Photo JournalTAYLOR GEORGE-FORTE

GEOGRAPHY 5

Field Trip One

Mormon Rocks

Mormon Rocks FormationMormon Rocks was created when the North American and Pacific Plates collided along the San Andreas Fault Line.

Granular Structure

Mormon Rocks is composed of sedimentary rock specifically Sandstone. How it looks today is due to the weather. As natural weathering occurs the rock expands and contracts creating holes.

Stream Bed and San Andreas RiftMormon Rocks happens to lay in the San Andreas Rift Zone and its stream bed is actually San Andreas’s tilted fault bed.

Cinder Hill

Cinder Cone

The cinder cone at Cinder hill is in series of volcanoes in the Sierra Nevada's. After an eruption a layer of cinder surrounds the pad of lava that is left of the volcano creating the cinder cones. This gives it its conical shape. The last eruption of the cinder cones was 500 years ago.

Lava Flows When a volcano erupts, lava spews out of it and covers rocks and the land already there. This creates piles of volcanic rock called lava flows. They are mostly comprised of Basalt.

Fossils Falls

Stream Bed

This was the stream bed for the Owens River which led to the Owens Falls.

Fossil Falls

When the Owens River and falls dried-up volcanic rock shaped by the water remain this is now known as Fossil Falls

Metate Holes

Metate holes are small pools in the rock that fill up with water organisms such as brine shrimp and tadpoles often grow in these holes.

Obsidian Flakes

Obsidian was created when a volcano erupted and the lava came in contact with the water in the Owens River. This created the volcanic glass obsidian. The Shoshone used the obsidian to create arrowheads to hunt with. Flakes were left behind when the arrowheads were carved

Petroglyph

The petroglyphs were Shoshone drawings on rocks. This one depicts bighorn sheep and a Shaman. Perhaps this drawing is depicting a religious ceremony. We cannot be certain.

House Rings

The house rings were used a foundation for Shoshone teepees. Small and medium sized rocks were used to be easily moved for temporary shelter.

Field Trip Two

Diaz Lake

Diaz Lake

When a earthquake struck in 1872 along the Lone Pine Fault, the land sunk down and filled with water. This created what is now known as Diaz Lake, located between the Sierra Nevada and Inyo/White Mountains.

Lone Pine Fault

This is the Lone Pine Fault, located at the base of the Alabama Hills, just behind Diaz Lake. The fault created the lake in an earthquake in 1872.

Alluvial Fan

Alluvial fan on the Inyo/White Mountains photographed from the shore of the Diaz Lake

Mt. Whitney Interagency Visitors Center

Mt. Whitney

The elevation of Mount Whitney is 14,505 feet. This is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In the front are the Alabama Hills.

Mt. Whitney

Alabama Hills

Inyo-White MountainsThe Inyo/Whites have "V" shaped valleys from just rainfall. The stripes formed from the layers of Sedimentary rock.

Orographic Effect

We noticed on that day that the Sierras had snow on them and the Inyo/Whites did not. This was attributed to orographic effect. Clouds were able to lift over the Sierras and bring snow as they gained altitude but the clouds dissipated before reaching the Inyo/Whites.

Keoughs Hot Springs

Hot Stream

Water trickles from the Sierra Nevada Mountains into crack into the earthquake fault. The water goes down low enough to be heated up by the earth’s core, then bubbles back up farther down the mountain.

Mammoth Rest Stop

Bark Beetle Destruction

Some of the trees in the area have had to be cut down due to the destruction of the bark beetle. The beetle eats twisty trails into the bark weekending and eventually killing the trees.

Mono Lake

Lake and Islands

Mono Lake has two islands in it; the largest being Paoha and the smallest being Negit. Paoha Island is actually about a volcano and the island has only existed for 350 years. Negit Island has existed for 2000 years and is made of volcanic minerals.

Negit Island

Paoha Island

Former Shorelines

There are three types of shorelines at Mono Lake ancient, pre-diversion, and modern. The ancient shoreline was at 6427 feet above sea level. The shoreline before the Los Angeles stay version in 1941 was 4,300,000 acre-feet at 6417 feet above sea level. The shoreline is marked by wooden walkway that can be taken up when this will wake returns to that level. The modern shoreline is 2.6 acre-feet at 6380 feet above sea level the historical was in 1982 with 2,100,000 acre-feet at 6372 feet above sea level.

Tufa

Tufas are made from calcium carbonate and limestone. They are created underwater with the springs and grow in both groves and towers.

June Lake Loop

Grant Lake and Moraines

Grant Lake is an reservoir that eventually feeds into the Los Angeles Aqueduct. On two sides of the lake are moraines left from the glaciated valley behind the lake.

Moraine

Silver Lake and Waterfall

Sliver Lake is located within the June Lake Scenic Loop. This is a waterfall that feeds into the lake but on this day, the waterfall was frozen over.

Waterfall

Erratic Boulder

This perched boulder, or glacial erratic, is located next to the fire station in June Lake Loop. It was carried and deposited here by glacial action.

Bloody Canyon is a glaciated Valley with moraine sitting in front of it. The glacier carves a valley into the mountain and the debris pushed in front of it is the moraine.

Bloody Canyon

Glaciated Valley

Moraine

Convict Lake

The Lake

Convict Lake is one of the one within the scenic June Lake Loop. This lake features Paleozoic Metamorphic rock, the oldest rocks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Paleozic Metamorphic Rocks

Eastern California Museum

Internment Camp Model

I found this model perched on a book shelf at the Eastern Califronia Museum. It a basic model of an Japanese Internment Camp between 1942 and 1945. It gives you an idea of how a camp would have physically looked like. The signs shows the different internment camps and how many people they housed across the country.

Internment Camp Model (Continued)

Manzanar

Guard ShackManzanar was a Japanese internment camp during World War II. The land was owned by George Chaffey. This was the largest internment camp in the country and held over 110,000 Japanese-Americans from 1942 until 1945.

AreaOne of the foundations that is still standing is the stone center of the camp. Along it ran the main road of the camp with the rest of the buildings surrounding area

In-Transit

Cucamonga Alluvial Fan

Alluvial Fan

This Alluvial Fan is located in Rancho Cucamonga, just off the 15 Freeway.

Solar Power Plant

This solar power plant is located near Kramer Junction, off the 395 Highway. This and two other plants are owned by Kramer Junction Company.

Doppler Radar Tower

This and several other Doppler Radar Towers in this area are used to collect data in the atmosphere to make weather predictions.

Mine Tailings

Mine tailings like this are remnants of mining that went on in this area in search of gold and other valuable resources.

Joshua Tree, Creosote, and Burroweed Grass

Joshua Tree

Creosote

Burroweed Grass

California Aqueduct

Owens Dry Lake

The Owens Lake was once the biggest lake in the Owens River Valley. In the early 1900’s, the city of Los Angeles started exporting water from the lake into the city by means of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. They ran the lake dry from taking all of it’s water. The soda ash salts on the surface of the now dry lake is used various things.