January 8, 2010
Geologists who study ordinary layers of limestone, sandstone, and shale in the high desert country of the Colorado Plateau are able to describe the ancient environments that once existed in this region and how those environments evolved. Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, a new exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, takes visitors on a geologic journey of discovery with Dr. Ron Blakey and Wayne Ranney, map maker and author, respectively, of their new book by the same title.
Wayne Ranney says, “Since the beginning of human thought, our species has held a fascination with the idea of time travel. Amazing as it may seem, ordinary rocks beneath our feet are a kind of time machine, allowing us to know an ancient past that existed long before humans.
“We are the only species that recognizes the passage of time in this way. All other creatures exist in the “here and now,” and for them everything present on the Earth today is all that there is. But, we humans are curious about the evolution of our planet and the ancient worlds of the dinosaur, or the woolly mammoth. In this way, man is and always will be an inveterate time traveler.”
Museum Director Dr. Robert Breunig added, “Geologists have been privileged to have learned much about Earth’s ancient landscapes. By making some of these maps of our region available to our visitors, we hope to foster a greater understanding of the geological processes that shaped our Colorado Plateau region through time and will which continue to shape it into the future.”
Dr. Blakey was one of Ranney’s first geology professors as a student in 1979. Ranney was fascinated with Blakey’s work in the Sedona area and took many classes from him. They met again in 2005 at a professional conference, where Blakey shared the map work he was currently involved in and the Ancient Landscapes partnership was born. Their book is published by the Grand Canyon Association and to date, has won two awards, Best Science Book, Arizona, by the Arizona Book Publishers Association and Best Large Format Book, from the National Association of Interpretation.
Ron Blakey is recently Professor Emeritus at Northern Arizona University, following 34 years of teaching and research in the Department of Geology. His degrees are from the University of Wisconsin (B.S.), University of Utah (M.S.), and University of Iowa (Ph.D.). He has studied and published on many Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic rock units on the Colorado Plateau. For the last 15 years, he has been heavily involved in producing paleogeographic maps from regional to global in scope. Ancient Landscapes, his latest endeavor, has merged these two disciplines.
“Paleogeographic maps represent the ultimate synthesis in geologic interpretation. The accuracy of the map is directly dependent on the accuracy of the data, and the data are derived from the geologic rock record. Because the rock record is incomplete due to erosion, a paleogeographic interpretation is also incomplete. The mapmaker then has to extrapolate, taking into account all previous geologic work, to reach a pictorial presentation of the ancient Earth. Until we can create a time machine that can take us back to directly examine past Earth landscapes, paleogeographic maps remain the best tool for reconstructing ancient Earth landscapes,” Blakey stated.
Wayne Ranney inspires others to find passion in the geologic history and beauty of our Earth. He became interested in landscapes while working as a backcountry ranger at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He later received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Northern Arizona University, then worked as a geologic interpreter on shipboard expeditions around the world. Having retired from the high seas, Ranney now works as a trail guide with MNA’s Ventures and the Grand Canyon Field Institute. He also teaches geology at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff. He has authored numerous books, including his recent Carving Grand Canyon.
Ranney waxes philosophically when considering the stunning modern landscape we are privileged to inhabit. “Today’s deep, red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau are not the ultimate end for which all previous landscapes were created. Rather, each of the ancient landscapes were whole and complete unto themselves, lasting a few million years, and then slowly evolving as larger Earth forces exerted their influence. What we see today is just another moment in time that will, itself, give way to something else,” Ranney said in closing.
Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau is open Sunday, January 10 through Sunday, August 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Museum of Northern Arizona is located at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, the tallest mountains in Arizona. It is three miles north of downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180, on the way to the Grand Canyon. Now celebrating its 82nd year, the Museum is one of the great regional museum of our world, surrounded by tremendous geological, biological, and cultural resources in on of Earth’s most spectacular landscapes. With a long and illustrious history, MNA evokes the very spirit of the Colorado Plateau, including the Grand Canyon and Four Corners regions. For further information, call 928/774-5213 or go to musnaz.org. You can also find MNA on Facebook.com/musnaz or http://twitter.com/MuseumofNAZ.