Takakkaw Falls in Mid May ??

profdant139 wrote:
Looking again at the photo I just posted, I noticed something for the first time -- the falls comes out of a "hanging valley." The canyon above the falls has been glaciated -- sort of a U shape profile. But it looks like the tributary glacier from that canyon flowed into the main glacier, which filled the valley and flowed from left to right (north to south). So that may be why the falls plunge over a sheer edge, rather than flowing down a steep canyon.

And if that is right, then the groove in the bottom of the tributary canyon is post-glacial -- the creek cut down through the rock in the center of the canyon. You can also see the layers in the cliff near the falls. The rock in this mountain range is mostly sedimentary or metamorphic -- softer than the igneous granite of the Sierras, for example.

Dan...geeezus....really? You'd be a riot in a rock slide...describing in detail what kind of material it is that now sliding around us. However...I am guessing a fat old guy..(stop looking at me like that) isn't going to be able to manage the hike you described..with tripod and gear?

You and crosscheck should meet up and go off wandering.


Gary Haupt

Gary, during a rockslide I could do a play by play -- sounds like fun!

Actually, although I am not a geologist, I really enjoy trudging through the mountains trying to figure out what we are looking at. My poor wife has been subjected to many years of my monologues, but she never complains.

The Canadian Rockies are especially interesting -- it is like looking at a stop action movie. They started as deep ocean sediments, got thrust up into the sky, and are eroding down under assault by ice and water.

And by the way, now that your legs are back in top shape, I would bet that you could do much of the Iceline Trail near Yoho!

profdant139 wrote:
Actually, although I am not a geologist, I really enjoy trudging through the mountains trying to figure out what we are looking at. My poor wife has been subjected to many years of my monologues, but she never complains. The Canadian Rockies are especially interesting . . .

I am a geologist and my sons could have gotten geology degrees by the time they graduated from high school. But once they escaped my 65 MPH geology classes during our family vacations, they strangely chose other professions. So, my wife commiserates with yours!

Incidentally, your conclusions are correct on the action of glaciers and streams in that hanging valley. You probably have even more fun viewing the hanging valleys in Yosemite NP. And, if you go to Alaska, don't miss the detour from the Cassiar Highway to Stewart-Hyder. You can drive above Salmon Glacier and look down on its multiple arms and several hanging valleys. Spectacular!

fanrgs, it is interesting that you mention Yosemite. We have hiked over almost all of the park, and literally five minutes ago I finished "Geology Underfoot in Yosemite," by Glazner & Stock. Very enjoyable, especially for folks who know the area well. I wonder if there is a similar book for the Canadian Rockies?

Alaska is on our bucket list -- the ability to get up close and personal with a living glacier is pretty tempting. There are places in the Canadian Rockies where we have done so (like the Plain of the Six Glaciers above Lake Louise), but most of the glaciers are hard to get to, even for reasonably fit day hikers.

Yep, and it's even called "Canadian Rockies Geology Road Tours"! It's by Ben Gadd, a geologist who lives in the area and is as funny a writer as he is a good geologist (go to www.bengadd for a bio). Things like a question and answer on "how long will the Rockies last?" or a discussion of "Confusing, amusing toponymy in the Columbia Icefield area."

Don't know if the book is available on Amazon though. I had to order my copy from Alpine Book Peddlers in Canmore, AB (E-mail is alpinebk@aeontech.ca). I paid $28.50 Canadian for it, but it is 576 pages with lots of B&W photos and is arranged by waypoints with mileage (mi and km) for each highway.

Boy, have we hijacked this thread!