Subj : ES Picture of the Day 26  2023
To   : All
From : Dan Richter
Date : Sun Feb 26 2023 11:01:06

 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Dance Hall Rock and Tafoni

   February 24, 2023

    TomMc_EPOD.DancehallRockTom (004)

    TomMc_EPOD.TafoniWithinTafoniDanceHallRock2022 (003)

   Photographer:  Thomas McGuire

   Summary Author:  Thomas McGuire

   In 1879 a group of 236  Mormons answered the call to trek 200 miles
   (320 km) from their homes in southwestern Utah eastward across
   partially explored high desert to populate the  San Juan River
   Valley. They had selected an unexplored “shortcut” to avoid an extra
   hundred miles of travel.

   This natural alcove (top photo), called  Dance Hall Rock, provided a
   place for the travelers to rest and to re-purpose themselves as scouts
   looking for a way to access the  Colorado River, more than 1,000
   feet (305 m) down a sheer cliff. They found a cleft in the rock where
   they had to chisel and dynamite an extremely steep and narrow ascent;
   so steep that both wagons and horses had to be lowered separately on
   ropes to the river below. After nearly a year of treacherous travel,
   they arrived two persons stronger than they left with no fatalities and
   two babies born along the journey.

   The alcove probably resulted from a layer of resistant,  Jurassic
   aged  Entrada sandstone, including many  tafoni (bottom photo),
   overlying less resistant  sandstone layers that over time had been
   hollowed out by wind and rain. Photos taken on May14, 2022


   Dance Hall Rock, Utah Coordinates:  37.357151, -111.100474


Related EPODs

    Dance Hall Rock and Tafoni  La Scala dei Turchi  Atacama
   Lagoon and Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way  The Snake River’s
   Formidable Hells Canyon  Joggins Fossil Cliffs  Salt Pans of
   Torre Nubia
    More...

Geography Links

     *  Atlapedia Online
     *  CountryReports
     *  GPS Visualizer
     *  Holt Rinehart Winston World Atlas
     *  Mapping Our World
     *  Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
     *  Types of Land
     *  World Mapper

-
   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
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