Thursday, February 28, 2008

Arkansas Ouachita Mountains!


Top of the World!
The Ouachita Mountains are fold mountains like the Appalachian Mountains to the east, and were originally part of that range. During the Pennsylvanian part of the Carboniferous period, about 300 million years ago, the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico ran through the central parts of Arkansas. As the South American plate drifted northward, a subduction zone was created in this region. The South American oceanic crust was forced underneath the less-dense North American continental crust. Geologists call this collision the Ouachita orogeny. The collision buckled the continental crust, producing the fold mountains we call the Ouachitas. At one time the Ouachita Mountains were very similar in height to the current elevations of the Rocky Mountains. Due to the Ouachitas' age, the craggy tops have eroded away leaving the low formations that used to be the heart of the mountains. From Wikipedia

32 comments:

sonia a. mascaro said...

What awesome picture! It looks so beautiful and so peaceful.

dot said...

That was interesting!

SandyCarlson said...

That's stunning. I would love to see this for myself. Thanks for this experience of it.

bcmomtoo said...

Nice view!

Sharon said...

What a wonderful view! The distance is stunning. Great catchl.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Wish I had a view like that!

Lori said...

A vast and lovely landscape.

Dancin Fool said...

What a fabulous view! I also love your header picture. I could spend a lifetime studying the sky and clouds......unfortunately it doesn't pay, well that's not strictly true but it's not quite the job description I am imagining!

Daniel J Santos said...

Beautiful picture with interesting information, well done.

ArneA said...

That´s really nice. A wonderful view and depth
Well done

Anonymous said...

Great photo and nice info on the post.

Tom said...

A stunning view.. I bet the air is so fresh there.

FO - 2 said...

Lovely! :)

Randi said...

Beautifully!!

Anne said...

WHAT a weew.... Think if you could wake up every morning and see something like this...

Nice weekend to you from Norway.

lv2scpbk said...

Beautiful blue.

Marie said...

Beautiful view!

Sister--Fleta said...

Well, I can see this might actually be your own picture for a change, but then again, it might actually belong to someone named Smith or Jones.

Beautiful picture.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hey! I am so gla ou took us so high in the mountain to watch this sky!Great sky..

Greetings from JoAnn (Holland)
Watch my friday's ABSTRACT sky

Have a wonderfull week end:)

Annie said...

Ah, geology, that was my favorite science in school. Thinking about plate tectonics theory and rocks keep me happily contemplating the life process of the earth.

Daryl said...

Really does seem like you can see forever .. top of the world indeed

DeeMom said...

Like the Appalachian Mountains, then they have to be gorgeous. Great picture

Paulie said...

Beautiful and very interesting background story.

Unknown said...

Beautiful perspective !

Patty said...

Very pretty, and thanks for the information on the mountain!

Robyn Jones said...

Wow! How majestic!

Carole said...

Very pretty, and thanks for the geography lesson. It makes the picture even better.

Petunia said...

There is a lot of sky on the top of the world!!!
Beautiful shot!

Sharon said...

What a view!

Misty DawnS said...

What a gorgeous view and wonderful colors!

Luiz Santilli Jr said...

A FANTASTIC SKY!

Look my sky at BOA LEITURA
Thanks
Luiz

Andree said...

Fascinating. Especially that the mountains are called by the same name as the geological word. Beautiful photograph. My SWF is here. Thank you.