The Great Desert

VALLES CALDERA - 4

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Lunch was above caldera moat, looking down on a small tent rock city. Then, we returned to the main road, and stopped at a roadcut in the Banco Bonito obsidian flow and pumice beds.
 

Teachers meet the Dome
 
Larry C. and Steve S.

Catherine Tsairides and Betty Sundermeyer, with Redondo peak in the background.
 
Larry Crumpler (NM Muesum of Natural History) describes the topography and geology of the Valles Caldera, while Steve Kadel (Maricopa Comm. Coll.) assists.
     
cliff and tents
 
geologic mystery

Tent rocks at the overlook, with the massive Bandelier ash-flow tuff at the top of the cliff. The tent rocks develop in slightly lithified (or welded ash flow tuff, or in air-fall tuffs and pumice. For more images of these tent rocks, click here!
 
A Mystery. At the tent rocks lunch stop, we saw these boulders stuck in the Bandelier ash-flow tuff. Remembering how an ash-flow tuff forms, how could these boulders have gotten here? What kind of rock could they be? No one was willing to go pick a boulder out for study.
Plumber Rock
 
Larry C. and Steve S.

Chris Milford stands at Plumber's Rock.
 
Road cut in the El Cajete pumice, which is the white, crumbly rock. At the top of the cut are pieces of the Banco Bonito obsidian, broken off the flow itself (just out of the picture).
     

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Updated 09/06/03.
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