Dust cloud coming from the eastern rim of Grand Canyon near Carbon Creek Canyon. Temple Butte is the high-standing pyramid left of the dust cloud and Carbon Creek Canyon is hidden in front of it. On November 21, 2024 the National Park Service at Grand Canyon National Park reported a large rock fall that occurred just downstream from the confluence from the Little Colorado river. National Park Service personnel were on a river trip stopped over on River left at River Mile 66 and Espejo Creek. They looked upstream and saw a huge dust cloud coming down the west-facing slope of the east r ..read more

"Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau", first published in 2008, is now available in a fully revised and completely updated 2nd Edition! Published by the Grand Canyon Conservancy, it is being featured as a special Holiday offering here. The book will make a fantastic gift for your Earth-minded friends and family! (I recommend buying directly from here as proceeds go to support Grand Canyon National Park.  New cover of the 2nd Edition of "Ancient Landscapes" We continually have to answer the age-old question, "So if I own the 1st Edition, why should I buy the new edition?" H ..read more

Next stop on this trip was the Shetland Islands - the northernmost part of Scotland. We anchored off of the largest city, Lerwick. It has a population of about 7,000 but I did not experience it as I selected a trip that moved south along the east shore of the North Sea to an archaeological site called Jarlshof. Near there, we hiked a short distance to Sumburgh Head, a spectacular sheer cliff with a lighthouse that faces the Scottish mainland. Map of the destinations on this 8-day trip - Glasgow, Fort William, Portree, Orkney's, Shetland's and Sognefjord Map of the Shetland Isla ..read more

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory has issued a report on the hydrothermal blast in the Biscuit Basin area of the Park on July 23. I have copied their news release in its entirety here. It was NOT a volcanic eruption, but rather water turning to steam at shallow depths. Damaged boardwalk near the steam blast (Creative Commons courtesy of Yellowstone NP) YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT U.S. Geological Survey Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 3:43 PM MDT (Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 21:43 UTC) YELLOWSTONE (VNUM #325010) 44°25'48" N 110°40'12" W, Summit Elevation 9203 ..read more

Recently, I was fortunate to represent the Smithsonian Institution's travel program, Smithsonian Journeys, as a geologic lecturer for 145 guests. We sailed from Glasgow Scotland to Bergen Norway, stopping at six delightful and very scenic destinations. What an honor it is to represent the Smithsonian in this way and to to further a wider understanding of earth history and print day earth processes to the traveling public! This post just covers the first two stops in Scotland - I will post the rest of Scotland and Norway in subsequent posts. These are the three formal lectures I gave onboa ..read more

Are you staying in Flagstaff and headed to the Grand Canyon's South Rim? If so, this field trip guide may interest you and provide you with a more enjoyable and educational journey! Ten years ago in 2014, I served as a co-leader on a field trip sponsored by the Association of Engineering Geologists and the Arizona Geological Survey. As part of the field trip, I helped write a mile-by mile road log of the geology of the route that covers 110 miles. You can access the field trip guide here. You may need to be a subscriber to academia.edu to access the field trip guide. Enjoy the trip ..read more

It may sound tongue-in-cheek, but after my 24-day journey Around the World on a private jet, a mere 13-day trip to Antarctica meant a lot less packing and unpacking and staying the same cabin every night. Yes, I flew all the way to Tierra del Fuego and back to Flagstaff without ever having to unpack in a single hotel room - my flight connections were that tight. This trip marked my 31st journey to 'The Ice' and it was one of my best! Have a look. The city of Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego Island and the Beagle Channel - the jumping off point for Antarctic cruises Sunrise on ..read more

I'm so sorry for the delay in posting – I've actually been to Antarctica on a two-week trip and was unable to upload photos on the weak internet signal. I'm back to share these images and thoughts on visiting some of the best preserved ancient wonders anywhere on the globe! Here I continue the story of my Around the World trip completed in January. We left the Serengeti in Tanzania and took an interesting route up to Egypt. The flight was about four hours long as Tanzania is located in east-central Africa. For some reason (and unlike other times that I've done this flight) we did not take a st ..read more

Leaving India, we flew right over the Mumbai megapolis and a much large expanse of the Indian Ocean. Many hours later, the east coast of the African continent came into our view. We were on our way to the marvelous Serengeti National Park in Tanzania This is the east coast of Somalia just north of Mogadishu. It is quite arid. It's always fun to walk up and down the aisle of the jet and tell folks what can be seen out the window. Whenever mention "Cuba" "Somalia" or "Iran", they gasp and wonder if it is safe. The top of Mount Kilimanjaro! See my postings of a trek we did in 2014 ..read more

Continuing on our trip around the globe was a one-day stop at the Taj Mahal, the ultimate monument to love and built between 1631 and 1648. We enjoyed a most pleasant visit on this relatively cold day in Agra. India is famous for its gemstone and old rock layers. Before one gets a view of the mausoleum, they pass through other exquisite buildings made from red sandstone and white marble  That is the Taj Mahal frame by the entrance gate A closer view of the same Closer still.... Framed in flowers It was foggy when we landed but it cle ..read more