Grading Rubric – Total Points: 200

Include this rubric as first page. Points

Library Research – Works Cited Page – Turned in by deadline shown in assignment
/20
-          APA style; relevant content; college-level sources; websites not allowed – sources
must be articles, books, or documents.
Site Visit  
-          Field Observations Form - hand written in field, fully completed. /20
-          Photos - 6 of your own photos, 2 per page, descriptive photo captions in complete
sentences, photos are original and show relevant geologic features. Photos copied from /20
the internet will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.
-          Map – Your own final hand-drawn map of the site showing geologic features,
includes title, north arrow, scale bar, legend of all map elements; use color, show location
/20
of photos, show location of relevant geologic features and label them, show human
features like roads and trails. This has to be a neat hand drawn map of the park.
Final Report - Three-page research paper  
-          Content - Relevant observations and explanations of geologic features, good
relationship between your observations and the results of your library research.
/40
Scientifically relevant physical geologic features. Show relationship between geologic
features to your observations.
-          Writing style - Research report style that is objective, cites references, and is
concise, direct, organized, and structured. Will be free of grammatical and spelling errors.
/40
Topic sentences for each paragraph, all sentences in paragraphs relate to main point of
paragraph.
-          In-Text Citations: Followed in-text citation procedures for APA correctly. /20
   
ePortfolio URL included on Title Page /20
Total Points /200
Big Cottonwood Canyon
Nashjam Alvarez

Geology 1010-6-F16
Cameron Mosher
November 2016
http://nashjamalvarez.weebly.com/geology.html
Big Cottonwood Canyon
 Big Cottonwood Canyon is a canyon in Utah located in the Wasatch Range. It is known

for its hikes, along with any other activities that can be done within the canyon. Some other

activities are rock climbing fishing, camping, and biking down the canyon. Big cottonwood

canyon is filled with many flower and rock minerals like shale, granite, slate, quartz, etc.

As known, Big cottonwood canyon is located in the Wasatch range which its mountains

have been shifted slowly but surely upward one thousand feet along the Wasatch fault. As stated

in A hiking guide to the geology of the Wasatch Mountains by William T. Perry, “Glaciers and

streams shaped the topography of the canyon. Because of stream erosion, the lower canyon

exhibits a pronounced V-shape… The canyon above the mouth is cut into the Precambrian Big

cottonwood formation.” The canyons elevation is 4,734 feet above sea level, and dates back to

about 800 million to 1 billion years back. “The upper canyon is a wide glacier- carved valley

with numerous side drainage leading to lakes and alpine cirques” (hiking the Wasatch, John

Veranth). Not only did the Wasatch Mountains go through glaciation but also faulting and some

volcanic activity. In the Mesozoic time, there was compressional tension that made the Wasatch

Mountains by thrust fault which contained pre Cambrian metamorphic rocks and Paleozoic

sedimentary rocks.

William T Perry “trails to the south of the highway penetrate older rocks and trails to the

north of the highway penetrate younger rocks”. In the big cottonwood formation, shale and

sandstone can be found on ones way to some ski resorts. In “Wasatch tours volume 2, the

northern Wasatch” written by Hanscom-Kelner mentions how big cottonwood canyon was not

very practical to get to Brighton since the road was very narrow and steep, “during the 1920s

members of the Wasatch mountain club rediscovered what minors of the previous generation had
already known- it was easier to access Brighton from park city. By mid-decade the mountain

clubs, park city to Brighton outings have become routine...”

In the Wasatch Range there are several minerals that can be found just by looking around.

In big cottonwood canyon, one can easily find five just by taking a five minute drive in. One

mineral that can be found is shale. Shale is a sedimentary rock that breaks into thin sheets and is

formed by mud. In the book Rocks and Minerals by pocket genius, it states that shale has a

mineral content of clays, quartz, and calcite. The origin of shale is seabed, glacier, and fresh

water. A medium grained mineral found on a trail about ten minutes into the canyon is called

pink orthoquartize which is also formed by fresh water and falls under the sedimentary category.

The Smithsonian handbook of rocks and minerals states “ the long term processes of weathering

erosion, and deposition have removed virtually all the less resistant materials from the source

rocks, and quartz become the dominant mineral”. Black marble can be found in several places,

one rock that was found was in the stream of the big cottonwood creek. Marble is a metamorphic

rock that is formed from limestone and composed of calcite. Diorite is an igneous rock made of

coarse grains. Diorite has 55-65 percent of total silica content (P.187 Smithsonian handbook).

One of the last minerals that I found was calcite. Calcite is one of the most common carbonates

on earth. It is either transparent or translucent with a pearly or dull luster (P. 99 smithsonian

handbook).

The first place I stopped was about five minutes away from the big cottonwood power

plant. One can also see a visible pipeline that runs across the canyon side. There I found shale

that ranged from dark gray, almost black to green and purple.
 The second area I stopped that consisted of shale was farther in close to mule hollow

where there is a sharp corner surrounded by rock (figure 1-2). In that very same area, one can

find quartzite.

A third stop I made was around the corner at 6224 Maxfield drive, to the first left where

I found the pink orthoquartzite (figure 3) on the trail. Since the trail consists of a dried lake in the

fall, stream in the summer or spring, one can find all sorts of rocks. Where the stream is, there

are more rounded rocks that have been shaped from the running water. On the trail, one can find

angular rocks of all sorts.

The fourth and last stop I made was located by the mile b south fork. There is a creek

that runs down roughly towards the west. I walked towards the river,off a trail, finding the black

marble in the water (figure 4). The rock was semi rounded with a smooth texture formed from

the running water it has been in. off the side of the creek I was able to find the calcite along with

the diorite. The calcite (figure 5) was very angular, opaque, and not near the creek but between

the road and the creek. Along with the calcite I found the diorite (figure 6) which half was

rounded and the other side flat as if it was once rounded all around and was broken in half. The

rounded side was smooth and did not shine, but the flat side had cleavage and had a shine to it.

In conclusion, big cottonwood is extraordinary in so many ways. The activities one can do are

countless. Along with the visual beauty, the Wasatch Range has history written all over it just by

taking a look at the canyon walls and fallen rock. As time goes by so does stages of erosion in

big cottonwood canyon. As one goes on the designated hikes, we must stop and take the time to

remember, what nature can do and bring.

 Works sited

 Hanscom-Kelner, David & Alexis, “Wasatch tours volume 2 the northern Wasatch”,

Wasatch tours publishing, 1995, book

 Parry, William, “a hiking guide to the geology of the Wasatch mountains”, university of

Utah press, 2005, book

 Genius, Pocket, “rocks and minerals”, DK London, 2012, book

 Handbooks, Smithsonian, “rocks and minerals”, DK London, 2002, book

 Veranth, John, “hiking the Wasatch” university of Utah press, 2014, book
(Fig 1. Shale located from my first stop, you can see the colors of purple and green.)

(Fig 2. Black and colored shale found here)

These pictures are from my shale locations. You can see a difference in both by color. Figure one
is from my first stop located close to the power plant and the pipeline shown on the upcoming
map I drew.
Shale is a sedimentary rock that breaks into thin sheets and is formed by mud. The origin of
shale is seabed, glacier, and fresh water. Its grain size is fine and is a highly fissile rock.
(Fig 3. pink orthoquartzite found at stop 3)

(Fig 4. Black marble found in the big cottonwood creek.)

Figure 3 was found at stop 3 off the trail. Pink orthoquartzite is a sedimentary rock
formed by fresh water. Erosion plays a part in its formation as well.
Marble is a metamorphic rock that is formed from limestone and composed of calcite. It
can be colored from white to black. This particular one is rounded from the big cottonwood
creek it was in. the creek shaped it from angular to round.
(Fig 5. Calcite is one of the most common carbonates on earth.

(Fig 6. This is an igneous rock names diorite.)

Calcite can be formed in massive, granular and stalictic habits. The color can range from
opaque white, to translucent white, brown, green, red, and black. It falls under the group of
carbonates.
Diorite is an igneous rock that contains light plagioclase feldspar. Biotite mica may also
occur in diorite. It has 55-65 percent of total silica content. It is formed below the ground and has
medium to coarse grains.