Keystone Thrust! by kimariehere
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Description
Hello all!!
Here are some more pictures oF Navada 's landscape as I am moving now down the hwy from red rock down the road to the great Keystone thrust!... The light was hard here because there wasnt much of it left that evening but i managed to capture this dirt road and pathway to this great geological mystery here is a liitle info on it for you!!
The Keystone Thrust is a famous as geological curiosity which has it's strata turned upside down. Normally we would expect that younger strata are found on top of older strata.
The Keystone Thrust defies common sense. The dark red streaks that run through light gray limestone can be seen from the far reaches of the Las Vegas Valley. These streaks or strata are topped by the older limestone's.
As with many of the exposed strata in this region, and much of mountainous Western North America the Keystone Thrust was 'constructed' by a process whereby huge tectonic plates shifted, ground into each other and did all kinds of things to mess up the clean geological sequence.
For most years, this part of the Southwest was under a deep ocean. Sediments accumulated over the vast time span resulting in the limestone formations we see today.
Years and years ago , the movements of the Earth's crust caused this now deep sea-bed to rise slowly. As the 'plates' which make up the Earth's crust continued to move and the sea-bed continued to rise until it became a set of huge lush plains. Streams criss-crossed these plains eroding them in some places and depositing debris in others.
The tectonic plates upon which the surface of the earth floats on, continued to move, push and pull the western North American continent. , this area had become a vast red, desert. It continued that way for thosans of years. At that time the shifting of the continental plates again began to lift, stretch, compress and pull the Earth's surface. This activity continued in earnest . Since then there has been isolated activity.
The term 'orogeny' refers to the process of mountain building. The shifting and collision of tectonic plates causes strata to be pushed against other strata , causing some of the strata to rise/ pushed under other strata, causing the top strata to rise, or volcanic activity.
In western North America the set of tectonically related events that created much of the topography from Northern Mexico to Alaska is referred to as the 'Laramide'. The effects are visible today from Southern Nevada to the Northern Rockies.
The continental plates were basically pushed pulled and shoved around. Once level strata were pushed up making them angular and tilted. At other times the strata were pulled apart causing whole valley's to slowly drop. The result today is the north - south orientation of the mountains and valleys in the Great Basin.
As the various strata were pushed together, then pulled apart and then shoved back together again, we get the Keystone Thrust. Through all this movement over the countless years, the older limestone's which were created from ocean bottoms, was folded over the younger sandstones .
Thus the 'Polyphase Laramide Orogeny' is the mountain building, resulting from shifting tectonic plates,. The result of this symphony of events is the Great Basin topography and places like the Keystone Thrust
Thank you for all your comments and time and most of all support it continually encourages me to create.., and maens the world to me!!!!
Love to you all !
great big hug!!
♥ Kimmers! :O)
Comments (68)
Hidinthesierras
Wow! That was pretty interesting,i love stuff like that!! The shot is so beautiful, the lighting is very surreal!! 8-)
Blush
This is spectucular sis Love the breathtaking colors in this image......and thanks for the interesting author comments too Also thanks for your comment on my snowflake... This gets my Vote Hugs Your sis Susan~
Ensomniac
Excellent shot. There are amazing sights to see in Nevada, growing in Northern Nevada I thought I'd seen it all, hiked and climbed every mountain, until I went to Vegas several years back, the mountains usually aren't what people go there for but I was amazed at how spectacular the lanscape is. These are some great challenging rocks for climbers too. Thanks for the interesting narative. Great work!!!
Sekadhar
Fantastic sky and light! Excellent capture!*****!
maud
Absolutely gorgeous..looks like a surreal photo! like it a lot..Great shot Kim!
WandM
Nature does a gigantic job. Thanks for the info and the beautiful shot.
SophiaDeer
Very stunning!! What a beautiful place!
gwfa
beautiful; has a surreal touch...
Gor111
Oh what a fabulous desert scene with this so marvellous camera setting! I love the light and color setting here! Thanks for this interesting description! V
DELMUR
woderfull again!!
jinet
Very nice picture, still in your original and personal style !
angells
Wow, this is a breathtaking view. Beautiful capture.
sossy
outstanding rocks and composition! breathtaking colors and light! top photo with an amazing clouded sky! ;o)
gunsan
Exotic, this magnificent view takes my breath away! Beautifully composed.
_Breeze
Fantastic picture K :-))) Excellent. Hugggs Diana
Tedz
Very impressive Landscape here Smudgie!
dragonfly2000
To me a course in geology was one of the most fun course i'd had as an undergrad - great clear explanation; awesome photo!
Denger
The pink sky behind those buttes is wonderful. Stunning vista, and great geology! I feel like I should go dig out my old rock hammer and prospect for fossils... oh, wait, all the rocks are under six inches of snow here, right now! ;)
ana-maria
Absolutely wonderful image. Gorgeous colors, light and sky. Excellent POV, looks fantastic!!!
lafayette
A great postwork,superb landscape! Have a great day.
uniquedreamer
Simply Goregous landscape!!
RodolfoCiminelli
A wonderful and impressive landscape.....!!! Splendid saturation of colors....!!!! V
Syltermermaid
I can only agree with Rodolfo, it looks very impressive!!! Marvelous shot, Kimmie!!!Hugs and take care!!
Lledeline
Great landscape
Rene-Brugman
What a great rocks, Nice pleacefor a walk
hotracer2
The road to "Beauty" great shot:):)..V
Egmont
Almost looks like it was created in Bryce. Thank you for sharing landscapes of an area not too many individuals have travled to. It is so good to see the diverse terrain of this country. Thank you for sharing.
claridad
If I ever want to see some great shots of the area I live in, this is the place to come. Just magnificent Kimmers! Your fact sheet on this is also quite wonderful to read. Thanks so much to taking the time to do that. Excellent photography. V Big Hugs Kimmers.
tibet2004uk
Another gorgeous scenery Kim. Simply splendid!!
Enmos
Im glad i took a look at your gallery, this is just awesome !!!