Archive for the ‘geology’ Category

10 great places to explore geologic wonders

Friday, April 16th, 2010
In this weekend's Travel section, USA Today published a list of the "10 great places to explore geologic wonders". These are considered to be the greatest places to see geology in action,

The list was put togther by Garry Hayes, a professor of geology at Modesto Junior College and creator of the Geotripper blog.

Hayes says some of the most incredible destinations on the globe owe their grandeur to geology. "The Earth is a dynamic place and always changing".

Coming in at #10 is the Great Smoky Mountains. Hayes mentions that the Appalachians top out at less than 7,000 feet, but they once towered as high as the Himalayas. The East Coast range, formed when Africa collided with North America, has been steadily eroding, "but the rocks there show this great geologic violence."

The only other place in the region to make the list was Mammoth Cave National Park, which ranked third on his list.

Please click here to read the article.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.