Archive for the ‘Geological Layers’ Category
One of the subjects we teach is geology, how the Santa Catalina Mountains were
formed, and the importance of water in the formation of Sabino Canyon. Twelve
million years ago, the Santa Catalina Mountains were just a range of hills, but the
earth’s crust in western North America was being stretched. What resulted were
huge blocks with steep vaults forming an up-and-down landscape called the
Basin and Range Province.
Naturalist, Kenne Turner with 3rd Grade Students (Sabino Canyon Dam Area)
— Images by Teacher
Sabino Canyon is composed of a hard metamorphic rock called “Catalina gneiss.”
Gneiss contains rock and five minerals; quartz, mica, feldspar, magnetite, and garnets.
Over time water and earthquakes have eroded the gneiss rock carrying smaller rocks
and minerals down streams like Sabino Creek. The minerals are deposited along the
creek edges, which created a natural laboratory to learn about the minerals by panning
for garnets. Need I say, kids love panning for garnets.
Students panning for garnets in Sabino Creek.
“For many Tucsonans, the canyon is an old friend. We are on a first-name basis.
On a sunny weekend morning, we say, simply, “Let’s go to Sabino.
— from Sabino Canyon: The Life of a Southwestern Oasis by David Wentworth Lazaroff
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Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca Sunset — Photo-Artistry by kenne
In the fifteenth century, the Incas invaded the island taking control of its people at the time. Like a lot of conquerors, they created a story of Incan lore. Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) is both the birthplace of their revered Sun God and the world’s first two Incas; Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo (the Adam and Eve of the Andes) in an attempt to not only justify their reign, but to identify themselves with the pre-existing Tiwanaku civilization whom they considered to be a great source of religious and ideological identity. This image is my attempt to capture the spirit of the Incan lore.
Walking to the boat dock.
The only way to get to Isla del Sol is via the glimmering waters of Lake Titicaca. Michael had arranged for a boat (a captain and his daughter) to take us to lunch in the Comunidad Yumani on the south side of the Isla del Sol.
Because of an ongoing dispute between two local communities (Comunidades Challapama and Challa) has seen the north side of the island become off-limits to foreign and domestic tourists since February 2017. The bitter feud began when the Challa community, who live roughly in the center of the island, built a series of guesthouses near a northern Inca ruin to try and earn a slice of the tourism pie. The Challapama believed the new buildings broke one of Bolivia’s laws, which relate to construction work within a certain distance of sacred sites. After an unsuccessful attempt to appeal through bureaucratic means, the folks of Challapampa decided to resolve the matter vigilante-style by blowing the guesthouses to smithereens with a dose of dynamite. The stand-off remains.
Leaving Copacabana
Tom, Ty and Michael
On the boat ride, we spent most of the time drinking Singani and Altbier and resulting in drinking conversations.
The terrace landscape reflects the Inca influence on the Lake Titicaca agriculture.
Images and Video by kenne (This Is Part-One of a Three-Part Series on Isla del Sol)
— kenne
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Three Image Merge (Sedona, Arizona) — Panorama by kenne
Deserts Come and Deserts Go
Is it a desert, only time will tell,
a landscape between heaven and hell.
Every ten thousand years or so,
the ice will come, the ice then will go.
In one place the ocean throws water across the land,
another place flowers beyond numbers to count grow.
In time, only a desert will tell,
the span between heaven and hell.
— Phillip Camitses
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Laid-Back at Delicate Arch, Arches National Park (June 12, 2014) — Panorama Image by kenne
Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
— Albert Camus
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Vermilion Cliffs National Monument In Northern Arizona — Image by kenne
Take a leaf off a tree. Is it still a tree?
Take a single twig off a tree. Is it still a tree?
Remove an entire branch from a tree. Is it still a tree?
Take off half of the branches. Is it still a tree?
Cut down the whole tree, leaving only the stump. Is it still a tree?
Many people would say no, it is no longer a tree,
though the roots may still be in the ground.
Well, where did the tree go?
Removing a leaf, it remains a tree,
but not by removing all of the branches and the trunk?
In the real world, there aren’t any things as we commonly think of them.
A ‘thing’ as we refer to it is only a noun. A noun is merely an idea, a mental construct.
These ‘things’ exist only in our minds. There is no tree, there is only the idea of a tree.
—Anonymous
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View of Hoodoos and the Rincon Mountains along the Catalina Highway — Panorama by kenne
Hoodoo pinnacles
Scenic diversity charm
Rocks stacked over time.
— kenne
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Two Nuns Red Rock Formation at The Chapel of The Holy Cross, Sedona, Arizona (June 14, 2016) — Image by kenne
Two Red Rock Nuns
Looking at the two red rock pillars
with shades of red forming lines
shaded by the late afternoon sun.
The hump-backed moon rises
over the nuns distorted faces —
smeared red lips not desiring.
Centuries of decay at their feet
delivered by tears of benevolence
a token of good will everlasting.
A sky so blue, not to be bought
by any painter at any human price —
isn’t that, after all, left to the gods.
— kenne
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