History repeats itself. This philosophical idea has proven
to be true time after time. According to this philosophy, we can determine the future
physical geography of Glenwood Springs by looking at its past.
Historical Events
In this blog we have already established that mechanical
weathering, salt weathering, and frost weathering, along with thrust faulting
and continental uplift, have occurred to create the geography of Glenwood
Springs that we see today.
Recent Events
Now let’s look at the
geographical events that have taken place more recently. Debris Flows are a
form of mass wasting; they are fast moving slabs of mud, earth, and large
rocks. They are usually caused by excess rain on a suitable incline. In 1995 a Debris
Flow occurred on Storm King Mountain closing a section of I-70. The debris
created an alluvial/debris fan in the Colorado River (shown in Figure One). In 1998 another Debris flow covered 600 feet
of Colorado Road 109 just outside of Glenwood Springs (shown in Figure Two). This debris flow is believed to be the result
of accumulated debris causing over saturation of the ground over many years.
 |
|
Figure One: Picture of the 1995 Storm King Mountain debris flow.
|
 |
Figure Two: Arial shot of the 1998 CR 109 debris flow.
|
Climate
The climate of an area can have a profound effect on its
geography. The climate can accelerate or delay all forms of weathering and increase
or decrease the number of debris flows. A warmer climate increases the amount of
precipitation that an area receives. This increased precipitation augments the number
of debris flows and accelerates the weathering processes that occur in the
area. The more weathering and debris
flows an area experiences, the faster the land degrades and flattens out.
Colder climate can increase frost weathering, which is how the Glenwood Canyon
was formed during one of the past Ice ages. However, a colder climate decreases
the amount of precipitation an area receives, therefore slowing the degradation
of the area.
The history of Glenwood Springs’ climate and the earth’s
climate in general can give a clue to future climate and conditions. According
to the Colorado State University’s Colorado
Climate Trend Center; the Glenwood Springs area has experienced a slight
warming trend since 1958. Figure Three is a graph depicting the earth’s average
temperature from 10,000,000BC to 2,000AD. This graph is a bit complicated, and shows the
unpredictability of the earth’s climate.
 |
Figure Three:
Graph depicting the Earth’s average temperature from 10,000,000BC to 2,000AD
|
1,000 Years from Now
1000 years to humans seems like
forever but is not very long in geological time. Because changes in geography don’t happen
overnight, I don’t predict any huge changes for Glenwood Springs. The Colorado
River will have deepened and the canyon and debris flows will have changed the
course of the river in a few places. Salt weathering will have expanded the
caves. The mountains will have degraded some from mechanical and frost
weathering. But none of this will be overtly obvious.
10,000 Years from Now
In 10,000 years, drawing from the
information so far, we can predict more changes in the canyon due to erosion
and debris flow. The canyon will have widened and the river will have cut a
deeper channel through the landscape. The vapor caves will be even larger as
will the valley the town is nestled. The climate will have changed numerous
times. Each change creating either faster or slower erosion. These changes will
be more measurable and therefore more noticeable than in 10,000 years.
1,000,000 Years from Now
I predict that in 1,000,000 years much of the existing canyon walls will have fallen. The river will have cut new paths and deeper channels weakening the foundation of the walls. Due
to weathering, erosion, and thrust faulting Glenwood Springs and the Rocky
Mountains in general will be completely different mountains; just as the
mountains we see today are different from the ancient Rockies.
Works Cited
Allen, C. D. (n.d.). Earth’s Atmosphere, Radiation
Balance. Retrieved December 2012, from UCDenver Blackboard:
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/RadiationBal/AtmoRadBalGlobWarm.html
Allen, C. D. (n.d.). Tempature of Earth.
Retrieved 2012, from UCDenver Blackboard:
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/EarthTempClim/EarthTempClim.html
Colorado State University. (n.d.). Altenbern Ranch.
Retrieved 2012, from Colorado Climate Trends:
http://climatetrends.colostate.edu/ct_access?plot=1&station=50214&elem=MNTM&yrbeg=1947&yrend=2012&cyr=0&cyrbeg=1947&cyrend=2012&period=calendar&incomplete=1&debug=0&proc=BOTH
Colorao Department of Natural Resources. (2000). Guilde
to the Geology of the Glenwood Springs Area, Garfield County, Colorado.
(L. Baca, Ed.) Retrieved December 2012, from Colorado Goelogical Survey:
http://geosurvey.state.co.us/education/Documents/GlenFieldTripGuidebook_web.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment