Neff’s Canyon

Daniel Jensen
Geo 1010 MW 10:00-11:20
November 25, 2019
 Intro
My research paper was done on Neff’s Canyon park. This site has many interesting geological
features as well as a rich history. I learned a lot about the geologic history of my old
neighborhood just by visiting this trailhead. It was intriguing seeing how much had happened so
close to my own childhood home. I also enjoyed seeing how much you could learn from just
looking around you at the rocks and landscape.
Observations
During my research, I discovered that the Neff’s canyon trail crosses a terminal moraine created
by a glacier long ago. This was the thing I was most excited to see because I spent a lot of time at
Neff’s canyon in junior high and high school and had never seen anything that looked like the
pictures of terminal moraines I was shown in class. Unfortunately, during my visit I was unable
to see the terminal moraine, I ended up getting too cramped up to move about two hours and
maybe two and a half miles into the hike as I’m about the most unathletic person I know.
However, I was able to see several glacial erratics deposited on the side of the canyon. I also was
able to see several dried-up stream beds that had eroded away the rocks in the bottom and the
sedimentary rocks and deposits left behind. Another geological element I was able to spot easily
were a few minor landslides and their deposits, one of which managed to get directly onto the
main hiking path. The only real human interaction in Neff’s canyon has been almost strictly
hiking, snowboarding, recreational activities of the sort, not really affecting much in the way of
geologic processes.
Interpretations
The first thing I was able to determine was that yes, obviously, as both my research and
observations showed me, Neff’s canyon was originally formed by a glacier. The massive glacial
erratics deposited on the side of the canyon were my first clue, alongside the glacial quarrying
evident on the sides of the canyon. The second was the morraines I could spot on google earth.
The third was my research, which told me there is a terminal glacial moraine at the top of the
trail, which I’ve never actually had the physical ability to get to. It was also easy to tell because
most canyons are carved out by glaciers originally.
The second thing I determined was that snow melt has been doing a lot of reshaping, moving,
eroding, and depositing rocks in Neff’s since the glacier melted. There are a few stream beds
running down the canyon, some dry and some still active. These do an excellent job of showing
cut banks and point bars like talked about in class when considering streams. They also show the
way sediments and rocks can be transported and organized by water currents very well.
 References
Neffs Cave. (2019, September 21). Retrieved December 4, 2019, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neffs_Cave.
Halsing, W. R. (2003). Neff's Cave: America's Deepest Cave. Retrieved December 4, 2019, from
http://caves.org/grotto/timpgrotto/Neffs.html.
Photos

This photo is
a side of the
canyon that
shows glacial
quarrying.

This is a
stream bed
that showed
graded
bedding and
sedimentary
deposits.
A glacial
Erratic
Deposited
On the side
Of the canyon

Another stream bed showing

graded bedding and
sedimentary transportation and
deposition.
Another glacial erratic on the side
of the canyon.

The deposit left by a small

landslide on the side of the trail up
Neff’s.