Colorado River
Summer 2004
Images
Lees Ferry to House Rock
House Rock to Eminence
Eminence to Below LCR
Below LCR to Above Zoroaster
Above Zoroaster to 122-Mile
122-Mile to Matkat Hotel
Matkat Hotel to Whitmore Wash
Whitmore Wash to Gneiss Canyon
Gneiss Canyon to South Cove
Panoramas
Videos
Miscellaneous
Whitmore Wash to Gneiss Canyon
Saturday June 5, 2004 (Day 8)
Whitmore Wash camp (Leighty)
Mile 188.0 - A typical camp set-up.

Lava-filled channel (Leighty)
Mile 188.0 - Lava flows filled an old stream canyon just upstream from Whitmore Wash. The base of the filled channel is about 30 feet above the river. A 1.16 Ma lava flow near Vulcan's Throne dammed the ancient Colorado River channel that was 50 feet above the present channel. Although most believe the age of the canyon to be less than 10 Ma, only ~50 feet of downcutting has occurred in this area in the last 1 Ma. See PANORAMA.
Pumpkin Spring (Leighty)
Mile 212.9 - A.k.a. "Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin" and "Mail Box". The travertine is orange-colored due to the high concentrations of sulfur in the spring water. Arsenic is also present in the spring water. Thus, it's not recommended for drinking.

Pumpkin pool (Leighty)
Mile 212.9 - This spring developed in the Tapeats Sandstone.
Tapeats potholes (Leighty)
Mile 212.8 - During higher river levels, turbulent flow formed these potholes in the Tapeats Sandstone. Most of the potholes are less than a meter in diameter.
Crevice rattler (Leighty)
Mile 212.9 - This resident of a cool crack in the Tapeats Sandstone.

Remnant lava flow (Leighty)
Mile 214 - A basaltic lava flow overlies older river gravels and the Tapeats Sandstone.
Three Springs Canyon Pictographs (Leighty)
Mile 215.6 - Two pictographs on the Three Springs Canyon hike. The greatest amount of displacement (about 2,400 feet) on the Hurricane Fault occurs about 1.5 miles east of here.

220-Mile Lunch (Leighty)
Mile 219.8 - A shady lunch spread at Middle 220-Mile.
Diamond Peak (Leighty)
Mile 222.8 - The elevation of Diamond Peak is 3512 feet, about 2100 feet above the river. 224-Mile Canyon enters the river just upstream of Diamond Peak. Proterozoic rocks are visible at river level beneath Diamond Peak, with the Redwall Limestone forming the peak. The Hurricane Fault trends roughly parallel to the river here, just to the east (left) of Diamond Peak. It has several thousand feet of west-side-down displacement. The hills to the left are Proterozoic rocks that are much higher than the same rocks near the river under Diamond Peak.

Fluting (Leighty)
Mile 225 - Turbulent channel flow has scoured the walls into fluted forms above Diamond Creek. These are common features developed in the Inner Gorge and have been seen since the Clear Creek area in the eastern Grand Canyon. Granitic rocks of the Diamond Creek pluton form the walls here. This rather large pluton, part of the Ruby Creek Superunit, is mostly tonalite in composition (quartz- and plagioclase-rich).
Previous day
Day 8
Next day