Geology Picture of the Week, November 19-25, 2006: Mask Rock and Turkey Rock(s)

Natural Arch and Bridge Society ^ | Various

[cogitator]

Mining the Natural Arch and Bridge Society site for fun found this:

"Mask Rock is located in the Ouadi Archei region of Ennedi [Chad] about 39 kilometers SSE of Fada. The left opening has a span of 36 feet and a height of 57 feet. The right opening has a span of 27 feet and a height of 50 feet. Photo by Gunter Welz."

Just for the heck of it, Googling on "Turkey Rock" discovered this, apparently somewhere around Aspen (Independence Pass, wherever that is):

Another Web site, mostly written in Czechoslovakian, calls the images below Turkey Rock and Turkey Tail, and indicates that they're in the South Platte region of Colorado (apparently near Woodland Park and Elevenmile Canyon).

Turkey Rock

Turkey Tail

[cogitator]

Maybe Mask Rock was more appropriate for Halloween than Thanksgiving!

[cogitator]

Happy Thanksgiving ping!

[lormand]

Turkey Peak, Enchanted Rock, Texas

[Robert A. Cook, PE]

Stone Mountain (Atlanta, GA) and its near-brothers (but more tree covered, and so less impressive): Kennesaw Mountain, GA, Lost Mountain GA, Pine Mountain, GA.

All lava upthrusts of weathered rock above a relatively flat plain around them.

[editor-surveyor]

Pictures?

[lormand]

I want to see Stone Mountain one day.

Enchanted Rock is about 1 hour drive from here, and I visit it as often as I can. There are lots of geological points of interest there. There is one particular outcrop at Enchanted Rock that is quartz. The trails around it sparkle brightly in the sun.

[Dark Skies]

I just went to Stone Mountain...via Google Earth that is. Pretty incredible view. Check it out...it's a free download.

[lormand]

Yes, I like the view on Google Earth. I noticed a station or lodge of some sort on top of Stone Mountain.

[Dark Skies]

I think it's a station. It's been 10 years since I've been there in person.

BTW, I have located the pyramids at Giza (just go west of Giza to the edge of the desert) and even Hitler's house at Eagles Nest. Google Earth is pretty darned incredible for virtual travel.

[Dark Skies]

FYI, Wikipedia often has the latitude and longitude of landmarks etc and that's a big help in locating the sights from satellite.

[Robert A. Cook, PE]

Not an image source file, but these two are taken from the street one block over from the house.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/atlanta/04-0276a%255B1%255D.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/atlanta/kennesaw_area.html&h=271&w=400&sz=14&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=wdCVMH2NKakDxM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpine%2Bmountain%2BGA%2B%2Bkennesaw%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

Of course, our house wasn't there when the battles occurred, but I drive past the Polk Monument every day to the grocery store. the '20 ft monument" up Pine mountain is readily available.

Kennesaw Mountain, is visited y a couple of million tourists and runners and walkers every year. It's the most-visited Civil War park. Go through it every Sunday to church - who's priest's residence is ante-bellum. As are the other nearby older houses, several of them used as hospitals and headquarters during the battles over the Atlanta-Kennesaw-Chattannoga (Atlanta & Western) railroad.

[cogitator]

Aerial photograph of Stone Mountain (1/2 size, click it for full-size):

[geezerwheezer]

That is a museum and snackbar on top of Stone Mountain. It is a really beautiful place to visit, and we have picnics there every year.

[lormand]

One of my favorite Google Earth sites is the Bone Yard near Tempe Arizona.

You can easily see the different planes they have stored there, like the B-52s, F-4s, F-111s etc.

[Dark Skies]

Do you have the longitude and latitude for the bone yard.

BTY, check out Area 51 and Groom Lake.

[lormand]

Bone Yard

32 09'59.10" N
110 51'43.41" W

Looking for area 51 now...near Roswell NM right?

[Dark Skies]

Area 51/Groom Lake is at 37 14' 17N and 115 48' 30W

[lormand]

That puts me in Nevada

[lormand]

Thanks, I thought Area 51 was near Roswell NM.

[Dark Skies]

I just visited the Boneyard...incredible!

[lormand]

What a waste of planes eh?

...wishing they could give us each a B-52 w/crew, armed with "special" munitions, and full flight rights and fuel over the middle east.

[Dark Skies]

I just went to the Nazca Lines in Peru (14°43′S 75°08′W) saved and enhance the pic...another incredible find.

I've got to quit traveling and get back to work

[dirtboy]

The most incredible arch in the world, IMO:

[cogitator]

I'm not getting there any time soon! Great picture. (Typical of NatGeo)

[cogitator]

http://www.naturalarches.org/gallery-China-TushukTash.htm

Highest Natural Arch in the World

[dirtboy]

Since NatGeo calls it Shipton's lost arch, I wanna know how you can lose something that big.

[cogitator]

I wanna know how you can lose something that big.

It's easy if you didn't notice where you were when you first found it!

[cogitator]

I read a book a couple of years ago called "The Arch of Kerguelen". The Kerguelen Island and archipelago is one of the last large, largely unexplored areas of the world. There author had learned of stories by explorers of a famous big sea arch in one of the island's far-flung regions. The book is about the author's attempt to find the arch and also a description of an very wild land and its discoverer (who had a tough life).

I recommend reading the book. But if you can't wait until the ending, go here and look at picture 47:

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