Self-Guided Field Trip Big Cottonwood Canyon

Bryston Hutchinson Geology 1010 Section 014 Professor Chris Johnson April 10th, 2014

Self-Guided Field Trip: Big Cottonwood Canyon

Big Cottonwood Canyon is an area with much geological importance, the points I will write about are first how glaciers formed Big Cottonwood, as well as Little Cottonwood, how they affect plant life and rock formation, in detail, the other deciding factors in what has also changed the land in the past and what will change it in the future. The rock types which are common while exploring Big Cottonwood, many which were metamorphic rock types, show the history of the land, looking at these we understand the past and what rocks, plants, and even animals used to live here. Learning to keep the land from deteriorating any more than what nature does is of importance as well, not destroying plant life, as it keeps rock fall from happening more often, as plants protect the ground from weathering and other forms of deterioration. Glaciers are the main defining factor of Big Cottonwood Canyon, BCC was formed by glacial ice a few tens of thousands years ago (Eldredge, 2010), BCC glacier plucks literal tons of rocks and moves it down with it, eroding the land and forming the shape of the canyon. The glacier within BCC only reached down 5 miles, and the lower area of the canyon has been dug out and eroded due to the river which flows throughout BCC. Glaciers generally gradually melt and provide fresh water for plant life, without this glacier the plant life in BCC may be scarce and not be able to grow and keep the land as stable as it needs to be. The changes residential areas apply to the land also have great effects, not as extremely elementally changing as glaciers, however utility and industrial activities change things very quickly. Within Big Cottonwood Canyon there have been two hydroelectric power plants in the past, both built in 1896, and both are now out of commission. Power plants are a great utility to

man, and while hydroelectric plants do not produce much waste themselves, it often affects river flows and through releasing poorly oxygenated water can drastically alter plant and animal life down the stream. Residential areas have grown and with the insertions of sewer lines it can cause waste problems, Big Cottonwood Canyon is a watershed canyon, supplying drinking water, waste would cause a health problem. Rock types within Big Cottonwood Canyon, these include mainly Sedimentary and Igneous (Case, n.d.). Rocks of which are in the BCC are including, mainly naming off what I personally noticed, Shale, this sedimentary rock accumulated of finely grained mud and clay, with many gray and black layers, Limestone, a chemically reactive rock, also being sedimentary, Quartzite also not being rare, seeing much red, white and brown, not hard to identify, and not rare either, Marble, Slate, and Gneiss also make up many of the rock percentages through this canyon (Department of Natural Resources, 2010). Looking at the types, sedimentary, its evident this land has been under water, however also looking at metamorphic we can also conclude there has been much of this area came up from deep high heat and pressure areas, deep underground. The evidence of igneous rocks comes from the granodiorite and diorite, as well as rhyolitic ash-flow caldera, including tuff containing abundant debris and hundreds of meters of Paleozoic rocks (Henry et al., n.d.). Weathering is the physical or chemical processes of disintegration and decomposition of the mineral and physical properties of rocks on Earth (Hudec, 1998). Every rock will eventually fall to weathering, however there are many ways in which it can happen, and how long it will take, differences will include constant changes of being wet and dry, freezing and thawing, even things as the type of rock being exposed. Predictions will not always be exact as we can not test

every weather possibility. Physical weathering consists of pressure, wedging (constant freezing and thawing of water) and growth of minerals or plants, meanwhile chemical weathering consists of things which are not visually obvious at first glance, commonly oxidation, and hydrolysis, including dissolution, with dissolution minerals do not disappear, they dissolve into liquid and will later materialize, such as stalactites and stalagmites. Weathering changes also based on the area in which rocks are, all around the world, and what type of weathering is common and uncommon there. Testing strength of rocks, freeze-thaw, wetting-drying cycles, water absorption, and changes when reacting to other materials, all is not possible, so to learn we simply keep track of what we observe, and through this way we can hypothesize what will happen in nearly any situation. Conclusively, Big Cottonwood Canyon is a land in which people can learn, and have learned, many things geologically. Seeing the land glaciers have formed and learning the industrial effects humans put on the land teach lessons and people learn lands, and how it will naturally react to elemental effects and things we do. Rocks within BCC are not uncommon in other places, while having all basic types, it is a canyon with easily accessible areas to all things with geological importance, and is still a nice recreational area. Weathering is something that does affect this area, with rock falls and other ways of deterioration. In the end I hope to personally look at geological areas in a greater perspective, as to teach others what I have learned doing this self-guided field trip.

References

Case, William F. (n.d.), Easily accessible examples of igneous, metamorphic, & sedimentary rocks in Wasatch Front canyons, http://geology.utah.gov/teacher/tc/tc0198.htm Department of Natural Resources (2004), Geologic Guide to the Central Wasatch Front Canyons. Eldredge, Sandy (2010), Glacial Landforms in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, Salt Lake County, Utah, http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/cottonwood_canyons.htm Henry, C. D., Boden, D. R., & Castor, S. B. (n.d.), Geology and Mineralization of the Eocene Tuscarora Volcanic Field, Elko County, Nevada. Hudec, Peter P. (1998), Rock properties and physical processes of rapid weathering and deterioration.

This image shows the protection of rock, with plant growth protecting from weathering.

Plant growth wedging within a rock, a physical type of weathering, breaking rock apart.

Mineral growth on a rock beside a stream.

A cave of falling rocks, littering the ground beneath with large and small rocks.

A river that has cut throughout the canyon, this is within a camp site.

Rock fall area, gradual incline to the face of the rock