Saturday, December 17, 2011

Geo-Picture-a-Day Week: Moon, Sky and Rock

It's day six of Geo-Picture-a-Day Week and today we go to basics: stone, sky and cosmos. It is an unusual framing of a familiar arch at Arches National Park in Utah: Landscape Arch, which is one of the widest spans in nature, the length of a football field. It's so thin in some sections that it is a wonder that it still stands (a big chunk fell out of it in the 1990's). So many geological processes are incredibly slow, but I will not be surprised if this arch collapses during our lifetimes.

Arches may seem like a deserted landscape, but what a contrast to a place like the moon, where essentially nothing happens aside from the occasional meteorite strike. A distant lonely place...but thinking back to the 1960's and my youthful dreams, I wish I had had a chance to walk upon it...

1 comment:

Gaelyn said...

I am bummed about missing Arches this year. For sure next year.