desert towers... and potholes
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Hello Mountain Project community, |
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The biggest potholes I have seen on top of a tower were on the End Pinnacle at Cochise Stronghold, Arizona. But this is in granite. |
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On a related topic, is this the species in the Flatirons: Branchinecta coloradensis? Will keep an eye out for you around Moab. thanks |
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Top of Independence Monument in Colorado National Monument. Sometimes has water and occasional "shrimp" |
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Theres some huge potholes that were swimming with creatures on the plateau beneath the lost world (look for the route "the road not taken"). Its pretty much where the road ends. The most impressive inhabitants were huge trilobite type things - most primordial looking thing I ever saw. not sure if they are brachiopods tho. |
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Vedauwoo. Granite again though |
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2nd independence monument |
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On top of the rectory. I think there is crypto up there as well. |
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There are a number of potholes on top of Monitor Butte. Some are like thirty feet deep. But it's Entrada. |
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Wow, thank you guys so much! |
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Window Blind Peak and Assembly Hall Peak in the San Rafael Swell might be good places to look. I don't specifically recall seeing obvious pot holes up there, but they're big summits, so they must have some. I'm pretty sure they're navajo sandstone too. There are a number of isolated summits in the navajo formation in the Buckhorn Wash area that could have what you are looking for. |
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I had a great time checking out the potholes with you back in the day... good to hear your still fascinated! Oh, and hope you are enjoying boulder! Get up to Estes as much as you can! Again I know its not what you are looking for but up on Batman Pinnacle (Lumpy) there are two types of swimmers in two potholes inches apart and I've seen one species in the others hole and they do NOT get along. Pretty interesting |
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PM'd |
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I was just on top of Window Blind Peak the other day, and didn't really notice any potholes. The rock up there seems to fracture more into plates like shale so it didn't seem very conducive to pothole formation. |
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How long before..."climbing banned to protect pothole life"... |
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Max Supertramp wrote:I have seen some very interesting perennially wet (full, in excess of 1,000 gallon) tinajas in high topographic locations in the Navajo. These places lack a sufficient catchment or hydrologic conduit to logically hold water through June, yet they do. Perhaps impermeable lenses of limestone or shale below? Very odd, I will track down some photos. Independence Monument holds water in its Kayenta caprock for many months... The kayenta is the best pothole former in towers in the places lacking Navajo. Less permeable and porous than the Navajo.Also some pretty good ones in the quartz monzonites of the Mojave National Preserve, though these seem less likely to persist through drier/hotter times. |
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Castlewood Canyon has these in spades. I'm going to have to keep an eye on them for life from now on! |
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@Adam: Hi! Thanks for the lead. Let me know if you make it back this direction this summer and want to go searching for potholes... :) |
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We've got Fairy Shrimp in the vernal pools at Enchanted Rock (TX)... |
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you've read Secret Knowledge of Water, right? |