Geomorphology of the Hanging Gardens of the Colorado Plateau
May CL, Fowler JF, Stanton NL. 1995. Geomorphology of the Hanging Gardens of the Colorado Plateau. Pages 3-24. In Van Riper C (ed): Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference on Research in Colorado Plateau National Parks. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. 25-28 October 1993. National Park Service. Denver, Colorado. Proceedings of the Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau
Authors describe the results of nine months of field work, from 1991-1993, exploring the geologic and hydrologic features of the sandstone aquifers of the Colorado Plateau that provide the necessary conditions for hanging garden development: a perennial seeping water supply and the absence of significant fluvial processes. The studies included seventy-five sites in seven national parks on the Colorado Plateau. Sections cover groundwater sapping, microhabitat, geomorphic classification of hanging gardens, gardens in individual parks, and Colorado Plateau aquifers in relation to age of the hanging garden ecosystem. The concluding section emphasizes the essential nature of the seep and its related groundwater system to the existence of each of these gardens in an otherwise arid land, and promotes protection from the erosional effects of humans and cattle. Literature is cited.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- May, Cathleen; Fowler, James; Stanton, Nancy
- Units
- ARCH , CANY , CARE , DINO , LACL , NABR , ZION
- Keywords
- Aquatic Studies, Colorado Plateau, Drainages, Geomorphology, Hanging Gardens, IAR, Inventory, Lithology, Monitoring, NCPN springs literature 2003, Plant Studies, Structural Geology