glaciers will look like in 10 years, in 20 years, in 50 years, in 100 years– blinks of an eye in geologic time but significant periods in human time. Will the glaciers have shrunk due to warming climate? Will they be there at all? The immensity, and also the fragility, of the lofty landscape humbled me. So, too, did the thought that I was flying high above Denali, traveling in a little metal airplane built by little men (and women, I hope). I likely will never have the skill or guts or determination to climb a mountain such as Denali, but thanks to modern technology and some good weather conditions I was able to, for a little while at least, appreciate Denali’s beauty from a great height.
Below are some more plane views of Denali and the surrounding landscape. Enjoy! Please feel free to point out features on these pictures if you are familiar with the terrain. The National Park Service provides some information about the geology of Denali here.
This week’s picture was taken by my husband Jackie in Prince William Sound, Alaska, back in early September. Jackie and I spent about two months working in Alaska earlier this year. After our work, I went to visit my family in New Hampshire for a few days while Jackie stayed behind with a colleague to pack up gear and such. Just before flying home to South Africa, Jackie and the colleague went on a glacier viewing cruise in Prince William Sound. They saw some impressive views of glaciers and highly recommend the cruise. I’m hoping to go on the cruise another year. Jackie tells me that the boat in the above picture above is bigger than it seems– Blackstone Glacier is quite a big glacier!
I’m currently in Nome, Alaska for another season of fieldwork. So, if I’m a bit scarce around here over the next several weeks, that’s why. However, I hope to share a few pictures from Alaska now and then. Here’s one to start things off. While driving around the Nome area today, I ran across this fun signpost. I think that it is a perfect entry for Accretionary Wedge #58! Don’t forget to participate in this month’s wedge if you haven’t already.
Here is Part II of the views that I observed during a flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town back in September 2012. Part I is here. I believe that all of these shots were taken over Algeria. There are some stunning desert views. Although I grew up in relatively lush New England, I have always liked deserts. I think I first became enchanted by deserts when I was an exchange student and lived in Jordan for 5 months when I was 15 years old. My school in Jordan took me on visits to places such as Wadi Rum and Petra, and I quickly fell in love with the sands, rocks, animals, people, and historical ruins of the deserts there. Visiting the Jordanian deserts certainly helped inspire me to study geology.
I’ve never been to Algeria, but the desert views I observed while flying over Algeria are certainly enchanting. The young, volcanic Hoggar Mountains look particularly enticing. I hope that I can one day visit the deserts of Algeria. Has anyone been there?
Enjoy the desert views below. And, as always, feel free to point out interesting locations and geological features.
I still have some more views to share from this flight, so stay tuned for Part III!
After passing through the mining-themed entrance, going on an underground mine tour, and watching a gold pouring demonstration at Gold Reef City (a gold mining themed amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa), my husband and I decided to try the “Gold Panning” activity. I must admit, we were somewhat disappointed in this activity, which involved “panning” for some shiny metal (but not gold– it was very different in texture, density, etc.) in a fake stream filled with some quartz sand. My husband and I both work for a gold exploration company, so we have experience panning for real gold in the field. We found the Gold Reef City “Gold Panning” experience to be less-than-satisfying. But we took a picture of me “panning” anyway.
Stay tuned… there will be more pictures from Gold Reef City next week!
Here are some pictures of real gold panning in Alaska:
After flying from Nome to Anchorage and then from Anchorage to Seattle and then from Seattle to Amsterdam, my husband and I finally boarded our last flight home, which was from Amsterdam to Cape Town. The flight was long (11.5 hours!), but we were fortunate to observe plenty of amazing scenery along the way.
In this post I’m sharing some pictures that I took during this Amsterdam to Cape Town flight. I actually took so many great pictures during the flight that I’m going to share them in multiple posts. The pictures in this first post were taken over Europe before we flew over the Mediterranean and then over Africa. Please feel free to point out locations, geological features, and other interesting things in the pictures. Perhaps some people with strong Google Earth fu can help me pinpoint some of the locations. Enjoy!Â
I’m nearly done sharing all of my pictures from my trip to Alaska in July to September 2012. I just need to finish up two outstanding “Plane Views” posts and then share some pictures and information from a wonderful sea kayaking trip in Prince William Sound. However, I’m most likely going back to Alaska again in a few months, so there will probably be more about Alaska in the future here on Georneys.
On to the airplane pictures, though! After flying from Nome to Anchorage and then from Anchorage to Seattle, my husband and I took a flight from Seattle to Amsterdam. We flew overnight and were often above the clouds, so I didn’t take very many pictures. Also, we were flying business class and were actually able to sleep on the airplane! However, I did take a few pictures as the plane landed in Europe on a somewhat rainy day.
I have some really amazing pictures from our next flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town, so stay tuned for those!
After flying from Nome to Anchorage back in September 2012, my husband and I spent a night in a hotel, had dinner with some colleagues, and then very early the next morning headed to the airport for our next flight to Seattle. Below are some pictures we took from the airplane. I believe that most of these shots were taken over British Columbia. Enjoy! And, as always, feel free to point out any interesting geological features or locations.
A few months ago, I shared some pictures taken during a set of four flights from Cape Town, South Africa to Nome, Alaska:
Cape Town to Amsterdam
Amsterdam to Minneapolis
Minneapolis to Anchorage
Anchorage to Nome
Now, I’d like to share some pictures taken during the return journey in September 2012, which was Nome –> Anchorage –> Seattle –> Amsterdam –> South Africa. This first post contains some pictures taken during the Nome to Anchorage flight. The visibility in Nome was actually fairly good on the day of our departure, so I managed to take some decent pictures of the Nome Harbor and such. Enjoy! Feel free to point out any interesting geological locations or features.
I’ll share some more “Plane Views” soon!
Georneys 