Rock architects in the 9th–13th centuries: Chaco Canyon National Historic Park and World Heritage Site
There is evidence that people have been inhabiting the region we now call northern New Mexico for at least 10,000 years. But starting in the mid-800s, the Native Chaco people began to build massive, multi-story stone buildings—referred to as “great houses”—that they continued to expand for more than 300 years. In early June, we visited the Chaco Canyon historic park...
The dinosaur that went to space: the state fossil of New Mexico
Who knew that New Mexico has one of the world's most famous dinosaur species? I sure didn't until our recent visit to Ghost Ranch, located about an hour north of Santa Fe (see my last post about Georgia O'Keefe and her life in that region: https://landscapes-revealed.net/the-rocks-of-georgia-okeefe/). It turns out that a Ghost Ranch quarry has yielded hundreds of Coelophysis dinosaur...
The rocks of Georgia O’Keefe
In 1929, at the age of 42, Georgia O’Keefe traveled from her home in New York City to northern New Mexico. There she fell in love with the landscape and culture and returned each summer for 20 years. She learned to drive and bought a Ford Model A that she used to explore the region, and in 1940 she bought...
About the Blogger
Karen (here with Mt. Shasta in background) is a geology professor emerita who aims to provide a "pocket geologist" for world travelers. Follow the blog to explore the landscapes of our planet and figure out what causes them to look the way they do.