Uncategorized – UtahGeology

Tracks, Traces & Other Fossils of The Grand Canyon & Grand Staircase

January 7, 2025/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

*Geologic units of the Grand Canyon mentioned in this article.*

The Grand Canyon, a mile-deep chasm carved through millennia of Earth’s history, is not merely a spectacle of layered rock; it is a profound archive of ancient life. Within its vibrant strata, beyond the skeletal remains, lie the subtle yet powerful narratives of behavior etched in stone: tracksites and trace fossils. These ichnological treasures, from the uppermost Kaibab Formation down to the basal Tapeats Sandstone, offer unique insights into the locomotion, feeding, dwelling, and resting habits of creatures that roamed these ancient landscapes. This post descends through the Grand Canyon’s formations, highlighting the known track sites and trace fossils that whisper tales of life across vast stretches of time. For many more Grand Canyon region fossil picture, be sure to check out http://www.schursastrophotography.com/. Another fantastic resource is the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Paleo Resource Inventory.

A second purpose for this article is help point the many young-earth creationists I run up against understand why a catastrophic or ‘flood’ deposition of the layers of the Grand Canyon is entirely implausible. Not only does almost every layer in the canyon have fossils and track sites showing fairly uniformitarian principles existed at their deposition, but time anomalous layer around the world have evidences such as fossilized “IN PLACE” forests spanning at least from the Mississippian to Permian ages.

Faunal Succession in the Layers of the Grand Canyon and Grand Staircase. Map is of Utah Mountain area just north of the Grand Canyon, where most Grand Staircase strata is accessible in a short drive along highway 91.

Tapeats Sandstone (Cambrian)

Finally, at the base of the Grand Canyon sequence lies the Tapeats Sandstone (Cambrian), a resistant sandstone deposited in a nearshore marine environment as the ancient sea transgressed across the continent. The Tapeats is characterized by abundant vertical burrows of suspension-feeding worms (Skolithos). These simple, tube-like structures are a hallmark of the “pipe rock” facies and represent one of the earliest widespread records of complex animal behavior in the fossil record. Horizontal trackways and burrows of other early invertebrates are also found, indicating the initial colonization of the shallow marine environment by mobile organisms. The Tapeats Sandstone marks the dawn of the Cambrian explosion in this iconic geological section.

*Incredibly rare arthropod trackway from the Tapeats Sandstone.Found near Payson, AZ. See schursastrophotography for more detailed images*

*Skolithos, straight vertical burrows from the Grand Canyon’s Tapeats Sandstone near Payson, AZ. See schursastrophotography for more detailed images and top view.*

Bright Angel Shale (Cambrian)

The Bright Angel Shale (Cambrian), a slope-forming unit composed of shale and siltstone deposited in a shallow marine setting, contains a diverse assemblage of invertebrate trace fossils. Horizontal grazing trails, burrows of various orientations and sizes, and trilobite traces are all well-documented. The finer-grained sediments of the Bright Angel Shale provided an excellent medium for preserving these delicate traces of Cambrian life, offering insights into the feeding strategies and locomotion of early marine organisms.

Trace fossils from Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. **Left:** Cruziana, a type of trace fossil attributed to trilobites. Formation not identified, but probably Cambrian Tonto Group. (Length about 20 centimeters or 8 inches). Photo by Cassi Knight, Paleontology Guest Scientist (National Park Service, public domain). **Right:** Trace fossils (burrows and Cruziana) from the Cambrian Bright Angel Shale, Tonto Group. Photo by Cassi Knight, Paleontology Guest Scientist (National Park Service, public domain).

*Gastropod (snail) tracks from the Bright Angel Shale*

Muav Limestone (Cambrian)

The underlying Muav Limestone (Cambrian), another significant marine limestone formation, similarly yields primarily invertebrate trace fossils. Horizontal burrows (e.g., Planolites) and vertical burrows (e.g., Skolithos) are common, indicating the presence of early worms and other soft-bodied organisms that colonized the Cambrian seafloor. Trilobite trackways (e.g., Cruziana) and resting traces (e.g., Rusophycus) are also found, providing direct evidence of the movement and behavior of these iconic Cambrian arthropods. The Muav’s trace fossils offer a glimpse into the early diversification of animal life in the marine realm.

Temple Butte Fm (Devonian)

Although the Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian is essentially absent in the Grand Canyon region, it exists with thicknesses over 6,000 feet in Northern Utah and Nevada. The Temple Butte (385mya) is found only in paleo channels carved out in the underlying units and is largely unfossiliferous. But elsewhere in Utah and the world, the Devonian holds the first evidence of fossilized intact growing trees. Once again showing that these units are not part of some catastrophic flood, but sediments deposited under relatively uniformitarian conditions.

Researchers stand next to a pristinely preserved fossil of the root system of Archaeopteris at a fossil locality near Cairo, NY. The oldest evidence of large trees yet found (Devonian ~400mya). Charles Ver Straeten. (see article)

*A lineup tree progression as seen in the fossil record, comparing their hypothesized sizes and shapes Gastaldo et al., Cell, 2024 under CC BY 4.0 DEED*

*Some of the earliest tree fossils (Eospermatopteris) from the 385 mya Devonian of New York and Svalbard, Norway (top right).*

Redwall Limestone (Mississippian)

The Redwall Limestone (Mississippian), a massive cliff-forming unit deposited in a shallow marine environment, is primarily known for its body fossils of marine invertebrates. However, trace fossils are also present, albeit less conspicuous. Burrows of marine worms and other infaunal organisms are commonly found within the limestone beds, reflecting the activity of creatures living on and within the ancient seafloor. Crinoid holdfast attachment scars can also be considered a type of trace fossil, indicating where these stalked echinoderms were anchored. While large vertebrate tracks are absent, the Redwall’s trace fossil assemblage provides evidence of a thriving benthic community in a relatively stable marine environment.

Assortment of Rugose (horn) coral and Tabulate coral community fossils collected from the Redwall Limestone. Bottom right is a CC4.0 image from digitalatlasofancientlife.org showing what similiar Coral communities looked like during the Permian. Redwall Fossil images from Grand Canyon Paleontology.

Marine invertebrates from the Mississippian Redwall Limestone, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona; on the left is a bryozoan, on the right a brachiopod. Left photo and right photo NPS photos by Michael Quinn (Grand Canyon National Park via flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, images cropped and resized).

*Nautaloid from the ‘death bed’ of the Redwall Limestone of the Grand Canyon (top), bottom is better preserved fossil nautaloid example from elsewhere.*

*Modern bryozoan or ‘sea fan’ (Gorgonia ventalina). Note the delicacy, it will not withstand turbid flow.*

Surprise Canyon Formation (Mississippian)

Hidden in small paleochannels carved into the Redwall Formation lies the Surprise Canyon Formation. Before the seas rose and formed an estuary full of sharks and invertebrates, the karst features on top of what is now the Redwall Limestone were filled with rivers and streams. These streams created a lush riparian environment teeming with plants, and not just small shrubs either. Some of these plants belong to the extinct genus Lepidodendron, which were large tree-like plants that grew in wetland environments and reached heights up to 160 feet (50 meters)! Lepidodendron are often known as “scale trees” because of the distinctive diamond shaped pattern of leaf scars along its trunk. Young Lepidodendron plants form a single unbranched trunk with numerous leaves attached to the diamond-shaped bases, and only formed a crown of branches once they neared the end of their lifespan. These trees thrived during the Carboniferous Period and became extinct at the end of the Permian Period.

The Chinle & Surprise Canyon Fm are, to my knowledge, the only layers in the Grand Canyon where petrified wood has been found. Although MANY of the layers above and other time equivalent layers elsewhere have tons.

Supai Group (Pennsylvanian-Permian)

Continuing our descent, the Supai Group (Pennsylvanian-Permian), a thick sequence of sandstones, siltstones, and mudstones deposited in a variety of fluvial, deltaic, and marginal marine settings, reveals an even greater diversity of ichnofossils. Within its various members (e.g., Wescogame, Esplanade, Watahomigi, Manakacha), numerous tetrapod trackways have been discovered, representing a transitional fauna from amphibians to early reptiles. Ichnogenera such as Baropezia, Notalacerta, and various amphibian trackways attest to the presence of diverse terrestrial vertebrates along ancient shorelines and floodplains. Furthermore, the Supai Group is rich in invertebrate trace fossils, including a wide array of burrows (vertical and horizontal), trackways, and feeding traces. These indicate the presence of worms, arthropods, and possibly early mollusks inhabiting both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The varied depositional environments of the Supai Group have preserved a complex tapestry of ancient life and behavior.

*Fossils from the Honaker Trail Fm along the San Juan River near Mexican Hat. Equivalent rocks to the Wesgogame Fm of the Supai in the Grand Canyon.* (Bottom center is a museum sample to show what intact crinoids at top left would have looked like)

Pennsylvanian vertebrate tracks from the Manakacha Formation, Supai Group, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Photo of the tracks (A) and drawing of the same specimen (B). Scale is in decimeters (1 decimeter = 10 centimeters = about 3.9 inches). Figures 2A and 2B from S. M. Rowland, M. V. Caputo, and Z. A. Jensen (2020) PLoS ONE 15(8): e0237636 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, image cropped).

*Both small and large burrows from the upper Supai Group. Just north of Grand Canyon (Virgin River Gorge).*

Large, well-preserved invertebrate trace fossils (Psammichnites likely Trilobite tracks isp.) in the Supai Group (Wescogame Formation?) of Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. Scale bar is in cm. Photo by Rose Weeks (from NPS Resource Inventory)

While the Watahomigie Formation of the Supai Group was being deposited in the Grand Canyon, conifer forests were growing and being buried and fossilized in the Eastern US & England. In fact much of Europe and North America’s substrate trees and minable coal mines come from the ‘Carboniferous Period’ (Mississippian and Pennsylvanian 360-300 mya). This is speculated to be caused by major ice-age induced sea level changes at the time. In Utah and the Grand Canyon region however, most coal is found in the Cretaceous period. Nearly 200 million years later. Why? Likely because by that time the climate in Utah was now similiar to that in England/New England of the Carboniferous, and once again sea level was rapidly changing.

*The Stanhope Fossil Tree, in In St. Thomas’s churchyard, Stanhope north-central England dates to the Carboniferous Period 320 mya, the same age as the Supai Group of the Grand Canyon.*

David Webster of The Fossil Grove Trust at Fossil Grove, Victoria Park, Glasgow. The tree stumps stand where they were formed 325 million years ago when land that is now Glasgow was found close to the equator, near Brazil. PIC: John Devlin MANY footprints, leaf impressions and fossils exist in a similiar park in east Fife Scotland (see link here).

*Several trackways the first bay is also host to a range of other fossils, in particular a large tree stump and ripple marks formed in the Carboniferous sediment in east Fife Scotland (see link here).*

*1918 photo of an intact tree stump in an Eastern US? coal mine dating to the Carboniferous age circa 300 million years ago. Petrified wood in INCREDIBLY common in coal mines.*

Fossil ripples vs modern ripples. Ripples are the most common type of bedform and often contain tracks and worm traces just like you see on modern shorelines, proving the uniformitarian processes at work when the rock was deposited.

Modern mud cracks (left), and fossil mud cracks (right) found in many, many different layers of the Grand Canyon. Once again *proving the uniformitarian subaerial processes at work when the rock was deposited.*

Hermit Formation (Permian)

The transition to the underlying Hermit Formation (Permian) marks a shift towards a more fluvial (riverine) and lacustrine (lake) environment, evidenced by its interbedded sandstones, siltstones, and shales. The ichnological record of the Hermit Formation reflects this change, showcasing a broader range of trace fossils. Tetrapod trackways, though perhaps less ubiquitous than in the Coconino, are still present, indicating continued habitation by early reptiles and amphibians. However, the Hermit is particularly notable for its insect trackways and resting traces, providing rare glimpses into the activity of terrestrial arthropods of the Permian. Delicate trails and impressions left by insects crawling across soft sediment have been documented, offering a unique perspective on the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of this period. Additionally, burrows and trackways of aquatic invertebrates are found in the finer-grained sediments, reflecting the presence of ancient waterways and lakes.

Reptile footprints from the Hermit Shale (LORENZO MARCHETTI & SPENCER LUCAS). A. GRCA 3171, Yaki Trail. Dromopus lacertoides, several footprints, concave epirelief. B. UCMP-V 4010C, Mogollon Rim. Dromopus lacertoides, left footprint, convex hyporelief. C. USNM 11518, Hermit Trail. Holotype of Hyloidichnus bifurcatus Gilmore 1927, left pes manus couple, convex hyporelief. D. USNM 11692, Yaki/South Kaibab Trail. Hyloidichnus bifurcatus, left pes manus couple, concave epirelief. Holotype of Hyloidichnus whitei Gilmore 1928. E. UCMP-V 75216G, Mogollon Rim. Hyloidichnus bifurcatus, left pes manus couple, concave epirelief. F. UCMP-V 75216D, Mogollon Rim. Erpetopus isp., partial trackway, convex hyporelief. G. UCMP-V 75216A, Mogollon Rim. Erpetopus isp., left pes manus couple, convex hyporelief. H. UCMP-V 75209A, Hermit Trail. Erpetopus isp., partial trackway, convex hyporelief. Dashed arrows indicate the direction of progression. p=pes imprint. m=manus imprint. (from Marchetti et al)

Unidentified seed fern fronds (leaves) from the Permian Hermit Shale, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Left photo and right photo by Michael Quinn (Grand Canyon National Park via flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, images cropped and resized).

*A few of many drawers of ferns and other plants collected from the Permian Hermit Formation, most of which were collected by David White in the 1920s.*

Dragonfly wing (right) found in Hermit Shale in Grand Canyon of species T. whitei, a complete specimen of the same age shown (left) from Kansas. Some grew to be 28 inches in length (although these are about 8in).

Schnebly Hill Formation (Permian)

The Schnebly Hill Formation is primarily exposed in the Sedona area along the western Mogollon Rim (50 miles south of the Grand Canyon). It consists of cross-bedded sandstones, mudstones, limestones, and evaporites deposited in a mix of eolian, coastal, and shallow marine environments within the Holbrook Basin. It sharply overlies the Hermit Formation (or Hermit Shale) in the Sedona region and intertongues upward with the Coconino Sandstone, reaching thicknesses of 300–600 m eastward but thinning westward to the point of pinching out just east & south of the Grand Canyon. (But still occupying a time period between the Coconino Sandstone and Hermit Formation. It contains many impressive marine & terrestrial fossils, as well as track sites.

*Reptile trackway in the Schnebly Hill Formation Sadona, Near fortress ruin Loy Canyon Trailhead just south of the Grand Canyon*.

*Asterophyllites or Annularia, a type of horsetail fern from the Schnebly Hill Formation south of the Grand Canyon.*

Coconino Sandstone (Permian)

Beneath the Toroweap lies the striking Coconino Sandstone (Permian), a massive cross-bedded sandstone representing an extensive ancient sand sea (erg). This formation is renowned for its exceptional preservation of tetrapod trackways. The fine-grained, wind-deposited sands acted as an ideal medium for recording footprints, which were subsequently buried and lithified. Numerous track sites within the Coconino have yielded a rich diversity of ichnogenera, including Chelichnus, Dromopus, Laoporus, and Octopusoides. These trackways provide invaluable insights into the gait, size, and behavior of early reptiles and possibly synapsids (the lineage leading to mammals) that navigated these ancient dunes. The consistent direction of many trackways suggests prevailing wind patterns, further painting a vivid picture of this Permian desert environment. While invertebrate traces are less common in the dominant eolian facies, evidence of burrowing organisms can be found in interdune or wetter intervals. The Coconino stands as a global benchmark for understanding early terrestrial vertebrate locomotion.

A fallen boulder of Coconino Sandstone located adjacent to the Dripping Springs Trail shows trackways of a tetrapod, or mammal-like reptile, that walked on the sand dune and predated the dinosaurs. The tracks are enhanced by a false-color depth map (depth in mm).(TOP: FRANCISCHINI ET AL. (2019); BOTTOM: SPENCER LUCAS).

*Artwork depicting the Coconino desert environment and two primitive tetrapods, based on the occurrence of Ichniotherium from Grand Canyon National Park.Illustration courtesy of Voltaire Paes Neto.*

*Small beetle trackway in the Coconino Sandstone of the Grand Canyon. Both bottom left and top right also have other insect tracks as well (possibly spiders?)*

Toroweap Formation (Permian)

Descending through the Toroweap Formation (Permian), a transitional unit representing fluctuating marine and terrestrial influences, the ichnological record begins to diversify. The Whitmore Wash Member, often considered a temporal equivalent to the Coconino Sandstone, exhibits abundant trackways of tetrapods. These footprints, often preserved in fine-grained sandstones and siltstones, reveal the presence of early reptiles and amphibians traversing dune-like environments or marginal marine flats. Genera like Chelichnus and Dromopus, characteristic of early amniotes, have been identified, providing crucial evidence of the fauna inhabiting this transitional landscape. Additionally, invertebrate traces such as burrows and trackways continue to be found, reflecting the persistence of benthic communities in the changing environments. Aside from the Whitemore Wash Member/Coconino, the Toroweap Formation is comparatively unfosiliferous, with fossils limited to invertebrates in a few limestone horizons and the trackways of the Whitmore wash.

*Tiny Schizodus bivalves from a marine lens of the early Permian Toroweap Formation.*

Kaibab Formation (Permian)

At the canyon’s rim, the Kaibab Formation (Permian), a resistant limestone deposited in a shallow marine environment, might seem an unlikely place for abundant tracksites. However, careful examination reveals evidence of invertebrate activity. Trace fossils such as burrows (e.g., Planolites, Palaeophycus) and grazing trails are documented, indicating the presence of worms and other soft-bodied organisms that moved through the muddy seafloor. While large vertebrate tracks are less common in the main canyon exposures of the Kaibab, equivalent formations outside the immediate Grand Canyon region have yielded footprints of early reptiles, suggesting the potential for future discoveries within its upper layers. The Kaibab’s story is primarily one of a marine ecosystem, its trace fossils reflecting the simple yet persistent life within those ancient seas.

*Dissolved chertified burrows (likely from shrimp or other crustaceans) from the Kaibab formation on the rim of the Grand Canyon.*

Coral Reef community fossils associated with patch reef/burrowed areas, all gathered by the present author from a small canyon in the Kaibab. Fossils include brachiopods, bryozoans (sea fans), sponge, crinoids, corals and clam shells. Lance Weaver

Mesozoic Layers Just North of Grand Canyon

The Moenkopi and Chinle formations which stratigraphically sit just on top (just younger) than the layers of the Grand Canyon have many, many impressive trace fossils.

*Cruziana trackways from the Virgin Limestone member of the Moenkopi Formation just north of Virgin, Utah just north of the Grand Canyon.*

Well preserved petrified fire-scarred fossil tree from the Late Triassic Chinle Fm of Petrified Forest National Park. (see article here)

*Dinosaur tracks in the Triassic Moenkopi Formation from Capital Reef and Holbrook Member of the Chinle Groups. See details here.*

Although they are very rare, Placerias fossils have been found in the Blue Mesa Member of the Chinle Formation within Petrified Forest National Park. Placerias are a type of dicynodont that lived during the Late Triassic Period. These herbivores grew to be up to 11ft long and a ton in weight with two short tusks like a boar or saber-toothed tiger. Once thought to be reptilian, complete skeletons show a far more mammal-like anatomy similar to the Therapsids of the Permian.

*Terrestrial Placerias fossil from Triassic Chinle Formation south of the Grand Canyon near St Johns Az.*

The fact that Therapsid-like fossils as big as Postosuchus (shown below) appear as early as the Chinle in the Late Triassic shows either how quickly things diversified after the Terminal Permian Extinction or that many unknown clades lived before and then through the extinction. Desmatosuchus (on the right) was a large crocodile-like reptile measuring 15 – 16 ft long and weighing about 620–660 lb.

*Postosuchus and Desmatosuchus fossils from Triassic Chinle Fm of Petrified Forest National Park*

Triassic aged petrified tree from Petrified Forest National Park Arizona, and similar fossilized trees from Jurassic Morrison Formation in Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. (replace with collage).

Although true ‘dinosaur’ footprints don’t exist in the Grand Canyon or any Grand Canyon aged (Paleozoic) layers, numerous dinosaur track sites exist in the slightly younger Mesozoic layers just north of the Grand Canyon region. One of the best might be the Dinosaur Discovery Site (tracksite museum) at Johnson Farm in St George, Utah about 70 miles north of the Grand Canyon. (you can explore the museum 100% virtually at this link)

*One of the many, many huge slabs of terrestrial and shallow lake deposits with vivid dinosaur tracks.*

*Three toed therapod/eubrontes dinosaur footprint surrounded by mudcracks from the Moenave Formation near St George, Utah north of the Grand Canyon.*

*Tracy Thomson points to chirotheriid swim tracks in the Torrey Member of the Moenkopi Formation in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park.* (ugs website)

Fossil locality from the Navajo Sandstone in the San Rafael Swell near Colonade arch. Although some have speculated these to be dewatering features (see this paper for abundant examples in the Carmel near Kanab), these more likely appear to be a small grove of trees from an inter-dune oasis. Tee trunk fossil in the Navajo at left center is one of many examples of trees & wood in the Navajo from (Parrish, 2007). The living trees shown (bottom right) are desert species known to have existed in Jurassic Navajo times, Cycads, and Araucaria (monkey trees from Argentina).

A few of dozens of images of mammal burrows, root casts and fossils and sand pipes in the Navajo Sandstone near the confluence of HW 191 & 313 near Moab, from Lucas, 2004. therapsid Burrows in the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. In Odier, ‘The Jurassic, The Mammal Explosion’. Available here.

Lingulid brachiopod trace fossils from the Middle Jurassic Carmel Formation of southwestern Utah. The holes in the top two pictures are formed from the pedicle of the brachiopod. See details on the Wooster Geologists Blog. These common features show that the brachiopod shells found in these layers are from living, reproducing communities, not simply some dead heap of shells deposited in flood waters.

Full petrified tree from the Jurassic Morrison Formation just east of Bryce Canyon National Park on the top of the Grand Staircase. Fossilized beetle boreholes in the tree suggest quick burial and fossilization with minimum deformation.

Cenozoic Layers Just East of the Grand Canyon

The San Juan Basin, 200 miles east of Grand Canyon, hosts some of the best in situ (in place) petrified logs in the west, dating from 120-55 million years ago. The Fossil Forest member of the Fruitland Formation. Ah-She-Sle-Pah Wash, New Mexico. Great examples can be seen on the phototreknm.com page as well as the AMAZING photographic journey of Peter & Tanja at https://wilde-weite-welt.de

Petrified Trees in San Juan Basin, New Mexico

In Situ Petrified tree from the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness, New Mexico (About 200 miles East of the Grand Canyon in the Nacimiento Formation? 65mya, see here)

On the Grand Staircase, by far the best units to find petrified trees (in ancient river systems) are the Triassic Chinle and Jurassic Morrison Formations. Both of these units are easily discernable ancient river systems.

*Fossilized ‘in place’ Sequoia stump from Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado west of Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak dates to 34 million years ago.*

*Lund Petrified Forest, in Washoe County, Western Nevada, contains remains of more than 200 Sequoia* stumps and logs buried in Volcanic tuff dating to the Miocene Period. ( A ) 1946 photo of the most prominent stump (photo courtesy of University of Nevada Reno Library Special Collections Department); ( B ) The same site in 2014 showing a protective fence installed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The immense number of fossils found in the Eocene Green River formation might lead some to suppose some type of catastrophic event led to the death and burial of so many animals, but as seen in the next image, numerous trace fossil burrows and trackways prove a fairly uniformitarian habitat existed in this large inland lake. Although it seems likely that the lake somehow became toxic during episodes, perhaps like the Aerial Sea of Asia or Lake Turkana of Africa where massive changes in ph coinciding with large influxes of sediment played a part in their demise.

Fossils of the Eocene Green River Formation of Utah & Wyoming. Equivalent to the Claron Fm. of the Grand Staircase. Animals clockwise from top left are a bird, small horse, snake, turtle, crocodilian, fish and fresh water ray.

*Bird & mammal tracks in the Green River formation show that animals were walking around on the same lake shores where many dying animals created fossils.*

Ice age magafauna such as the Huntington mammoths & groundsloth found on the Wasatch Plateau near Price, Utah during construction of the Huntington damn project. These animals are often found on the top of the stratigraphic column. The Huntington fossils were found in a bog sitting on glacial outwash radiocarbon dated to around 12,000 BP. The outwash sites on top of Paleocene Northhorn Formation, however, many tusks and teeth have been found in Lake Bonneville Shoreline deposits which date from Miocene to Pliestocene in age. Hair and skat has been found in Navajo Sandstone coves in Glen Canyon just up river from the Grand Canyon.

*Huntington mammoths & groundsloth found during construction of the Huntington damn project, housed in Price, Utah.*

Is the Orbit of Jupiter related to Solar Cycles and How Gravity Waves & Electrical Properties Affect the Earth and Shape the Arms of the Milky Way Galaxy

July 24, 2022/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

Introduction

Although my degree is in geology & geophysics, and not nuclear or astrophysics, I’v always had a keen interest in physics and would love to go back to school one day and get a graduate degree somewhere in that field. My advanced physics, geochronology and geophysics classes in college really interested and excited me. At just the age of 19 as I went through school I was flooded with the following ideas and insights and had strong impressions of where modern physical understandings were lacking.

As the internet grows I have found I am far from alone. Through the previous 20 years I’ve seen that numerous scientists are thinking about and trying to solve these same issues and independently coming to the same conclusions as I have. Because there are so many others, I am quite sure these issues will work themselves out over time. I think collaborative, academic bodies will eventually move our global understanding where it needs to be in order to fully understand the concepts my theories are working toward. In relation to my very unique theory for minor periodic true polar wandering and the relativity of radiometric dating, I will go over some of the basic principles of what I think mainstream science will one day mathematically & experimentally prove for certain.

Outline of Concepts (click to expand)

Outline

1. There are many poorly understood cycles in celestial mechanics, some of which affect many of the fundamental units of physics.

(give examples)
-what really is mass? how does it relate to time?
-what dictates nuclear stability and decay rates?

2. One of the most basic of these is the sun’s 11 yr solar cycle of solar maximum. This poorly understood cycle, which is almost certainly caused by a type of electrical resonance between the sun and Jupiter (and Saturn), reverses the sun’s electromagnetic field and causes massive electrical discharges and changes within the sun’s dynamo.

(give examples)
-sun and Jupiter are a binary pair, Jupiter’s period is ~11 years.
-they create a double circle resonance. when closest, their lines intertwine. Saturn & Jupiters 11 year orbit somehow drive the ~11 year solar cycle.
-also…

3. Many of the celestial mechanic principles which govern the orbits of bodies are still sometimes explained using archaic concepts of Newtonian mechanics. Understanding phenomena such as inertia, circular orbits, and mass/gravity in terms of quantum field mechanics helps to better explain the relativity and connectedness of our galaxy.

(give examples)
-the similarity between charge and gravity equations (force related to distance squared).
-The circular orbital behavior of a charged particle in a mag field.
-The standing wave and orbit of the earth.
-diagram of how the earth would create a mag field if it is a charged particle in a large oscillating mag field of the sun.
-channeled sources teach of 8 dimensions, a fractal analog is the 8 energy shells in atoms. this is where energy goes.
-speed of light (core atomic resonance of that frequency) dictates the dimension. it is dictated by the mag field of the next higher governing creation.
-throw in the concept of the sun or all matter being a vortex into the next dimension (like a drain sucking in matter & blowing out energy)

4.The galactic core, and many other systems within the universe also produce harmonics and orbital resonances (especially with gravity waves), which create cycles affecting our solar system and all bodies within the universe. The density waves which create our spiral arm geometry is an example. The most pertinent cycle for our solar system is a 600-800 yr & 3000-4200 year cycle which radically affects our sun and solar system.

(give examples)
-we only have mythological historical and channeled accounts to tell us about these theorized cycles.
-It appears to completely disrupt the solar system.
-causes a huge energetic exchange between the sun and its governing power (perhaps the galactic core?).
-The energetic exchanges change the z-number and nuclear stability; which changes most of the relative fundamentals such as mass, density and binding energy.
-Changes occurring during these cycles create changes in volume/density & angular velocity and momentum and are the primary driving force for plate tectonics.

5. Just like suns, every atom is a miniature vortex/whirlpool connecting dimensions. Just as differing densities in the ocean or atmosphere cause vortexes seeking equilibrium (tornadoes/whirlpools), so also are suns and subatomic particles 3D vortices which pull matter from one density/dimension, transform it and blow it into another density/dimension in the form of energy (matter goes in gravitationally and out electromagnetically). Somewhat like a slinky going down the stairs, all matter steps through the dimensions; each sun, planet and atom attracting to itself in one dimension until it dies and is re-created or born again in the next higher dimension. Everything has its analog across the dimensions. As galaxies and humans attract in this life, so we will manifest in the next.

6. The unified field is the master electromagnetic (quantum) field. Particles are simply well behaved ripples or vortices in the quantum field. The Strong, Weak, Gravitational and Magnetic attractive/repulsive forces are all different aspects of the same force–which have to do with alignment or misalignment of the vortices. What needs to be solved is the mechanism which shields some interactions and not others. What shields some elements from being magnetic? What shields the Strong Force in all but nucleic interactions? What shields the “magnetic” forces in celestial mechanics to make interactions behave “gravitationally”? Etc… To solve the shielding problem is to unify the forces. My guess is that the math behind this is beyond our current abilities. I believe it has to do with calculating the composite field interactions between every subatomic vortex in the field.

Background Concepts

–Relativity of Radiometric decay rates (likely caused by neutrino spikes)
–Gravitational Waves which warp space-time and emanate out from super massive objects like Sagittarius A in the center of our galaxy.
-The galactic current/plasma sheet (Galactic analog to the Heliospheric Sheet)
–Cosmic (astrophysical) Jets, and cyclical gamma ray bursts
-Solar outbursts in systems with brown dwarfs far more powerful than usual. Especially if magnetic lines reconnect (find article of this happening recently elsewhere)
–Superflares (massive CME’s thousands of times more powerful than nuclear weapons’, capable of affecting C14 production in the upper atmosphere – see 774 AD event)

The cycles of celestial mechanics and their relationship to the fundamental units of physics

In our Galaxy there are many cycles which affect our earth and our measurements of space and time. The most fundamental of these cycles is obviously the earth day, which is essentially a measure one complete rotation of earth on its axis. Also well known are the year, the lunar cycle which months are loosely based on, and the less known Solar Cycle of 11 years where the sun reverses polarity. There are even greater cycles of such long duration that their exact mechanical characteristics are only speculative; such as our solar system’s movement within the Orion arm of the galaxy, our movement up and down across the galactic plane or equator, and our solar system’s orbit around the galactic core. I propose that these larger celestial cycles dictate all of our physical laws and measurements in ways many may not realize. It should be obvious that all our measurements of time are based on the velocity of the earth’s rotation and orbit around the sun, as well as the distance and size of the earth itself and its orbit. For instance, by changing the properties of inertia or the size of earth and/or its speed, you change the length of a ‘year’ and thus the 4.5x billion year date for the age of the earth and the age of everything in our geologic timeline. Einstein and many physicists like him came to realize over a century ago that all these measurements were relative to each-other and were dependent upon one’s reference frame in many complicated ways.

I suggest that there is no way to conclusively prove that the earth’s rotational velocity, orbital velocity or orbital period have been constant; and that in fact historical and mythological records seem to suggest to the contrary. I propose a cosmological model which suggests that our Solar System experiences long periods of relative stability interspersed by short bursts of extreme relativistic changes much like the suns 9-10 years of stable behavior interspersed by 1-3 years of erratic behavior during Solar Max. I suggest that special relativity and gravity waves can be used to suggest that large changes in the angular velocity of our solar system’s orbit in the galaxy, cause minor but significant changes in volume, density and even its mass, binding energy and other energetic properties of physics through time.

Two dimensional representation of the rate of change of Celestial Cycles. Peaks and troughs represent huge gravity waves emanating out from the Galactic Core, which cause short periods of intense change in spacetime, mass, angular velocity, and angular momentum. Areas of constant slope between peaks and trough represent areas of relative stability.

The Solar Cycle and Orbital Resonance

Our sun’s 11 year solar cycle has been well researched and documented. Roughly every 11 years the sun’s magnetic field collapses, reverses and realigns in a process corresponding with Solar Maximum, where the sun’s energetic output, sunspot activity and coronal mass ejection prevalence intensifies. Older models seeking to explain the cause of these cycles relied on classical physics explanations which saw the sun as a closed dynamo system. Newer models are beginning to explore how electro-magnetic and gravitational fields might actually be at play in these phenomena. Although well documented, it is not well known that the Sun and Jupiter are essentially a loose binary system, as the center of gravity of the two bodies lies outside the sun’s circumference. At roughly 1/10th the diameter of the sun, Jupiter is more than twice as massive than all the other planets combined. As Jupiter orbits the sun it tugs the sun toward itself by more than half the sun’s 800,000 mile diameter. The slight acceleration of the Sun’s mass and convective zone fluids created by this binary orbit between the Jupiter, the Sun & Saturn, I believe, creates drives the tidal forces within the sun as well as creating some type of electrical resonance of the two bodies and the entire solar system.

*Jupiter’s massive size causes a slight tug on the sun in a binary or near-binary orbit. Their true center of gravity (barycenter) lies just outside the circumference of the Sun*.

Exaggerated illustration of the binary nature of the Sun and Jupiter. Thier true center of gravity lies just outside the circumference of the Sun. This relationship creates an orbital resonance which in turn interacts with the galactic field — Highly Exaggerated illustration of the binary nature of the Sun and Jupiter’s orbits, showing how orbital speed increases at maximum approach. This relationship could theoretically create an electric resonance which in turn interacts with the galactic field.

Many papers attempting to link Jupiter’s orbit (in combination with other planets) to the suns solar cycle (see Courtillot, 2021 or Stefani, 2019 for instance). However, all of them have been ignored or dismissed as no one has found a mathematical model convincing enough to account for the 0.7 to 0.8 year difference between the two. I contend that there’s absolutely no way that the 11.8 year periodicity of the Jovian orbit is not somehow connected to the 11.1 periodicity of the solar cycle and I suspect the difference in time has to do with a combination of electrical flow of Jupiter and only some planets pairing with Jupiter to affect the Suns internal magnetic flow, or perhaps simple neglect and misunderstanding of the important aspect of Jupiter’s up and down motion across the solar equator on the suns dynamo.

As depicted in the exaggerated illustration above, when these two massive bodies reach perihelion (their closest approach), their angular momentum increases slightly — this acceleration of mass and charge, undoubtedly induces some type of charge. (As a result of gravitational and electromagnetic principles I detail below, I suggest that Solar Max is somehow related to changes in the Sun’s rotational acceleration and not just by inner-body tidal forces caused by heat differentials). Perhaps the Solar Jovian exchange simply enhances or subtly drives the existing flow and imbalances in the sun’s internal dynamo. It is not entirely understood why the sun’s electromagnetic field always rebuilds in a switched polarity, but I suspect that either Jupiter’s orbital obliquity to the Solar Plane (which is 6.01 degrees) actually alternately snakes above and below the celestial equator with each orbit, or it is caused by some galactic influence such as our solar system’s position in the galactic field according to principles which will be discussed later in this article.

Although not well explored by astrophysicists, the above gravitational influences between Jupiter and the Suns magnetic field, internal producing plasma currents are fairly straight foreword results of known dynamo processes. However, I believe there are more non-Newtonian electrical influences of this Solar/Jovian movement that warrant further exploration. Particularly, the electrical current exchange between the sun and Jupiter following a Jupiter/Io model, as well as possible ulta-subtle gravity waves cased by the Jupiter’s acceleration of the sun.

The Oahspe text contains many supposed ancient illustrations (channeled in 1882) of astronomic regions though which the earth passed in its galactic orbit which preportedly afftected human behavior and consiousness, the pattern in this illustration is surprisingly similar the reinforced wave patters of torroidal energy flow. — Many ancient cultures have legends of a cataclysmic time cycle with a periodicity of catastrophe approximating 4.5-7,000 years. The Hindu Yuga, the Mayan Baktun and the Hebrew/Christian calendar are just a few examples. Although mired in myth, perhaps these legends are based on some type of subtle astronomical cycle.

Galactic Gravity Waves and their Possible Effects on our Sun and Earth

The small Gravity Waves theorized to possibly be caused by the sun’s acceleration and the electrical resonance created by the same process is extremely relevant in our discussion because I believe it serves as a microcosm or fractal of what is occurring in the Galactic Core. The dance or movement of these two bodies creates an alternating, radiating field disturbance which radiates throughout the and Galaxy and ends up affecting the gravitational and electrical properties of all smaller bodies. I believe it is this same phenomena occurring in our Galactic core which is responsible for the “arms” of our Galaxy, and more importantly, creating alternating regions or arms of high energy density and low energy density, (which also regulate the relativistic changes of many cosmic variables for our solar system such as inertia and gravity). Much like with the famous double slit experiment, this double wave interference pattern creates linear node alignments which radiate out from the center like sunbursts or spokes on a wheel. When the oscillating source of these interference waves is itself rotating, then the spokes become curved arms matching the ratio phi—just like we see in our galaxy. (see cosmometry.net for many amazing insights into the relationships of phi)

Understanding the gravity waves which likely shape our Galaxy. (take special note of the content near time 4:30)

As our solar system slowly moves through the pattern of electromagnetic waves and gravity waves emanated out from the galactic core, many fundamentals of physics change. Large gravity waves fold space-time on itself, causing relative changes in mass, density, inertia and solar energy output. I propose that rotating binary bodies in the center of the milky way are creating a wave pattern similar to those demonstrated in the experiments below. This pattern contains both reinforcing waves and canceling waves. Matter in the galaxy tends to get pushed into and congregate in the ‘arms’ which are composed of canceling waves (both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves). However as earth moves through these regions of reinforcing waves and canceling waves, the very fundamentals of physics change.

Double wave interference pattern from two oscillating bodies — Imagine these oscillating balls representing the Sun and Jupiter (or similarly the Galactic Core & Sagittarius A East). Note the double interference pattern (especially the wave canceling “rays” or spokes radiating from the center). Now picture the entire system rotating and you would get the same condition existing in the Galactic core—it being responsible for the spiral arms of our Galaxy. Matter tends to be driven into the “quiet” or wave-cancelling arms.

*As the two massive bodies rotate, the double interference pattern spirals out from the center, creating arcs matching the arms of our galaxy.*

Watch a sort of binary pair or star orbiting Sagittarius A at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. (starting at minute 0:50) Could this motion be responsible for the arm structure of the Galaxy? Could it be creating a pattern of waves which affect the earth on a periodicity of several thousand years and be responsible for true polar wandering events on earth?

Celestial Mechanics and a Unified Field Theory

Although containing four or more fundamental forces, science seems to be marching on in finding ways to explain the unified field that Einstein envisioned. There are many patterns and concepts concerning a possible unified field which any high school student can see, and in fact most college textbooks actually point out. Modern String theory is starting to validate previously pseudoscience “new age” theories that require multiple dimensions to make things work. Here, we’ll first cover the similarities in equations which govern classical vs. quantum mechanics. For an over simplified example, take for instance the similarities between law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law.

Universal Gravitation vs. Coulomb’s Law

It should be obvious that there seems to be a distinct relationship between mass and charge. This relationship becomes more clear and insightful when we look closely at mass and compare it to the effects of a charge in different types of magnetic fields. Mass, by definition is simply a measure of the force it takes to break inertia and accelerate an object. But what causes the effects of inertia? This force is often seen as separate from electromagnetism, but remember the Lorentz force laws show that it takes a force to move charged particles against a magnetic field. To those who have looked closely into magnetic field vectors on a spherical object, the results are amazingly similar to the inertial effects we see on objects in our Solar System. Although strikingly similar on the surface, mathematically proving this idea that inertia is actually caused by the resistance of magnetic fields on relatively “charged” objects has proven elusive (but that doesn’t mean it won’t be done one day). Before moving into the more complex differences between gravity and magnetism let’s take a moment to look at the similar effects of planetary orbits and the behavior of a charged particle moving normal to a magnetic field. In introductory physics we learn of the cyclotron and the effects of a charged particle when traveling normal to a uniform magnetic field. As shown in the illustrations below, the particle will be forced into a circular orbit when the velocity is inversely proportional to the charge. Doesn’t this look amazingly similar to planetary orbits? Isn’t this a better explanation for why planets tend to stabilize their orbits around the celestial equator and galactic bodies tend to do the same along the galactic equatorial plane? It likely also plays a role in why planets with weak or no magnetic fields often have very small or no moons.

Questions:
-Electromagnetic properties only act on oppositely charged objects. Is there any way to test whether the sun and its planets are relatively opposingly charged?
–

The circular behavior of charged particles in a uniform perpendicular magnetic field, is similar to the behavior of celestial bodies orbiting bodies with strong magnetic fields. — similarities between the circular or ‘cyclotronic” motion of a charged particle moving normal to a uniform magnetic field, and the stable orbit of a planet or satellite orbiting within the uniform magnetic field of its governing celestial body.

Some cosmological phenomena are sometimes still explained using entirely newtonian physics principles, despite their amazing similarities to electromagnetic principles. There are many physicists trying to break out of this old mechanical cosmological view and trying to see the universe as a dynamic electrical system. One profound aspect of this is the idea that Celestial bodies may be heated from within by induction caused by motion through the solar or galactic magnetic field, just as a conductor induces a current when it moves through an alternating field. If such were at all true there could be many implications on possible periodicities of volcanism and the speed of tectonic movement (orogenic events) seen in the geologic record. Perhaps as many ancient myths suggest, the movement of our Solar System in and out of high density “nodes” of the Galactic Field could possibly influence planetary heating, plate subduction and Solar output.

Our current difficulty in getting past the prevailing classical astronomical models is reminiscent of the 17th century scientific community led by Lord Kelvin who had trouble accepting the idea of radioactivity playing a role in the Sun’s and earth’s interior heating.

Understanding how Jupiter’s moon Io proves the electrical effects of planetary bodies and may be the best model for many of the volcanic effects we see on earth through the late Mesozoic to mid Cenozoic on earth.

Putting it all together

Putting the principles we have been discussing together I propose a model in which, just as a wound conductor wire acquires an induced current when moved through an oscillating magnetic field, the Sun also is subtly influenced electrically by its motion through the galactic magnetic field. Changes in the Sun’s acceleration, like those caused by Jupiter’s binary perigee every 11 years, cause electrically induced surges manifest as solar max. The same process is repeated up and down the line between Suns, planets and other orbiting satellites which have cores appropriate for forming dynamic magnetic fields. Thus the earth’s core also has a current which is induced by its travel through the sun’s oscillating magnetic field. (However, hardened planets like earth contain largely “frozen” magnetic fields which are no longer able to flow easily with the changes of their “governing” stars.) Energetic changes in earth’s internal dynamo are also caused by accelerations caused by our own satellite (The earth and moon are also a binary system). This process forms a chain which transfers energy and other aspects of electrical resonance from the smallest of celestial bodies, to the galactic core itself. Of course, like most things in nature there are obviously myriads of exceptions and complexities which seem to break the rules of every model. A scientists job is not to lay on the wisdom as if they have “figured nature out”, but to propose theories and hypotheses which explain natural phenomena and invite others to test and challenge those theories in search of truth….

The Larmor Precession causes atoms to process just like the earth. I propose the same principles act upon the earth causing the precession of the equinoxes

Understanding the Relationship Between PHI & Solar Max

I need to explain here how the alignment of Jupiter, Saturn & Neptune are responsible for the 11.3 solar max and reversal of the suns electromagnetic field. It has to do with the bipole of the binary like action these planets create as they pull the sun in directions opposing the greater galactic field (a microcosm to what happens each 3300 years when it changes directions in its spiral orbit. The thing to understand here, is that astronomers who have explored the sun/Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune alignment are looking for a straight line when they should be looking for PHI. PHI is a straight line imposed on bent space time. And its related to the way that tension waves & gravity work on ‘circular motion’ or rotating bodies as seen in the below video!

Oversimplified principles of electromagnetic dynamics within the Solar System and Galaxy.

Questions:
-If true would the motion of the sun through the galactic magnetic field, or the motion of the planets through the suns magnetic field create a drag? Wouldn’t this tend to slow them down over time?
–

Atomic Orbital Shells Are Analogs to the Dimensions

Just as different atoms have different numbers of energy shells, so might different planets and suns have different numbers of densities. (string theory refs).

periodic table of the elements showing the electron shells of each element.

We like to think of electrons as ‘particles’ orbiting ‘around’ the nucleus, but in reality electron shells are more like an energy field which holds a discrete amount of energy. The number of shells and amount of energy those shells can hold is determined by the “core vibration” or mass of the nucleus. Likewise the varying dimensions of planets (such as earth’s heavens) or even the 7 energy bodies in hindu belief are often referred to as existing ‘around’ a person or planet, but in reality pinpointing these shells in space is not so straightforward. In the ‘Law of One’, Saturn’s 7th dimension is referred to as existing in the “rings’ of Saturn, just as Oahspe and most mainstream religions refer to earth’s heavens or resurrections as existing within the earth’s electromagnetic field. This is true in a manner of speaking because space/mass expands as it becomes more energized, but one needs to realize that these places are truly alternate dimensions invisible to human eye and manifesting only as light or energy when translating from one reference frame to another.

-put diagrams of gravity vs electromagnetic interactions.
-lay out relationships between fundamental physical properties (mass, energy, etc)
-lay out a framework for how core vibrations change, and how this change then dictates the fundamental laws.

—- UNDER CONSTRUCTION —————————————————————————————–

Things to Add to Article....

Summary

Most of the fundamental units of physics are relative to many cosmological factors which change over time. The earth’s volume, density, and most importantly the speed of light, … are relative to the solar system’s position in the galaxy. Assumptions claiming these do not changed are flawed…

We are just beginning to understand the electrical nature of the universe. The relationship between electromagnetism and gravity is in its infancy. Most physics textbooks point out these relationships as examples of what is yet to be discovered… when we find these relationships, we will understand why decay rates change over time.

Small description of the 8 dimensions from cosmology article. As earth moves between these, dates skew.

(give examples)
-the similarity between force and gravity equations (over distance squared).
-The circular orbital behavior of a charged particle in a mag field.
-The standing wave and orbit of the earth.
-diagram of how the earth would create a mag field if it is a charged particle in a large oscillating mag field of the sun.
-the lost energy we call binding energy, is pulled to the next dimension
-(main point) most importantly hit on the possible causes for creation of, and polarity switches in magnetic fields. because switches (which have collapses) or changes in mag field intensity, affect radiation on earth, which affects decay rates.

-gravity and electromagnetic attraction are obviously the same force, but the force is dampened or accentuated by the configuration of the atoms in the material. In materials which conduct electricity, the force gravitational force is greater… that’s why they are heavy. It has to do with how the atoms are arranged…
different theories for what changes the decay rates…
1.standing wave nodes
2.abrupt change in velocity
3.(main point) direct CME impacts and general changes in solar and interstellar radiation reaching the earth. Current physics is still a bit too caught up in particle physics, but we understand radiation enough to realize that interstellar radiation both creates and affects radioactive particles. Creation of C14 by highly charged solar particles is well understood. Creation of other radioactive isotopes like U245 and K37 from cosmic sources is less understood, but the principles are still there.

4 -PLATE TECTONICS. as you move further away from a gravitationally governing body, an object’s volume and density change. A bag of potato chips of a mountain or a balloon in the air will expand the higher they raise away from the earth. The planets experience the same effect in relation to the sun’s gravitational influences. As a you move away from the Sun, planets become more voluminous and less dense (depending on the rigidity of their materials). Scientist currently assume that the differences in planetary density were determined as they all simultaneously condensed with our sun (which may certainly be true) and that the earth has not changed its location in the solar system. My theory however suggests that it is changes in interstellar density, which is the main driver of plate tectonics. The liquid core expands & shrinks as we cross major galactic density boundaries, the rigid crust, less so. The same would be true of our sun (and its planets) as we move about in relation to both the galactic core and other galactic gravitational influences (they move slightly closer or further from the sun).

This process is quantized, not simply gradational. It could best be compared to the water cycle. Water does not transform from ice to liquid to steam in a linear fashion, it does so in quantized steps involving latent heat. With water, changes of state are determined by the energy density of the liquid or the density/pressure of the environment. If you slowly move most frozen substances into a region of lower pressure, they will liquify unless you take enough energy out of the system to bring equilibrium. As our Solar System moves through the galaxy, the same type of thing happens as we pass through nebula (and clouds of dark matter) of differing density. Scientist know that the orbit of earth & all the planets in our solar system (as well as the moon) are slowly expanding, but no one can agree on why. What is yet to be seen is the effect of this change on the laws of physics once the quantized threshold boundary is crossed…

5-UNIFIED FIELD THEORY. gravity and magnetism are not separate forces, but different intensities of the same force. as scores of people have suggested, there is only one force, and it is subatomically created by reinforcing or cancelling waves. (Essentially vibrations or vortices in the quantum field.) Waves which are essentially electric field lines caused by space-time vortices in the unified field. Whats important is the idea that attractive and repulsive forces of electromagnetism act on every object. It is well understood that it is the “alignment” of the atoms which dictates magnetism. What is not well understood is that it is those same atomic alignment characteristics which determine mass… which in turn determines what we call gravity. Magnetic materials are almost universally heavy (more massive). Why? Because the alignment or polarization of the atoms also makes them more attracted to the earth than other materials (in addition to being attracted to other magnetic materials). Iron, water or air do not have different masses because they have more or less atoms, it is because of the alignment or polarization of the atoms. Density is not so much a measure of the molarity (number of atoms) but the proportion of atoms aligned in certain configurations or ways. The reason solids can pass through liquids or gases is the same reason why dimensions don’t interact, its because of the configuration and/or base vibratory frequency of the atoms. At the most fundamental level, there is no such thing as a solid or “particle”. Things simply behave like particles because of their electrical properties

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-when the moon had a liquid core and stronger magnetic field, it likely caused the earth’s magnetic field to regularly flip in the same way Jupiter causes the sun to. Possibly certain galactic variables re-melt the core and polarize it from time to time. Or like dropping a magnetic can affect its magnetism, jolts to the earth may affects its magnetism as well.

#1 Unified field theory. I believe we one day will come to mathematically and conceptually understand how all fundamental forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, & weak force) are simply different distortions of the same unified force & field. I believe the key to finding these formulas is in understanding the multidimensionality of matter. (7 dimensions in our galaxy, just like there are 7 possible electron valence shells or energy levels in an atom.)

#2 Total relativity. All fundamental units of physics are relative and change as a body progresses through these dimensions. Mass, inertia, bonding energies/strong forces, gravitational forces, electromagnetic forces and time all are relative and change as a reference frame moves through the dimensions. Changes occur proportionally according to the mathematical relationships proven by mainstream physics. My ideas essentially mirror special relativity with exception that the speed of light is discretely different in each of the 7 dimensions.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION ——————————————————————————————————-

Changes In Fundamental Rules of Physics

I’ve come to realize our current understanding of the motion of our Solar System through the galaxy is fairly retarded. We really have only 200-600 years of good astronomical data to use as a basis for tracking our motion. That’s not very much and not nearly enough to really be able to say much about our galactic orbit. All of our astronomical calculations concerning the suns movements are blind projections of current movements. We know from current measurable motions of stars that our planet wobbles on its axis. We know it also has a slight binary orbit because of the moon. We know the sun does the same and has a true binary orbit with Jupiter (the center of which exists outside the circumference of the sun). We know our solar system is inclined relative to the galactic plane while moving toward it and we speculate it snakes its way up and down through that plane over time. Despite presumptuous and prideful speculation, we really don’t have enough data to speculate as to exactly how that orbit behaves over thousands of years. Vague Greek records (and possibly a few Chinese & Babylonian ones) are our only truly reliable way of extending astronomical conditions a bit longer into the past. The language barrier with Babylonian and Egyptian records makes them hopelessly suspect. What is causing the earth’s magnetic field strength (and other planets in our solar system) to decay more rapidly than linear predictions suggested? It must have to do with the galactic orbit.

How reliable is projecting current motions millions of years into the past or present? I suggest that although equally as suspect, using material supposedly channeled from other dimensions where longer astronomical records exist is really all we have to work with. From these, I speculate that as our solar system orbits the galactic core the earth moves through differing energy densities in the galactic wind. I suspect it is a combination between our location in the galaxy and the angle between our suns trajectory in relation to the prevailing galactic field that dictates the speed of light and atomic energy potential in our solar system.

Variables affecting our planet and their relationships.

earth’s axial tilt = season/surface heat, electromagnetic interaction, harvest productivity
earth’s speed = time of day, length of year,
earth’s distance from sun = seems to be somehow loosely related to density/mass/size of the planet.

Variables affecting our solar system and their relationships.

solar system’s axial tilt = heat/intensity of the sun, electromagnetic interaction, spiritual harvest productivity
solar system’s speed = time in some way?
solar distance from galactic core = doesn’t matter so much, what matters is our relationship to the interference patterns.

The speed of Light dictates the dimension

I put a lot of meditation into this.. I need to find a way to explain it. basically matter’s core vibration is what dictates a dimension and that is based on the speed of light. The speed of light is different for each dimension. Each reality or illusion is formed by being able to interact with (see and touch) matter. Both seeing and touching matter has to do with electromagnetic waves bouncing off things and repulsive interactions between atoms. “Atoms” are mostly empty space, but the “solidity” of energy patterns that we call atoms or matter is dictated by them both having an equal core vibration. So atoms or the matter in each dimension, vibrate at the same frequency which is the speed of light.

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I reference the Law of One because it is seems to verbalize many of the ideas that I have felt since delving into physics. As a second witness to my thoughts, it gives more validity to the hope that my ideas are not solely my own. It seems to me that there are a lot of people working on these concepts and that a scientific consensus will eventually be achieved which will iron out all the errors and inconsistencies in my own and other pioneering theories.

I believe that the correct model for multi-dimensionality in the universe must take into account the accumulating metaphysical evidence for life after death, and the existence of beings which dwell in dimensions not visible to our own. I believe along with many major religions and supposed material channeled from unseen realms that the earth is approaching a dimension boundary. And as we slowly cross this boundary, the changes we see in the fundamentals of physics will help our understanding of the physics of our galaxy to greatly enlarge.

#1 There is a dualistic dimension or metaphysical realm.
There is a metaphysical realm, dream state, spirit world, purgatory, time/space, mental environment or inner planes which is a duality or opposite in many ways to the physical world. (Separate from the resurrected realms, atmospherea/4rth density, etc. It is essentially the 8th density, next octave or dwelling place of God/ Higher Self. “The conditions are such that time becomes infinite and mass ceases”.) Time as we know it does not exist there. Where in our dimension space is large and curved compared to ourselves (the earth is spherical), there time is large and curved. Here, if you travel around our sphere/globe you will return to the space where you started; there if you travel around that sphere you will return to the time where you started. Here we move through space at will, but cannot control movement through time; there you can travel through time at will, but cannot control movement through space.

#2 There are 7 primary dimensions or densities in our galaxy which religion and metaphysics call the resurrected realms/heavens or glories and are a projection of the metaphysical realm. The reality or illusion of these realms is created by differing discrete values for the speed of light. The seven energy levels or valence shells of an atom are a fractal or microcosm of this greater reality.
Energy vibratory rates are quantized into discrete octaves of existence. In our octave, energy vibratory rates are quantized into 7 discrete steps of the continuum. Much like light being shown through a prism creating the 7 colors of the rainbow, energy originates in an octave above our own and is projected through the metaphysical realm to create the 7 densities or realms of existence. The speed of light is constant for our 3rd dimension or density, but is different in each of the other dimensions.

#3 The same principles Einstein’s relativity theories suggest apply to objects as they approach the speed of light also apply to a “stationary” object’s core vibratory rate. Generally when an object absorbs energy, it eventually burns up or disintegrates. On a molecular scale, the energy causes the atomic bonds to break down, the energy transforms into kinetic energy and the particles become excited releasing light (electromagnetic field energy) and gases which rise in the air to join other particles of like energy and density.
We suggest the strong force or bonding energy is created by a harmonic standing wave which emanates from the protons of the nucleus. This standing wave is the “core vibration” of the atom (see http://quantumwavetheory.wordpress.com/)

Questioner: Were these constructed in time/space or space/time?
Ra: I am Ra. We ask your persistent patience, for our answer must be complex.
A construct of thought was formed in time/space. This portion of time/space is that which approaches the speed of light. In time/space, at this approach, the conditions are such that time becomes infinite and mass ceases so that one which is able to skim the, boundary strength of this time/space is able to become placed where it will.
When we were where we wished to be we then clothed the construct of light with that which would appear as the crystal bell. This was formed through the boundary into space/time. Thus there were two constructs, the time/space or immaterial construct, and the space/time or materialized construct.
Ra: I am Ra. Although this query is difficult to answer adequately due to the limitations of your space/time sound vibration complexes, we shall respond to the best of our ability.
The hallmark of time/space is the inequity between time and space. In your space/time the spatial orientation of material causes a tangible framework for illusion. In time/space the inequity is upon the shoulders of that property known to you as time. This property renders entities and experiences intangible in a relative sense. In your framework each particle or core vibration moves at a velocity which approaches what you call the speed of light from the direction of superluminal [faster than the speed of light] velocities.
Thus the time/space or metaphysical experience is that which is very finely tuned and, although an analog of space/time, lacking in its tangible characteristics. In these metaphysical planes there is a great deal of what you call time which is used to review and re-review the biases and learn/teachings of a prior, as you would call it, space/time incarnation.
The extreme fluidity of these regions makes it possible for much to be penetrated which must needs be absorbed before the process of healing of an entity may be accomplished. Each entity is located in a somewhat immobile state much as you are located in space/time in a somewhat immobile state in time. In this immobile space the entity has been placed by the form-maker and higher self so that it may be in the proper configuration for learn/teaching that which it has received in the space/time incarnation.
Depending upon this time/space locus there will be certain helpers which assist in this healing process. The process involves seeing in full the experience, seeing it against the backdrop of the mind/body/spirit complex total experience, forgiving the self for all missteps as regards the missed guideposts during the incarnation and, finally, the careful assessment of the next necessities for learning. This is done entirely by the higher self until an entity has become conscious in space/time of the process and means of spiritual evolution at which time the entity will consciously take part in all decisions.

references
Cosmometry. Be sure to check out this site… super interesting stuff.
https://cosmometry.net/phi-double-spiral-field-patterning

The Electric Sun Hypothesis (DONALD E. SCOTT)
http://electric-cosmos.org/sun.htm

Understanding the solar dynamo
http://astrogeo.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/4/4.7.full

Electric Field on Earth
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/TreshaEdwards.shtml

Power Density of Solar Radiation
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/ManicaPiputbundit.shtml

Of Particular Significance
http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physics-basics/the-known-forces-of-nature/the-strength-of-the-known-forces/

The Vishnu Schist

November 14, 2018/2 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

(exposed in Arizona’s Grand Canyon)

*Vishnu Schist in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.*

The Vishnu schist is part of the Vishnu complex in the exposed basement rocks of the Grand Canyon region. This metamorphic layer was formed by the intrusion of plutonic masses from under the crust and the deposit of sediment from an eroded mountain chain.

The oldest rocks in the Vishnu complex are deposits of hornblende and quartz that were laid down around 1.8 billion years ago. These rocks were originally part of a deep ocean trench, and they were subsequently overlain by sediments now known as the Brahma schist, which was laid down 1.75 billion years ago. Within a few million years of the Brahma schist deposit, volcanic activity added the felsic rock of the Rama schist. Together, these layers comprise the Vishnu schist that serves as the basement of the entire Grand Canyon area.

Schist is a metamorphic rock type that is commonly formed by the pressure of overlying sediments over a period of millions of years. The rocks of the Vishnu schist are typical of their type, having elongated minerals that can easily be separated into flakes. Some igneous rock is present in the Vishnu complex, though it represents an intrusion that took place considerably later than the original sediment deposits.

The oldest rocks within the Grand Canyon are exposed within Granite Gorge aria are characteristically dark somber gray. They respond to erosion to form a steep-walled V-shaped gorge (Text-fig. 56) through which the Colorado River flows from Mile 77 downstream to beyond Phantom Ranch, These (lark colored rocks are evidence of extensive deformation, during which they were subjected to intense heat and pressure and the effects of fluids and gases. The original sedimentary or volcanic characters have been extensively modified and in some cases obliterated. Early Precambrian rocks are not stratified but possess a planar structure known as foliation, resulting from reorientation of platy minerals, crystals, and grains in response to deformation. Foliation throughout most of Granite Gorge is nearly vertical which contrasts with the horizontal stratification of the overlying younger rocks.

Three major rock bodies are found within the Early Precambrian complex. The first encountered on the river trip consists of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks in which some relict. sedimentary structures are preserved. This body of baked and altered rocks is known as the Vishnu Schist and is exposed downstream beyond Hance Rapids to near Zoroaster Canyon. They represent part of the older rocks of the earths crust. Very little detailed information can be gained about their environment of deposition since the original character of the rock has been nearly completely obliterated.

Downstream from Zoroaster Canyon is a sequence of metamorphic rocks which differ in composition, color, and texture from the Vishnu Schist but superficially appear similar to it because of their degree of metamorphism, These rocks are known as the Brahma Schist and probably represent metamorphosed volcanic rocks. Numerous granitic dikes have intruded into both the Vishnu and Brahma schists. Most of these dikes are nearly vertical and parallel to foliation of the schists and stand out in marked contrast to the metamorphic material. Rocks of the dikes are characteristically pink, light colored, and composed of large interlocking crystals of feldspar and quartz, many of which are over a foot in diameter. These intrusions become very numerous in many areas and in some localities make up more than 50 percent of the rock body. Near Zoroaster Canyon dikes are particularly common and one large massive intrusion is dissected by the canyon.

Large granite bodies of the Inner Gorge are referred to as the Zoroaster Granite and represent a period of igneous activity after deposition and metamorphism of both the Brahma and Vishnu Schists but before deposition of the overlying Grand Canyon Series and Paleozoic formations.

The Vishnu Schist in the upper part of the gorge contains many pink pegmatite dikes. Many units within the schist are well foliated and may appear similar to a gneiss. Locally, relict bedding can be seen indicating a sedimentary origin. Foliation is nearly vertical. The gray-green walls of the Vishnu Schist are crisscrossed by dikes of granite. The ragged, ledgy, V-shaped character of the inner gorge is evidenced downstream.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KKMHF7r5DAtCZSzd8

Granite Gorge Metamorphic Suite[edit]

The Granite Gorge Metamorphic Suite consists of lithologic units, the Brahma, Rama, and Vishnu schists, that have been mapped within the Upper, Middle, and Lower Granite Gorges of the Grand Canyon. The Vishnu Schist consists of quartz–mica schist, pelitic schist, and meta-arenites. They exhibit relict sedimentary structures and textures that demonstrate that they are metamorphosed submarine sedimentary rocks. The Brahma Schist consists of amphibolite, hornblende–biotite–plagioclase schist, biotite-plagioclase schist, orthoamphibole-bearing schist and gneiss, and metamorphosed sulfide deposits. As inferred from relict structures and textures, the Brahma Schist is composed of mafic to felsic-composition metavolcanic rocks. The Rama Schist consists of massive, fine-grained quartzofeldspathic schist and gneiss that likely are probable felsic metavolcanic rocks. On the basis of the presence of relict pillow structures, interlayering of metavolcanic strata, and the large volumes of metavolcanic rocks, the Brahma and Rama schists are interpreted to consist of metamorphosed, volcanic island-arc and associated submarine volcanic rocks. These metavolcanic rocks are locally overlain by the metamorphosed submarine sedimentary rocks of the Vishnu Schist that are interpreted to have accumulated in oceanic trenches. These metasedimentary rocks were originally composed of particles of quartz, clay, and volcanic rock fragments that have become metamorphosed into various schists. The Vishnu Schist exhibits relict graded beddingand structures indicative of turbidite deposits that accumulated in oceanic trenches and other relatively deep-marine settings. The Brahma Schist has been dated to about 1.75 billion years ago. The felsic metavolcanic rocks that comprise the Rama Schist have yielded an age of 1.742 billion years ago

Early Paleoproterozoic basement

The oldest rocks that are part of the Vishnu Basement Rocks is the Elves Chasm pluton. It consists of metamorphosed mafic (hornblende-biotite tonalite) and intermediate-composition plutonic rocks (quartz diorite). Within it, there are tabular amphibolite bodies that might be dikes, that have been dated at about 1.84 billion years ago. It is regarded to be an older granodioritic pluton that was exposed by erosion prior to being buried by the original volcanic and submarine sedimentary rocks of the Granite Gorge Metamorphic Suite. The Elves Chasm pluton is likely part of the basement rocks on which the original volcanic rocks and sediments of the Granite Gorge Metamorphic Suite were deposited.

The highly tectonized contact between Elves Chasm pluton and the Granite Gorge Metamorphic Suite is exposed near Waltenberg Canyon, in 115-Mile Canyon, near Blacktail Canyon, and in the Middle Granite Gorge. This contact is characterized by a high-grade orthoamphibole-bearing gneiss. This gneiss is interpreted to be a highly metamorphosed and sheared paleosol and associated regolith that originally consisted of several meters of weathered rock debris eroded from older plutonic rocks.

Take Away Lessons from my Experience with the Jerold Williams Search

August 10, 2015/4 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

5 year old Jerold Williams.

I’m a bit heartbroken as day five in the search for five year old Jerold Williams comes to a close, his body was recovered just hours ago.

I spent a good part of days three and four looking for him, and headed home as storms again moved into the area and made the already slim chances of finding the five year old alive, even slimmer. As I was out alone in the dense forest searching for this child, I gave a lot of thought to what could have been done better in his search (and what I would do if this were my child). I think the number one take home point was mobilize as many volunteers as quickly as possible, and do not let anyone under 16 be alone anywhere in the deep woods–always use a buddy system. Nine year old David Gonzales who went missing in Big Bear California was a grisly reminder to how predators can silently steal away a child without any sound, less than 50 yards from watching parents. (His remains were finally discovered almost a year later, less than a mile from where he went missing in an assumed mountain lion predation). Twelve year old Garrett Bardsley who went missing the same summer in the Uinta Mountains, likewise teaches us that not even older boys are immune from getting lost and never being found in cold, wet weather.

A few of the mistakes I consider in retrospect.

Because of legal and bureaucratic considerations, as well as worries that volunteer efforts would interfere with dog searches and air support, volunteers were not called for, and actually turned away in the early stages of this search. Because it rained the evening this boy went missing– this was a huge mistake. All scents were destroyed and air support was stifled by inclement weather. Thick forest cover also made air support & thermal imaging useless in many areas. Volunteer and search mobilization was very slow, and because of the rain, may have been the difference between life and death in this event.

Hundreds of volunteers came from the boys Colorado City community by late day two & three, but nearly all of them congregated at the base camp. It became muddy, overly congested and may have made things more difficult for search agencies. No perimeter camps were set up, and very few ventured more than a mile away from the congested base camp. Really, no-one camped away from base camp.

It was easy to be overly optimistic in the first day or two of the search. Because of an optimistic feeling that he would be found, I believe searching was not as thorough, and volunteers were not properly dispersed or valued.

I saw no visible central command tent. Because of this it was hard to tell who was in charge, or where to get the most up to date and reliable information. There was also no real central media outlet for updates, and no human connection to inspire volunteerism outside of the Colorado City community. Because of this only 200-400 searchers participated, when 2,000-3,000 would have been far more effective.

Suggestions for possible future searches.

-Seek help as soon as possible. But don’t let search agencies completely take over the search. They have legal considerations (especially with liability for searcher they call/control) and bureaucratic considerations which dictate their actions (especially in calling for volunteers and setting up dispersed camps). Go to the media and call for volunteers, and lead the effort which coordinates volunteer efforts with the efforts of the search agencies involved. Law enforcement understandingly often dissuades volunteerism because it distracts from their important efforts. A Father, brother or family friend MUST step up and direct/coordinate all volunteer efforts. He needs to set up a command booth and get volunteers directed & dispersed. There needs to be two heads who work side by side; one for law enforcement and search agencies and one for excess volunteers (those above and beyond what search agencies need or are legally willing to be responsible for). If law enforcement insists that volunteers stay out of the initial search perimeter, they should be directed to search just outside of it. Remember Brennan Hawkins of Bountiful who was found after 4 days by one of nearly 3,000 volunteers in the Uintas. (Garrett Bardsley’s disappearance the year before played a big part in inspiring the huge community outreach– mobilized largely by the Garrett Bardsley Foundation). At the same time an uncoordinated free-for-all such as the famous Dennis Martin case, needs to be avoided.

-Search and Rescue will typically set up a 2-5 mile radius parameter. But the volunteer effort should focus on manning the outskirts of the perimeter with volunteer campers by the first night. Search parties tend to all congregate at the base camp (usually the place child was last seen). This creates congestion and complicates the efforts of search agencies. If possible the perimeter should consist of forest roads, cliffs, rivers or fences. Send 20-50 volunteers to set up camp all along this perimeter and remain as long as needed. Noisy generators and lights should be encouraged. Also (if it can be negotiated with S&R), send volunteers strategically into the search area (as soon as possible) to set up small dispersed backpacking camps (with fires at night if permitted by forest service regulations). Have them set up their tents and lay out sleeping bags before doing any searching. These not only will give the child a greater chance of finding searchers, but will also serve to scare off opportunistic predators such as bears and mountain lions. With any luck they might come back from a search to find the missing child in one of their sleeping bags. Be sure each site is manned by 2-4 people, encourage volunteers to always use the buddy system and always leave some people at the camp area while sending others back to base camp for periodic updates.

-I have yet to read an account of a ‘lost in the forest’ Utah child who was found dead or alive by dogs or thermal imaging equipment. These tools may be useful but they should not preclude the use and placement of volunteers within the search area. Do not allow search agencies to restrict volunteer efforts on account of these tools. Family must press law enforcement to allow them to do this (if not the first night then the second or third after dogs have been through the area). If dogs or trackers can’t find him in the first day, don’t place much faith in them. I’d love to be proven wrong on this, but I’ve yet to see any solid research showing that search dogs are more than 10% effective, and that thus it’s a fruitful practice to keep volunteers out of the search area for fear they might interfere with the search dogs job.

-Ask for trail runner volunteers the first day. Find very fit teams who can jog the most likely routes from the center point (point of last contact) to the search perimeter. (Make sure they have whistles and bear mace) These runners could also travel between the dispersed camps to carry news.

-The one who goes for help needs to help create Google Map marked with base camp and a designated search perimeter to be given to the media. They should immediately create a webpage or Facebook page with maps, and accurate up-to-date information. (Use a digital map with offline capability like ArcGis?) The mom or close friend should be encouraged to talk to the media quickly and often–as the more human connection you can make with people the more volunteers you will get. Someone also need to make a few hundred copies of the map with search parameters and bring it back to base camp to distribute to volunteers. Some volunteers can be urged by the media to ride ATV’s on trails outside of the search perimeter, in the unlikely event that the child hiked farther away from base camp than anyone suspects. Supply line volunteers can also be asked for to provide food and water to search personnel. An update should be passed two or three times daily from the field search leads to the home media and website contacts. The more information you can get people, the more volunteers you can get—and the more effective they will be. Have someone post links to the search website/facebook page on media article and law enforcement pages.

-Helpful details to get from the family and provide to possible volunteers via the webpage media. What direction did they most likely head (where they playing north, south, east or west of camp previous to going missing). Has the child been taught what to do when getting lost and what is their disposition (are they more likely to stay put or try and find their way out)? How fit is the child (is it common for them to hike several miles or are they more likely to slowly saunter in circles)?

-if no helicopters are available, use drones if possible?

-A printout should be provided for volunteers from the webpage or Facebook page and base camp with some guidelines. It should include 1) Coordinates to base camp and where to go for instruction. 2) A list of oft-overlooked things to bring such as bear spray/mace, whistle or blow horn, flashlight, first-aid kit, compass.

-Once volunteers are mobilized the trick is getting them organized. Search agencies will want two to four large search lines (with 20-30 people each) who will sweep out from the point of last contact and thoroughly comb the designated areas within a mile or two of base camp. But someone needs to organize smaller search groups (3-6 people) who hike the backcountry and do quick sweeps of the more remote regions sweeping in from the parameter camps.

-Speed is of the essence! By day two cold conditions and hypothermia can bring loss of consciousness or make lost people do irrational things. Resist the urge to be optimistic to the point where things that could have been done, aren’t done.

-By day three or four volunteers need to be told to look in trees with large branches and under pine bows and other cover where predators are likely to stash or bury their prey.

-It is important for well thought-out checklists of things to do to be created, before an emergency like this. As illustrated in Atul Gawande’s book “The Checklist Manifesto”, professionals such as airplane pilots and surgeons have been found inevitably to make mistakes in high stress situations unless a checklist exists which can help them remember and practice what they already know. Gawande’s research team has taken this idea, and developed a safe surgery checklist, and applied it around the world, with staggering success.

-I need to create a mockup web page, map and hand-out with step by step instructions that could be used as a template for a search situation. This boy may had lived had he been found earlier. With the skyrocketing increase in tourism of Southwestern Utah’s forests this situations may become more prevalent. Perhaps it would be helpful to create a few brochures, training curriculum or even some training videos to pitch to the dept of public safety or the FCAOG (Five County Association of Governments for Southwest Utah), who work to coordinate resources for local sheriff’s offices.

-When possible, equip even young children with survival items in a back-pack, when hiking in the woods. Including a laser pointer or small LED light, a whistle, a thin poncho or garbage bag with a hole cut in it. Teach them the two essentials, stay warm and stay put. Teach them they should only move if it is needed to stay warm. If they must move to find shelter in order to stay warm (ie. from rain), they need to build arrows to show where they went.

example of a map showing base camp, search perimeter, perimeter camps, and high priority search areas.

References
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zKU37Xu8MQ1s.k_W4h_jPgygQ&usp=sharing
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/us/after-four-days-a-boy-scout-missing-in-utah-is-found-alive.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/13/jared-ropelato-boy-scout-utah_n_926335.html
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/595086737/Searchers-find-missing-Boy-Scouts-sock.html?pg=all
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jun/01/local/me-bones1

Navajo Sandstone

April 16, 2015/8 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

The Navajo Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the U.S. states of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, northwestColorado, and Utah; as part of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States.

The Navajo Sandstone formation is particularly prominent in southern Utah, where it forms the main attractions of a number of national parks and monuments including Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area,^[3] Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Canyonlands National Park.

Navajo Sandstone frequently overlies and interfingers with the Kayenta Formation of the Glen Canyon Group. Together, these formations can result in immense vertical cliffs of up to 2,200 feet (670 m). Atop the cliffs, Navajo Sandstone often appears as massive rounded domes and bluffs that are generally

Appearance and provenance

Navajo Sandstone frequently occurs as spectacular cliffs, cuestas, domes, and bluffs rising from the desert floor. It can be distinguished from adjacent Jurassic sandstones by its white to light pink color, meter-scale cross-bedding, and distinctive rounded weathering.

The wide range of colors exhibited by the Navajo Sandstone reflect a long history of alteration by groundwater and other subsurface fluids over the last 190 million years. The different colors, except for white, are caused by the presence of varying mixtures and amounts of hematite, goethite, andlimonite filling the pore space within the quartz sand comprising the Navajo Sandstone. The iron in these strata originally arrived via the erosion of iron-bearing silicate minerals.

Initially, this iron accumulated as iron-oxide coatings, which formed slowly after the sand had been deposited. Later, after having been deeply buried, reducing fluids composed of water and hydrocarbons flowed through the thick red sand which once comprised the Navajo Sandstone. The dissolution of the iron coatings by the reducing fluids bleached large volumes of the Navajo Sandstone a brilliant white. Reducing fluids transported the iron in solution until they mixed with oxidizing groundwater. Where the oxidizing and reducing fluids mixed, the iron precipitated within the Navajo Sandstone.

Depending on local variations within the permeability, porosity, fracturing, and other inherent rock properties of the sandstone, varying mixtures of hematite, goethite, and limonite precipitated within spaces between quartz grains. Variations in the type and proportions of precipitated iron oxides resulted in the different black, brown, crimson, vermillion, orange, salmon, peach, pink, gold, and yellow colors of the Navajo Sandstone.

The precipitation of iron oxides also formed laminea, corrugated layers, columns, and pipes of ironstone within the Navajo Sandstone. Being harder and more resistant to erosion than the surrounding sandstone, the ironstone weathered out as ledges, walls, fins, “flags”, towers, and other minor features, which stick out and above the local landscape in unusual shapes.

SOUTHWEST UTAH

Because of its thickness, massiveness, color, and its decorative carving, the Navajo sandstone is the most conspicuous and best known unit in the Mesozoic sequence in the plateau country. It has been described in many scientific and popular publications and pictured in pamphlets and on postcards issued by tourist bureaus and transportation companies. In Utah it surrounds the Henry Mountains, forms the famous White Cliffs and the walls of Glen Canyon. Complete sections are exposed in Paria Canyon, Kanab Canyon, Parunuweap Canyon, Zion Canyon, and LaVerkin Canyon, and in scores of other deep, narrow gorges that carry water from the Kaiparowits, the Paunsaugunt, and the Markagunt Plateaus. Generally throughout its expanse, the Navajo sandstone lies nearly flat and its sharply truncated edges are unscalable walls of commanding height. In eastern Southwest Utah part of the Navajo retains its normal attitude and is expressed in the topography as vertical cliffs; other parts have been steeply upturned and stand as ridges. The towering escarpment that rims the Kolob Terrace at the heads of Spring and Kanarra Creeks and outlines the lava-capped Square Mountain has been developed by cutting into Navajo sandstone, here fully 1,500 feet thick. Northward across the canyons of Murie, Shurtz, Squaw, and Coal Creeks, where horizontality of bedding is replaced by progressively steep inclination, the edge of the sandstone stands on the skyline as a rugged ridge, here and there broken into pyramids and domes. The Red Wall, prominently in view from Cedar City, is. the base of the uptilted Navajo, from which much of the underlying Chinle formation has been stripped.

Observations at many localities show that in composition and texture the Navajo sandstone in eastern Southwest Utah differs little from that exposed elsewhere. Its salient physical features were long ago outlined by Dutton in his pioneer study on the geology of Markagunt Plateau (1).

“The lithological characters of the Jurassic white sandstone render it a very conspicuous formation. Through a thickness of more than a thousand feet, sometimes of nearly two thousand feet, it is one solid stratum, without a single heterogeneous layer or shaly parting. A few horizontal cracks are seen here and there, but inspection shows that they are merely the seams where two systems of cross-bedding are cemented together. In general, it is one indivisible stratum. This massive character has had its effect upon the cliff-forms that have been sculptured out of it. These forms are bold headlands and gigantic domes, usually without any minor details, but simple in the extreme, and majestic by reason of their simplicity. . . . But of all the features of this rock the most striking is the cross-bedding. It is hard to find a single rock-face which is not lined off with rich tracery produced by the action of weathering upon the cross-lamination. The massive cliff fronts are etched from summit to base with a filagree as intricate and delicate as frost-work.”

Supplementing the original description by Dutton, lithic and strati-graphic observations recorded by later students reveal that the dominant cross bedding varies in style from place to place and is locally absent and that the sandstone includes thin, lenticular beds of dolomitic limestone, and in places argillaceous shale and calcareous conglomerate. Detailed examination shows that the Navajo sandstone in Southwest Utah is essentially an aggregate of clear quartz grains of which about 75 percent measure 0.08 to 0.75 millimeters in diameter ; that most of the grains are imperfectly rounded, though many are spherical and some plainly etched; and that, in addition to the dominant quartz, the rock contains fragmentary feldspar, mica, magnetite, more rarely zircon and tourmaline. The cement of the Navajo sandstone consists of loosely compacted lime or dolomite, and iron. The amount and chemical state of the iron oxides are indicated by the color tones: yellow, buff, tan, red, In a few places where leaching has removed the iron, the rock is white, but such great thicknesses of white rock as give character to the White Cliffs in Kanab and Johnson valleys and the Great White Throne in Zion Canyon are absent.

The Navajo sandstone is profusely jointed. Sets of roughly parallel joints with various trends and inclinations cut the sandstones into huge slabs. The major vertical joints are several hundred feet apart and are traceable for as much as a mile. But in places planes of fracture are so closely packed as to form “shatter belts.” On flat surfaces the rock joints, open or filled with calcite or iron, appear as surface markings and here and there provide runways for rills. On canyon walls they outline blocks, sheets, and slivers of rock preparatory to their removal by frost and combined with the bedding planes-horizontal, oblique, and curved-determine the shape of talus blocks. The uniformity of grain, the cross bedding, the weak cement, and the joints facilitate the production of the large and small scale erosion features, many times described as characteristic of the flat surfaces, the cliffs, buttresses, and canyon walls developed in the Navajo sandstone.

In Dutton’s (2) opinion, the sands that compose the Navajo were deposited in the sea: “The Jurassic sandstone appears to have been a littoral or offshore formation thrown down along the coast of the Mesozoic mainland, which occupied the region now forming the Great Basin . . . its red color becomes more common as we recede from the old shore line towards the east.” In common with his co-workers of the Wheeler and Powell survey, Dutton treated the Navajo sandstone as basal Jurassic, though recognizing the possibility that it may be “a mere upward continuation of the Vermilion Cliff series” (Chinle formation: Upper Triassic). More recent studies of sedimentation in the plateau country have compiled evidence that the Navajo is a terrestrial deposit, much of it eolian,20 and that its age is probably Middle Jurrassic.

In tracing the Navajo sandstone northwestward from its type locality in the Navajo Reservation, Arizona, it was noted that the part characterized by curved and angular crossbedding, laminae, and lack of division planes decreases in thickness. Particularly in areas where the Kayenta formation and the Wingate sandstone are lacking and the Navajo rests directly on the Chinle the usual single massive stratum is replaced by a massive stratum and below it a sequence of somewhat regular beds. In Southwest Utah fully half, in places nearly all, the Navajo is displayed as thick and thin layers composed chiefly of wedge-shaped groups of oblique crossbeds. These observations suggest that eastern Southwest Utah lies near the edge of an ancient interior basin where sediments deposited by streams were but slightly rearranged by wind.

SOUTHEAST UTAH

In the San Juan country the Navajo sandstone is exposed in the east and west flanks of the broad Monument up warp. The sandstone forms the crest and eastern slope of the “Comb”, the prominent ridge that crosses the San Juan and extends northward between Comb Wash and Butler Wash as a steeply dipping monocline, and continues to crop out along the east base of Elk Ridge and across the Causeway into the Indian Creek country.” The walls and mosques and alcoves that make the “wonderland” of the Allen Canyon country are chiefly exposures of Navajo sandstone.

In the remote Red Rock Plateau the Navajo is magnificently developed. The plateau is essentially one great sheet of sandstone, cut into huge segments by the San Juan, Castle, Moki, Red, and Colorado Canyons. On this plateau the Navajo shows its characteristic features of erosion. Along canyons and at their boxlike heads it forms vertical or even undercut walls-sheer cliffs 400 to 600 feet high that can be ascended only at fracture zones or on sand dunes that extend from the bottom to the rim. A traverse of miles of canyon floor may reveal no place where the walls can be climbed. Though the Navajo stands first among cliff makers in the plateau province, it does not form platforms or mesa tops. Unlike the Dakota(?) of Sage Plain and the Shinarump of Elk Ridge, which form extensive nearly horizontal plateaus, the Navajo shows very uneven surfaces. Its composition, texture, and structure combine to produce smooth or ribbed mounds on which stream ways are poorly defined. Between the San Juan River and upper Castle Wash and at the junction of the San Juan and the Colorado the surface of Red Rock Plateau is a maze of domes and saucer like depressions. The intricate network of narrow, deep canyons that carry the run-off from bare slopes seems to be arranged with little regard to surface topography.

The published descriptions of the Navajo sandstone in the Navajo country and in the Kaiparowits region apply equally well to the San Juan country and need only be ‘generalized here. In fact, the composition, structure, texture, and style of bedding of the Navajo are remarkably alike throughout the Colorado Plateaus: the differences relate chiefly to thickness, color, and degree of massiveness. Essentially the Navajo is a single massive bed of fine-grain ‘ marvelously cross-bedded sandstone composed of crystal-clear grains of quartz cemented by lime and iron. Cross-bedding is a scrollwork of curves and parallel lines etched on the surface and strengthened here and there by projecting seams of quartz and rows of cylindrical iron concretions. The Navajo sandstone includes lenses of thin regular bedded sandstone and lenses of resistant limestone a few inches to 5 feet thick and a few hundred feet long. On the rim of Lake Canyon dense blue-gray dolomitic limestone near the top of the Navajo caps low mesas and provided building materials for the walls of prehistoric structures. Numerous vertical and oblique joints outline slabs on cliff faces and in conjunction with cross-bedding determine the position and shape of buttresses, recesses, and alcoves on canyon walls and the caves once occupied by Cliff Dwellers.

As most of the Navajo in the San Juan country has been long exposed to erosion, its original thickness has been reduced. At Comb Ridge and in the Allen Canyon country 300 to 600 feet remains. In the south wall of Wilson Mesa, where the Navajo is overlain by younger strata, a complete section measured 880 feet. At most places west of the Colorado River measured thicknesses exceed 1,000 feet; at Zion Canyon, nearly 2,500 feet.

NORTHERN ARIZONA

STRUCTURE, TEXTURE, AND COMPOSITION.

The Navajo sandstone is nearly everywhere cross-bedded on a scale which for extent and perfection of detail is difficult to exaggerate. Angular cross bedding was observed, but the prevailing type is tangential; curved laminae become tangent to adjoining surfaces. Starting as highly inclined arcs of small radii the cross-bedding laminae gradually decrease in curvature until they merge into contact with the underlying strata. In some places the arcs are tangent to horizontal surfaces or meet them at angles of 1� or 2′; elsewhere arcs of various radii are tangent to one another. (See Pl. XII, A.) Many groups of curved laminae are sharply truncated along horizontal or inclined surfaces. In places the curved laminae have uninterrupted sweeps of 200 to 300 feet; commonly their length is measured in tens of feet, and many cliff faces are decorated by close-set loops and arabesques comparable with the lathe work in steel engraving. In general the cross-bedding laminae are outlined by layers of weakly cemented quartz grains that determine planes of fracture, but in places major joints exert a stronger control and furnish erosion remnants decorated on all sides by intersecting curved lines.

To the tangential cross bedding are due the exceptional erosion features of the Navajo sandstone the innumerable pockets, recesses, and alcoves bounded by curved planes which characterize this formation. Overhanging cliffs are common, and the beautiful arc of the Rainbow Bridge is only an unusually perfect example of the control exerted by curved lamination.

The prevailing color of the rock is light red and is surprisingly constant over large areas. Among the Segi Mesas and on the Rainbow Plateau the red tint is so boldly applied that no other color appears in the view. In places, however, dark reds and maroons are seen, and not uncommonly orange and even tan colors add variety to the landscape, and patches of white are not unusual. In the Echo Cliffs the rich red tints of the Navajo sandstone fade into yellow gray and become nearly white in the vicinity of Bitter Springs but the Wingate and the Todilto retain their dominant tones. It is interesting to note that all parts of the La Plata in Colorado are described as white and that the White Cliff sandstone of east-central Utah has been correlated with the La Plata.

The Navajo sandstone is composed of translucent quartz grains, with small amounts of feldspar, rare fragments of zircon, magnetite, garnet, pyroxene (?), and tourmaline (?). In two thin sections examined the grains are imperfectly rounded but without sharp edges; a third specimen consists of almost perfect spheres. The grains are of two sizes; probably 90 per cent of the rock consists of grains ranging between 0.15 and 0.25 millimeter in diameter; the other grains, formed as an interrupted coat on cross-bedding laminae, average about 0.65 millimeter. Only at a few localities were much larger pebbles of quartz, of shale, and of sandstone noted. In general the cement is calcite, with large or small amounts of iron oxide, which is reflected in the varying color of the rock. Hand specimens from the Echo Cliffs and the Chinle Valley have siliceous cement. In places the cement is stained green by copper, and in the White Mesa copper district the original cement is partly replaced by malachite and chrysocolla. Much of the cement is weak and grains of calcite and of kaolin are disseminated; the rock is consequently friable, and even where continuously swept by the wind crumbles under foot. It was found possible to trail a man who had strayed from camp by the hobnail prints he made on a bare ledge. In many places the joints in the Navajo are lined with quartz, and their position is indicated by a tracery of thin white ridges intersecting at various angles. In Copper Canyon, on Shato and Kaibito plateau and to a less extent elsewhere, some joints are lined with chrysocolla and other copper minerals.

The limestone, which is an almost universal feature near the top of the Navajo sandstone, is in lenses. The thin outcrops rarely extend more than a few hundred feet, and most of them are measured in tens of feet. The lenses are usually less than 1 foot thick and break up into shaly beds including sandstone. They are exceedingly resistant, however, and form the caps of low mesas and buttes, irregularly distributed over the otherwise smooth surfaces of Navajo sandstone exposures. The two specimens submitted to analysis proved to be dolomite. Chert and chalcedony are commonly found with the limestone.

CONDITIONS OF DEPOSITION.

The significant features of the Navajo sandstone are uniformity of grain, cross-bedding, and red color. Specimens taken from ledges 200 miles apart are indistinguishable in the laboratory by texture or composition or color; tangential cross bedding is persistent. The structure and composition of the rock suggests aridity and the uninterrupted control of the winds, and the “live dunes” now being formed on the floor of Chinle Valley differ only in color from the “frozen dunes” displayed in the bordering rock walls. There is little doubt that desert conditions prevailed in this region during part of Jurassic time, but the boundaries of this ancient Sahara and its relations to highlands and oceans are unknown. The thin lenses of dolomitic limestone and limestone conglomerate in the upper part of the Navajo sandstone probably represent local bodies of water of ephemeral character. It should be borne in mind, however, that these calcareous beds are in the stratigraphic position of the marine limestone of Kanab, described by Gilbert.

AGE AND CORRELATION.

No fossils have been found in the Navajo sandstone, and its age, like that of other formations of the La Plata group, is determined by stratigraphic position and lithologic similarity. It is the equivalent of the upper La Plata sandstone 2 of the La Plata Mountains, from which it differs in no essential except color and thickness.

On Dutton’s geologic map and sections 3 the massive “white sandstone” (Jurassic) is extended to cover the western edge of Kaibito Plateau. He says: “The extension of the Jura south of the Colorado and its exposure in the line of Echo Cliffs has been traced for nearly 60 miles.” In my view the sandstones forming the crest and escarpment of Echo Cliffs and the walls of Glen Canyon, mapped by Dutton as Triassic, belong in the La Plata group and Dutton’s descriptions and illustrations of the “Jurassic white sandstone” suggest lithologic equivalence with the Navajo and also with the massive phase of the McElmo. The upper limit of the La Plata along the southern base of Kaiparowitz Plateau has not been established. Sections on Warm Creek and Sentinel Creek include more than 100 feet of calcareous and gypsiferous shales and thin sandstones between typical Navajo sandstone and massive strata assigned to the McElmo.

I have been unable to recognize with assurance the Navajo sandstone in the Lower Cretaceous and Jura-Triassic strata along the San Juan described by Newberry, or in the Lower Dakota, Upper Dakota, and Triassic mapped by Holmes in the Carrizo Mountain area.

Grand Canyon

One of the most prominent and distinctive formations in the Colorado Plateau is the massive Navajo Sandstone. It weathers into nearly vertical cliffs and dominates the landscape wherever it is exposed. In the vicinity of Lee’s Ferry the Navajo Sandstone is approximately 1,400 feet thick and caps the high Vermillion and Echo cliffs behind the boat landing (Text-fig. 3). Exposures of the formation are abundant throughout much of the Navajo country to the northeast. In Utah the Navajo Sandstone forms the prominent White Cliffs north of Kanab and the walls of Zion Canyon. Precipitous canyons controlled by joints (fractures) (Text-fig. 3) are cut into most exposures of the formation and produce some of the most rugged and spectacular scenery of the West.

Large scale cross-bedding characterizes the Navajo Sandstone wherever it is exposed. Many outcrops contain some of the most spectacular development of this structure to be found anywhere in the world.

Navajo Sandstone consists of well-sorted, rounded grains of translucent quartz, many of which are etched and frosted. This, together with the large-scale cross-bedding, indicates that the Navajo sediments accumulated in a vast desert which covered much of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico during early Jurassic time.

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March 28, 2011/0 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

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May 7, 2010/0 Comments/in Uncategorized/by Lance Weaver

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