A fun and very random early-morning sighting on our way to the airport to depart for Arizona, taken from the monorail between the train stop & the airport terminal. On the opposite track is the NJ Transit commuter train that I take to work.
Tags: AZ trip train railroad circus Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Newark NJ New Jersey circus train Ringling Bros. and Barnun & Bailey Circus
The Thoreau, New Mexico area from the plane, with a nice 'grand staircase' sequence. Tried to figure out what we're looking at (see notes on photo) -- hopefully I'm reading the geology map of the area right. Distance is ~40 mi, so color was pretty washed out -- processed to give better contrast.
Tags: AZ trip airplane aerial aerial photography mesa mesas geology stratigraphy Colorado Plateau Thoreau New Mexico NM
'Mogollon Rim' is used in a broad sense for the transition between the high ground of the Colorado Plateau/mountains of northern/eastern Arizona and Sonoran Desert basin of southern/western. Mostly it's a more gradual descent. This cliff by itself, however, is called the Mogollon Rim (forming the edge of the Mogollon Mesa and the county line between Coconino & Gila Counties), and it's one of the few spots where the initial drop forms an impressive escarpment, so I'm guessing that this formation lent its name to the transition zone as a whole. You're looking at a 1200' drop right here, starting from 7800' at the rim. The land then continues to fall off through a series of mesas & jumbled hills over the next 50 mi. or so, all the way down to 1600', where the hill country gives way to desert basin right outside Phoenix.
From what I can gather, the upper plateau is composed of Permian strata, with the cliff-face exposing Permian through Pennsylvanian and the bottom plateau probably Mississippian.
Tags: AZ trip airplane aerial aerial photography plateau Colorado Plateau mesa cliff cliffs Mogollon Rim Arizona AZ geology Mogollon Mesa Myrtle Point Roberts Mesa stratigrapy Coconino Plateau Coconino County Gila County
Cool melted-looking rock formation, shot from the car. In Papago Park in downtown Phoenix, near the Desert Botanical Garden. People for scale. Looks like fun!
Tags: AZ trip Desert Botanical Garden Papago Park Phoenix AZ Arizona Papago Buttes rock geology butte in passing
Growing outside the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. See comment from J Gilbert below! Seems it was transplanted there. Did it like its new home, and start sprouting those narrow, brighter green branches up at the top from old, monstrose growth below?
Tags: AZ trip Desert Botanical Garden Papago Park Phoenix AZ Arizona Saguaro Carnegiea gigantea Carnegiea Cactaceae cactus flora garden monstrose monstrosus