Category Archives: Geology

Scaling peaks of stone despite achy bones: A memoir and and an aspiration

I wish I had discovered my passion for peak hiking earlier in life. Not realizing it until my early 60s has left me with less time to explore summits than I would have preferred. Despite the delay, the rewards often … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, culture, deserts, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, family, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Love, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, psychology, reading, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, visual pollution, walking, water, Wilderness, Wildlife, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tallest & most prominent volcanic plugs/necks in the USA

Chat.openai.com defines and describes a volcanic plug as follows: “A volcanic plug, also known as a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a type of volcanic landform that forms when magma hardens inside a volcanic vent or conduit. When a … Continue reading

Posted in ecosystems, environment, geography, Geology, hiking, history, land use, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, placemaking, recreation, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, Travel, volcanoes, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 50 largest canyons in the USA by land area

Below are the 50 largest canyons in the United States, ranked by land area. Using chat.openai.com, the list was generated and known errors were removed/corrected. *In addition, several parks containing multiple canyons, like Canyonlands, Cedar Mesa, Zion, Bryce, and Grand … Continue reading

Posted in ecosystems, environment, fun, geography, Geology, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, place names, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, Travel, walking, water, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from Durango, Colorado

There are few cities in this country that can grasp your heart and soul as quickly as Durango, Colorado. From the moment of arrival, the city quickly absorbs you into its charming aura. It may be the snow-capped mountains drenched … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, Animal rights, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, business, charities, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, government, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Maps, marketing, Mining, mountains, Native Americans, natural history, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, psychology, rail, Railroads, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, Science, social equity, spatial design, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, water conservation, water trails, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why do former Western mining towns more often appear to recover while Eastern ones continue to decline? A comparative analysis from a human and A.I.

There are many thoughts on this issue and it can be much more complex that just a single reason. As a result, it was decided to compare this blog author’s thoughts on the subject to those of chat.openai.com to see … Continue reading

Posted in art, books, business, cities, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, education, energy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, geography, Geology, government, health, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, literature, Maps, Mining, mountains, movies, music, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, psychology, recreation, revitalization, social equity, songs, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, Travel, unemployment, urban planning, visual pollution, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A scenic day trip on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

On Saturday, April 15th, we embarked on a day trip aboard the Durango & Silverton Railroad, a historic narrow gauge railway that has been running since 1882 in Southwest Colorado. Despite the snow-capped peaks and canyons, the weather was stunning, … Continue reading

Posted in art, business, cities, culture, economic development, engineering, entertainment, fun, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, Mining, mountains, nature, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scaling the sands: Toughest dune hikes trekked to date

As one who loves to scale to new heights, whether it be mountains, hills, ridges, lighthouses, dunes, or towers, I’ve got to admit some of the toughest treks have been trying to hike/climb sand dunes. While the other climbs involve … Continue reading

Posted in deserts, ecosystems, environment, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, history, land use, logistics, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, place names, planning, Skies, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, Travel, walking, water, weather, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from our national parks

Provided below are ten planning lessons garnered from having the honor and pleasure of visiting countless national parks, monuments, historic sites, battlefields, lakeshores, seashores, trails, and preserves across our nation. The lessons are not necessarily presented in order of importance, … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, Astronomy, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, Bus transportation, Cars, charities, Cities, civics, climate, culture, deserts, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, education, electric vehicles, energy, entertainment, Environment, EVs and hybrids, family, fitness, geography, Geology, government, Green roofs, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, mountains, natural history, Nature, parking, placemaking, planning, politics, recreation, rivers/watersheds, solar, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, transit, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking, water, water conservation, water trails, waterfalls, Wilderness, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Majestic “mesa” cities and towns around the globe

Below is a list of those communities named for mesas. The largest of these in population by a large margin is Mesa, Arizona – a suburb of Phoenix with a population of more than 523,000 residents. Ten nations and 12 … Continue reading

Posted in cities, civics, geography, Geology, history, Mexico, place names, placemaking, planning, toponymy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Mexico’s protected wildlife areas along the Rio Grande

As one of the corridors making up the Central Flyway, the Rio Grande Valley through New Mexico is host to a vast array of migrant birds flying seasonally through the state to breeding grounds further north or wintering areas both … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Animals, archaeology, civics, climate, culture, deserts, ecosystems, environment, geography, Geology, history, lakes, land use, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, urban planning, water, water conservation, water trails, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment