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Spring Break 2010

Over Spring Break, the students of Geyserville High School did some very interesting things. I went the Grand Canyon, one of the most majestic and surreal places I have ever seen. The landscape looked like it was perfectly painted on the backdrop of an old Hollywood movie and the air was fresh and thin, leaving you wanting more of everything. 

Grand Canyon is unmatched throughout the world in the incomparable vistas it offers to visitors on the rim. It is not the deepest canyon in the world (both the Barranca del Cobre in northern Mexico and Hell's Canyon in Idaho are deeper, just to name two), but the Grand Canyon is known throughout the world for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. Geologically it is significant because of the thick sequence of ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rock layers record much of the early geological history of the North American continent. Finally, it is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion in the world. Although first afforded Federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve and later as a National Monument, Grand Canyon did not achieve National Park status until 1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service. Today Grand Canyon National Park receives close to five million visitors each year - a far cry from the annual visitation of 44,173 which the park received in 1919. Grand Canyon became a national park in order to give it the best protection we as a nation have to offer. The mission of the National Park Service, here and elsewhere, is to preserve the park and all of its features, including the processes that created them, and to provide for the enjoyment of the park by visitors in a way that will leave the canyon unspoiled for future generations.

The Canyon is also home to many archaeological markers. The oldest human artifacts found are nearly 12,000 years old and date to the Paleo-Indian period. There has been continuous use and occupation of the park since that time. The park has recorded over 4,800 archeological resources with an intensive survey of nearly 3% of the park area. Archeological remains from the following culture groups are found in Grand Canyon National Park: Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Basketmaker, Ancestral Puebloan (Kayenta and Virgin branches), Cohonina, Cerbat, Pai, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, and Euro-American. The Canyon was a cradle of life to many civilizations. 

You may wonder how big the canyon is exactly, well, that depends on how you look at it. The park includes over a million acres of land - 1,218,375.54 acres, or 1,904 square miles. But most people measure the canyon in river miles, along the course of the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon. By that standard, Grand Canyon is 277 miles long. It begins at Lees Ferry (mile 0) and ends at the Grand Wash Cliffs (mile 277). The Colorado River is longer, of course: 1450 miles long from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of California in Mexico. Grand Canyon is only one of many beautiful canyons which the river has carved. Most people agree, however, that Grand Canyon is the most spectacular. There's simply no other place in the world that looks quite like it. Width and depth of the Canyon vary from place to place. At the South Rim, near Grand Canyon Village, it's a vertical mile from rim to river (7 miles by trail, if you're walking). At its deepest, it is 6000 vertical feet from rim to river. The width of the canyon at Grand Canyon Village is 10 miles (rim to rim), though in places it is as much as 18 miles wide. Here's another way to look at size: a trip to the bottom of the Canyon and back (on foot or by mule) is a two-day journey. Rim-to-rim hikers generally take three days one way to get from the North Rim to the South Rim. A trip through Grand Canyon by raft can take two weeks or longer, and experienced backpackers have spent weeks in the more remote areas of the Canyon. So, basically, the Canyon is huge.

Another question I had while at the Canyon was how old it was. That's a tricky question. Although rocks exposed in the walls of the canyon are geologically quite old, the Canyon itself is a fairly young feature. The oldest rocks at the canyon bottom are close to 2000 million years old. The Canyon itself - an erosional feature - has formed only in the past five or six million years. Geologically speaking, Grand Canyon is very young.

If you ever have the chance to you should visit the Grand Canyon. Don’t just read the articles and see the pictures and be done with it. You should experience the wonder and silent beauty of it for yourself.

 

Macy McClung

Junior class officers have been working tremendously hard these past few months on prom. They have been promoting adult prom to raise money for this year’s high school prom. The junior officers have been busy picking out a place to have the prom, crowns for the king and queen, stashes, prom invitations, and food.

This year’s prom is going to be at the Hilton Hotel in Santa Rosa. After school one day, Ms. Bertolucci took some time off to drive the junior class to the Hilton Hotel to help choose the best deal. She also helped with how the junior class wanted the room to be set-up and what food and beverages would be served has been great help and very supportive for the junior class, Ms. Bertolucci helped organize the prom so it can be successful. The junior class would like to thank Ms. Bertolucci for her dedication.

During sixth period, when the students were done with the day’s lesson, the junior class had a nice Easter party in the Home Economics room. Yummy goodies were brought in by students to eat and Irie Clark brought a batch of deliciously gooey peanut butter cookies with a Kiss on top. I ate like nine of those cookies. Charlotte brought assorted candy. Other student’s brought other goodies to eat. The Easter party was a lot of fun. The other great thing was that Spring Break was about to begin!

Next month the juniors will be taking the Scholastic Assessment Test or SAT. The students have been meeting with Mr. Goodhart during seventh period to study for the test. Students are handed out study packets to prepare for the test. Helping each student with their packet problems, Mr. Goodhart is a great help to the junior class. The junior class would like to thank him for his support.

Junior Update

Jennifer Reyes