US National Parks & Monuments
At the bottom of the Spiral Stairs in the Oregon Caves National Park is the cave formation named the Grand Column. Columns are formed when stalactites (formed from the cave ceiling) and stalagmites (formed from the cave floor) connect together.
The next stop on the Oregon Caves tour is at the Paradise Lost.
Spiral stairs is a spot in Oregon Caves National Monument where water once leaked in through an opening from above ground. Above the spiral stairs is what remains of the opening (no closed) where the dripping water created flow stones with bacon strips around the edges of the shaft:
When looking down, the shaft doesn’t end, but continues to a level below. That shaft that now holds a spiral staircase to get to a lower level of the cave which you must descend to see other parts of Oregon Caves:
The next stop on the Oregon Caves tour is at the Grand Column.
One of the many highlights of Oregon Caves National Monument is the flow stone formation named Niagara Falls. As might be guessed, the cave formation gets its name because the flow stone resembles Niagara Falls:
While the formation is beautiful, it also is a testament to what happens when caves aren’t protected. As you look at the bottom of Niagara Falls, you can see that many of the tips o the formation have been broken off and taken as souvenirs:
When you learn that it takes 100 years for one of these to grow the length of the tip of your pinky finger, you realise that the damage done erased tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of years of work, and it puts into perspective the important work that the National Park system does to keep these beautiful places intact for later generations to see.
The next stop on the Oregon Caves tour is at the Spiral Stairs.
Oregon Caves National Monument is one of the few marble caves in the world (only about 5% of all caves are marble caves) having been created when acidic rainwater dissolved the surrounding marble. In fact, Oregon Caves has long been known as the “Marble Halls of Oregon.” As you walk through the caves, you can see the marble in the cave walls and this is especially evident when you reach the Dry Room
The next stop on the Oregon Caves tour is at the Niagara Falls.
While driving toward the large Sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park (CA), it’s worth making a stop at Hospital Rock to see the Indian pictographs (the largest Indian village within Sequoia National Park was located here). Simply park in the Hospital Rock picnic area and cross the street (just to the left of the paved road that leads to Buckeye Flat camping ground). There are about 10 steps (that’s all) that will lead you to hospital Rock and an area on the side of the rock that is protected from the elements and has bright red pictographs:
It doesn’t take long into the Oregon Cave National Monument Cave tour to get to some beautiful and interesting cave formations. After leaving Watson’s Grotto, you almost immediately reach Petrified Gardens where there are a lot of flow stones along the walls:
And soda straws on the cave ceiling:
The next stop on the Oregon Caves tour is at the Dry Room.
Heading up highway 146 towards the west entrance of Pinnacles National Monument (Paicines, CA) to the Chapparal ranger station today (5/14/2011), there was a fairly large, fresh fire outside the park (near Stonewall Canyon). The fire had been put out, but there were still areas that could be seen smoldering and there were still fire crews out moving about. You could definitely still smell the fire in the air. It didn’t appear that there had been any damage to buildings and although fairly near Pinnacles National Monument, it was still well outside the monument’s borders. If you do enter Pinnacles through the west entrance, you most definitely will see the fire scars:
One of the most wonderful aspects of visiting National Parks are all the unexpected photo opportunities that arise. I saw this little bird perched in a perfect position to take in the wonderful view of the Grand Canyon:
As you travel among the National Parks System and see the many different National Parks and National Monuments, it won’t take long before you will wonder to yourself, “What is the difference between National Parks and National Monuments?” This is especially true when you realize that National Monuments that may not be as well known as National Parks hold just as much beauty and awe-inspiring sights as their National Park counterparts.
Although there has not been a steadfast criteria over the entire period that National Parks and National Monuments have been created, there’s a pretty specific set of criteria used today. The main difference is that National Parks are created through acts of congress and must be large enough for broad use by the public. National Parks should have inspirational, educational and recreational value. National Monuments, on the other hand, are made through declarations from the president and have historic, prehistoric, or scientific interest.
I love it when I look back at photos I have taken at National Parks (or in this case, a National Seashore) and find them to be even more wonderful than I thought they would be. On a visit to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, I was walking toward the light house and taking photos of the ocean waves below. As is quite common at Point Reyes, the wind was blowing at a fair clip, and hard enough that when a wave would break, the wind would take the mist of the breaking wave and blow it back over the wave to make a double wave. I was lucky enough to catch a photo of this double wave:
