Early Spring in a New Mexico Wilderness

[AlanLichty]

A shot from the Northeastern part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin wilderness area in New Mexico. Normally seeing evidence of a coal seam is not a good sign for those who don't want to see mining operations but in this case the good news is that it has already been burned long ago while it was still underground. Better yet for us as photographers looking for interesting color contrasts there were sedimentary layers of clay above the coal when it burned that turned into ceramic due to the heat from the burning coal to give us nice layers of reds above the black.

C&C always welcome.

 

[Jeffrey]

That is exactly what most of that area looks like. Fascinating.

 

[AlanLichty]

That is exactly what most of that area looks like. Fascinating.

Thanks Jeffrey - the red mound in the foreground has the consistency of gravel made out of broken up ceramic gardening pots. I recognized the crunch under my feet the first time I visited the Bisti since I spent several years with that crunch underfoot wandering around in Petra. Broken pottery is so ubiquitous in Petra you just get used to walking on it compared to doing everything to preserve every piece when it's more scarce in the Four Corners area.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Interesting mix of colors and textures. Never been to Bisti, so fascinating to see the description of the gravel there.

 

[AlanLichty]

Interesting mix of colors and textures. Never been to Bisti, so fascinating to see the description of the gravel there.

Thanks Jameel - Its a really interesting place when it comes to the underlying geology. There are actually two types of gravel - the red stuff on the mound in the foreground which is the ceramic like material and also a dark purplish type that you can see about 2/3 up the left side of the frame looking like something that got sprinkled on top of a grayish hill. The dark purple is petrified wood although I have not seen any big pieces around - just little fragments with the biggest specimens no more than an inch or so long. There are lots of hoodoos and wing formations south of this area that get most of the attention but I decided to wander up to this area one day just because I hadn't seen many images from here.

 

[JimFox]

I like this Alan! It looks really neat. That area has such cool colors.

 

[AlanLichty]

I like this Alan! It looks really neat. That area has such cool colors.

Thanks Jim - it's quite different from the area to the south and also a lot less crowded. There were quite a few folks down in the Rock Garden area while I was up in this area shooting but I had this place to myself.

 

[MonikaC]

I'd love to see the shot, but the link is broken

 

[AlanLichty]

I'd love to see the shot, but the link is broken

Something is broken with my account this morning. Jim is looking into it.....

 

[MonikaC]

Something is broken with my account this morning. Jim is looking into it.....

I can't upload my aurora shot from last night. Maybe it's contagious?

 

[John Holbrook]

Beautiful image and appreciate the geologic information as well.

 

[AlanLichty]

Beautiful image and appreciate the geologic information as well.

Thanks John - its a really fascinating place to explore with some delightful geology to study.

 

[MonikaC]

Classic color layers for that area. The petrified wood that I've found there is east of the Eggs. Little splinters to darn near whole trees. There is a petrified forest in the northern part (as well as at least 1 dinosaur fossil). I spent 1 1/2-2 hours in the BLM office in Farmington years ago talking to a lifer employee, trying to get information as to where it was, but one has to cross several scattered parcels of private land to get there. The forest, from the pictures I've seen since, is mostly stumps. I think that they led occasional tours to the area.

 

[AlanLichty]

Classic color layers for that area. The petrified wood that I've found there is east of the Eggs. Little splinters to darn near whole trees. There is a petrified forest in the northern part (as well as at least 1 dinosaur fossil). I spent 1 1/2-2 hours in the BLM office in Farmington years ago talking to a lifer employee, trying to get information as to where it was, but one has to cross several scattered parcels of private land to get there. The forest, from the pictures I've seen since, is mostly stumps. I think that they led occasional tours to the area.

Thanks Monika - there are tons of the tiny fragments of petrified wood but they are not much bigger than gravel and you have to study them carefully to see the wood grain. I walked part of the fence line of the private land along the north side of the Bisti before wandering back down into the area where I took this shot. I was well north of this little peak at one point. Not all that much up there but I had never seen many images from that area so it was a good excuse to go check it out I did not make it as far as the forest you are describing.