Room+22A

4/21-22/11 Wilson Fieldtrip to the Grand Canyon =Room 22A: Alex and Max = We start the Wilson Seventh Grade Fieldtrip to the Grand Canyon on April 21, 2011. First we stopped at the rest area outside of Flagstaff.

Grand Canyon from the South Rim.

A. South Rim of the Grand Canyon: Then we traveled to the Grand Canyon, the South Rim. First we saw the IMAX film on the Grand Canyon and then we went to the overlook to actually see it. Finally we took a hike on the South Kaibab trail for about 1.5 miles round trip. That evening we went to the Bright Angel Lodge and watched the sunset on the Grand Canyon and watched the peaks turn different colors. It was awesome!

At the South Rim We learned a few things.
 * There have been about 60 deaths in the grand canyon
 * Most of which (if not all) are caused of foolishness
 * They have a death about every year
 * They've already had their death for the year
 * The 2nd biggest bird in the whole world, the California Condor, are located in the Grand Canyon
 * The species would have gone ixtinct if they didn't do anything about it
 * The Canyon is one of the few geological wonders that can be seen from space (Great Wall of China is NOT a geological landmark, it was man-made)
 * In the 1940s, the peddle pusher was being advertised by famous model, D.D. Johnson. The photographers insisted she stands on the edge, but the blur of lights firing off at her made her dizzy and fall. She landed on the edge about 30 feet away from the rim. It was a 500 plunge if she hadn't gotten on that edge! When she was hooked up and being brought back up, she was screaming. They learned she was screaming because the rope took off her top.



B. River Trip on the Colorado River: While on the trail, we larned alot.
 * The first layer is limestone
 * Limestone can be made with water and other materials
 * That means the Kaibab Trail was once cover with water!
 * We learned the DUDE of the Grand Canyon
 * **D**eposition: When sediment is placed. I explained limestone which need water and Clacite to form. That means the whole trail and Grand Canyon was covered in water. In some areas you can see the sea life that once roamed the Grand Canyon.
 * **U**plift:Where our continental plates collide and earth is pushed up.
 * **D**owncutting: This is where the river's power slowly cuts through the Grand Canyon, layer by layer.
 * **E**rosion: When water erodes or eats away Canyon walls, which in turn makes our canyon bigger. We can't assume the Colorado River caused the erosion because the downcutting went stright down. A theory that makes sense is a great flood.

We stayed overnight in Paige, AZ. The next morning we took a bus ride to the Glen Canyon Dam. It is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security, so we had to get off our bus and get on their bus. Then they drove use through a two mile tunnel through the mountain to get to the place where we could board our rafts for a float trip on the Colorado, leaving from Glen Canyon Dam to Lee’s Ferry. This was the best part of the whole trip! 



Down the river, we were told a few things that we scribbled down into our notebooks.
 * The most common tree is the Tamirisk Tree but it is dangerous to the Grand Canyon ecosystem. We tried buring them, but they still spread, so we brought a beetle that eats only Tamirisk. The tree takes alot of the colorado's water. :(
 * With the concrete in the dam, we can make a highway from Chicago all the way to Pheonix...with 4 lanes!
 * There was a "stain" in the wall of the canyon that looked like an Abraham Lincoln PEZ
 * Below you see Monk Rock. It is named Monk Rock because it looks like a turned away monk.



C. Wupatki National Monument: After we left Lee’s Ferry, we traveled to Waputki National Monument. We walked around the ruins and listed to the acoustics in the round community room. These people were the ancestors of the Hopi people. Wupatki means in Hopi: it was cut long. These are the ruins of a farming settlement from 400 – 1700. We also saw a blowhole which is a geological feature. We walked along a trail and viewed the remains of the ballcourt and the village’s main structure. This was a little creepy to think that a whole village of people once lived and thrived here but all that is left now are ruins.

Wupatki National Monument.


 * Only about 10% of the indians survived past 40 due to Arizona's Weather
 * 3-5 Indian Children died there
 * This city is about 900 years old
 * Wupatki means House Into Segments in Hopi
 * They had their own AC system that cycled air between houses
 * There is a blow hole that blows our sucks depending on pressure
 * TODAY'S BLOWHOLE BLOWS
 * This city was often used for trade
 * Historians wonder why they left so much behind
 * A legend from the Hopis says that they realized wealth and material wasn't good, so they left every thing and set off

D. Sunset Crater National Monument: We then traveled to Sunset Crater and saw what used to be an active volcano site right here in Arizona. We walked a trail through an area where the volcano erupted and lava flowed. There are two kinds of lava, Aa and Pahoehoe, and this lava is mostly Aa flow. There are volcanoes in this unusual place because it is a hot spot. We saw a spatter cone and the corn rock. We also heard Stellar Jays screeching. This was a little eerie also to think that thousands of years ago where we were walking was lava flowing from an erupted volcano.

Sunset Crater


 * 1000 ft tall
 * It erupted Between 1040 and 1100
 * The elavation at the summit is 8029 ft. above sea level
 * Diameter at the base is a mile
 * Diameter at the top is 2250 ft.
 * The depth of the crater is 300 ft.
 * There is 1 billion tons of extruded material
 * The extent of ashfall reached about 800 square miles
 * We used to be able to hike it, but they realized the dangers of loose cinder
 * There was an ice cave with ice all year around there!



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