Rainbow of Rocks

Rainbow of Rocks
Author: Marjorie A. Chan
Publisher: Utah Geological Survey
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2002-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1557916810

Sunrise illuminates Colorado Plateau’s canyon country. In the early morning light, cliffs radiate a rich red glow, and a sculptured panorama of sandstone is revealed in a rich palette of crimson, vermilion, orange, salmon, peach, pink, gold, yellow, and white. Nearby are black, spherical rock marbles (iron concretions) collecting in small depressions, like puddles of ball bearings. These natural spherical balls have been called various names such as iron nodules, iron sandstone balls, or moki marbles. However, we use the name “iron concretion” to describe both the composition (iron oxide that is the dark mineral which cements the sandstone grains) and the formed shape (concretion). What paints the sandstone such rich colors? Why is red a dominant color? Where do the black marbles come from? How did the black marbles form? Is there a relationship between sandstone colors and the marbles? This booklet explores the answers to these questions and poses other questions yet unanswered.

Backbone of the Americas

Backbone of the Americas
Author: Suzanne Mahlburg Kay
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2009
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0813712041

"The American Cordilleras form a continuous orogen that extends for 12,500 km along the eastern flank of the Pacific Ocean from Arctic to Antarctic latitudes as an integral part of the circum-Pacific orogenic belt. Following two summary chapters on the overall anatomy and evolution of North and South American segments of the orogenic system, this volume includes ten seminal chapters dealing with salient aspects of the key geodynamic processes that have accompanied Cordilleran geotectonic evolution: forearc terrane accretion, arc magmatism, shallow subduction, and backarc intracontinental deformation. The papers in this volume were selected from those presented at the 2006 Backbone of the Americas Meeting, which was sponsored jointly by multiple North and South American geological societies in Mendoza, Argentina."--pub. desc.

Exploring Extreme and Unusual Geology in the Stable Midcontinent

Exploring Extreme and Unusual Geology in the Stable Midcontinent
Author: Marcia K. Schulmeister
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2019-04-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0813700523

"The papers in this volume illustrate unique, but often overlooked, geologic events of the last 300 million years. Rock outcrops and landscapes, ranging in age from Upper Pennsylvanian through the Anthropocene, are presented that address the following themes: cyclothems, a Permian salt giant, Midcontinent kimberlite intrusions, and Midcontinent glaciation"--