Saturday, March 24, 2012

Some Table Mountain Geology: TM, 3/23/12








This is the second of what looks like will be around 6 reports on our hike on Table Mountain yesterday.  This time I'm focusing on the geology.  Our "many waterfalls" hike did not disappoint.  The rock formations here are so amazing that I think they'll be intriguing even after the water stops flowing and the wildflowers dry out in summer.  I've consulted several maps and several people familiar with the area, and I still can't get the names fo the waterfalls straight.  According to the map in front of me at the moment, the top three photos here are of Ravine Falls, and it's described as 76 feet tall.  The next three are called Phantom Falls on one map and Coal Canyon Falls on another.  At 164 feet tall, and shooting over a huge cave, they are truly impressive.  We had to scramble down a narrow crack full of buckeye and vines to get to the bottom of the falls.  The bottom two photos were taken near the base of the falls. Some of these chunks of basalt are more than 10 feet long, but from the top of the falls they look very small, more or less like coal.  I wonder....  Besides the impressive rock walls, there's a great variety of colorful lichens.  I'll feature some closeups of them in my next post.  I think the peak of wildflower blooming is still two or three weeks away.  You should schedule a visit.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 25, 2012 at 9:23 AM

    Those are some magnificent water falls! Also the Canyon Dudleyas growing on the sides of the mountain were very pretty. I've seen them on other hikes I've taken when Daylnn. I had a great hike that day! Thank you!

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  2. Joe WillisMarch 25, 2012 at 2:50 PM

    I enjoyed the hike a lot, and was glad to meet you. We'll have to do it again. That book on Table Mountain wildflowers is very nice, but Table Mountain deserves a very thick, hardcover book that covers biology, geology, weather, ranches, unleashed dogs, tourists, kite flying, etc. So much happens there;it's an amazing place.

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  3. Joe WillisMarch 25, 2012 at 2:50 PM

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  4. ShawnFebruary 10, 2017 at 12:48 AM

    Awesome photos! I am trying to get the name of the falls straight also as I've been there a few times. To get to the falls in the first 3 photos did you go to the right of the giant oak and see that one before you hit phantom falls? If so I believe that would be ravine falls.

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