Blue Splash Poppy Rock
by Stephanie Grant
Title
Blue Splash Poppy Rock
Artist
Stephanie Grant
Medium
Photograph - Digital / Photography
Description
One of a series of abstract works, based on digitally manipulated photographs taken at Red Rock Canyon.
DescriptionA photograph of some of the incredible rock formations found at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. The unique geologic features, plants and animals of Red Rock represent some of the best examples of the Mojave Desert. In 1990, special legislation supported by the Nevada congressional delegation, changed the status of the Red Rock Recreation Lands to a National Conservation Area (NCA), the seventh to be designated nationally.
During most of its history, Red Rock Canyon was below a warm, shallow sea. Massive fault action and volcanic eruptions caused this seabed to begin rising some 225 million years ago. As the waters receded, sea creatures died, and the calcium in their bodies combined with sea minerals to form limestone cliffs studded with ancient fossils. Some 45 million years later, the region was buried beneath thousands of feet of windblown sand. As time progressed, iron oxide and calcium carbonate infiltrated the sand, consolidating it into cross-bedded rock.
About 100 million years ago, massive fault action began dramatically shifting the rock landscape here, forming spectacular limestone and sandstone cliffs and rugged canyons punctuated by waterfalls, shallow streams, and serene oasis pools.
Red Rock’s valley is home to more than 45 species of mammals, about 100 species of birds, 30 reptiles and amphibians, and an abundance of plant life. Ascending the slopes from the valley, you’ll see cactus and creosote bushes, aromatic purple sage, yellow-flowering blackbrush, yucca and Joshua trees, and, at higher elevations, clusters of forest-green pinyon, juniper, and ponderosa pines. In spring, the desert blooms with extraordinary wildflowers.
In the latter part of the 19th century, Red Rock was a mining site and later a sandstone quarry that provided materials for many buildings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and early Las Vegas. In 1990, Red Rock Canyon became a National Conservation Area that comprises approximately 197,000 acres.
Uploaded
February 26th, 2014
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Viewed 885 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/17/2024 at 11:45 PM
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Comments (65)
Barbie Corbett-Newmin
Congratulations on your feature in The 200 Club, a "rising star" photography group in which only a select few are featured. It is my pleasure to feature desirable art work like this. Congratulations also on your other well-deserved features and on your hundreds of views!
Weston Westmoreland
First thought: Turbulent waters. Don't ask me why, with all those reds, but that is what came to mind first.
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