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TeachersAncient Arizona
Today’s Arizona landscape is home to plateaus, monuments, buttes, rushing rivers, precipitous canyons, snow-capped volcanoes, great escarpments, dry washes, mountain ranges and broad valleys. Throughout the state, Arizona's mineral history has dictated the shape of the railroads and the location of early mining camps. In Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon slices a mile deep exposing a suite of rocks representing over a billion years of Earth history. The rocks tell a story that Dr. Ron Blakey (Professor Emeritus, Northern Arizona University) deciphered to create 16 paleogeographic snapshots of ancient Arizona landscapes.
Click and drag the image above for a 360 degree view of the Rainbow Forest Bone Zone.
Volcano Map
Arizona was once a land of volcanoes. Click on the map to see where they were and what they look like now.
Additional Resources (note: Clicking these links will exit The Arizona Experience)
Download page for Springerville Volcanic Field Dynamic Digital Map by Chris Condit (Requires download. For advanced users of mapping services.)
Ancient Arizona videos
Superstition Mountains - Under Arizona The Superstition Mountains are located just east of Phoenix. Amanda Clarke of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, describes how the mountains were once a giant stratovolcano. |
Ancient Processes - Under Arizona Stephen Reynolds and Amanda Clarke of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, and Lee Allison of the Arizona Geological Survey describe some of the ancient processes that made Arizona geologically diverse and unique. |