GRAND CANYON: A Geologic Time Machine

Theme: A captivating 386-page (7 x10 format) guidebook with COLOR photos and illustrations applies an imaginative metaphor of a gigantic geologic time machine whose clock of time start nearly 2 billion years. Surprisingly, this deep and expansive Natural Wonder was created in a mere 5 to 6 million years!Abstract: Given the title of this book, what, exactly, does a time machine metaphor mean? Let’s put it this way:When gazing at the stars, we are seeing backward in time measuring billions of light-years. Viewing the cosmos through powerful telescopes, the distance goes back even farther: trillions of years. Take the remnants of the Crab Nebula Explosion of 1054 CE as an example, whose luminance caused by an imploding star was bright enough to see during daylight. By the time its blurred impression in the cosmos was seen on Earth, the source was long ago destroyed. Indeed, by the time we see twinkling starlight in a seemingly fixed position of the heavens, the distance and time that it takes for those starry beacons to travel are so great such stellar shine can’t even match the present. In other words, a veritable time machine effect, only in reverse.Now, let’s compare the cosmos to another semblance of the macrocosm, the Grand Canyon. Its deep abyss also replicates a simulated time machine, except the reference to time is terrestrial in contrast to sidereal time. Think of the Grand Canyon’s hiking pedometer averaging 20,000 years! Keep in mind how the canyon’s symbolic clock of time begins around 251 million years on the Kaibab Limestone rim on both sides of the canyon. Ergo, when hiking to the Colorado river, the time machine effect registers close to 2 billion years. In other words, walking through some fifteen relatively younger to older formations from top to bottom, the concept of time here ranges from 251 million years to some 2 billion years. Presented with these astounding details, when calculating the geologic calendar based on the canyon’s numerous geologic era horizontal and vertical formations, H.G. Well’s time machine concept is no longer a fantasy. Expressly, trekking, so to say, is simply a matter of time. When purchasing a copy of this publication, the good news for the reader is the time-tripping odyssey on this self-guided literary tour is experienced only by one’s imagination. Hence, physical exercise is optional. Moreover, all of the engaging essentials of the Grand Canyon’s subject matter are presented in straightforward detail. Namely, the salient topics of geology, flora and fauna, human history, popular hiking trails, as well as miscellaneous concepts that describe the proverbial everything and anything about this Natural Wonder of the world.FYI: all photos in this publication were taken by the author over many years except where noted. Read more