Geography Tour 2014: Nevada, Arizona and Utah

This October half term, twenty-four girls from Years 10 to 13 and three members of staff (Miss Townend, Dr Upcott and Miss Silvester) enjoyed a trip of a lifetime to the USA. We visited the three states of Nevada, Arizona and Utah. There is arguably not a better setting to learn about rocks and physical geography. The journey was long – but it was worth it!

First stop: Las Vegas. Famous for its casinos, Las Vegas is also home to some of the world’s best hotels, restaurants, shows and bright lights. We had a brief tour of ‘the Strip’ by coach, ate at a Forest Gump themed restaurant and saw the Bellagio’s famous fountain display before heading back to the hotel.

Day two: we began our journey through the Mojave Desert towards the Hoover Dam. We considered how the city relies on water from Lake Mead and that its growth was not possible without this record-breaking dam. As well as learning about its construction, its many uses and worryingly low water levels, the views were breath-taking.

We drove on towards Grand Canyon, watching the beautiful sunset en route whilst trying to catch sight of elk and deer. We enjoyed a buffet dinner in our hotel in Tusayan, Arizona and prepared for the long day ahead.

Day three: a day of hiking in Grand Canyon. In the desert the sky is a beautiful deep blue and ‘Fall’ is a great time to visit the Mojave Desert as it is just the right temperature. Upon entering the visitor centre in the national park we were met by four guides who were each excellent at sharing information about the flora and fauna, the rocks of the canyon, its formation and dimensions, how it can be accessed, its early inhabitants and stories through the ages. We saw a tarantula and a centipede, but luckily no big horn sheep or mountain lions!

We completed a relatively short stretch of the Bright Angel Trail. The canyon’s allure can be dangerous to hikers, walkers require a lot of water and there is a false sense of its height as you look up from below. The canyon’s length is 277 miles from east to west and from our vantage point on the south rim, its magnitude was formidable; the section of the canyon that we were able to access was just a smidgeon. We were given a tour of the little historical village at the rim, on our return, and said a reluctant goodbye to our guides. We all saw a large elk on our way out of the park.

We departed for Page (Arizona), which is populated by many descendants of the Navajo tribe. In the evening we enjoyed a night of traditional Navajo food and entertainment, include the hoop dance and grass dance.

Day four focused on the Colorado River. We began the day with a walk to Horseshoe Bend, an enormous meander with a steep drop to the river below. Later we were able to appreciate the bend from the river up as we took to the walk for a slow boat trip from the Glen Canyon down to Lee’s Ferry. Again, we learned about this stretch of river, the geology and the ecology and had the opportunity to see ancient petroglyphs on the canyon walls. Before returning to Page we stopped to see various interesting geographical features around the Vermillion Cliffs area, and stopped to walk over the old Navajo Bridge.

Day five: We visited Antelope Canyon, a famous slot canyon near Page. Following that we enjoyed a stop at Coral Pink Sand Dunes – an expanse of sand that accumulates between two ridges. Some girls couldn’t resist rolling from top to bottom.

We then drove on to Bryce Canyon National Park.

On day six nearly everyone decided to brave the -3ºC early morning temperature to watch the sun rise over the mystical rock hoodoos.

Day seven: awoke in Zion National Park for a half day of hiking. From there, we had a drive back to Las Vegas followed by another tour of the crazy city on foot.

Thanks to all of the girls for being brilliant – the tour was a success because of you!

Miss Townend, Head of Geography