The Seventh Seal

The Kingdom of Heaven is an arid land, whose weather patterns are dominated by the belt of high pressure air around 30 degrees north.  As a result it has a moisture deficit, which creates low levels of vegetation, wind dominated sediment transportation, and weathering-limited features. However, when it rains, it floods. The arid soils and bare rock have very poor infiltration; as a result flash floods and ephemeral steams transport massive amounts of material and water for limited periods of time. Remember, wind is weak, it can only transport small sediments, and through deflation their removal can create desert pavements.  Wind’s main role in the erosion of arid-landscapes is removal of debris created by salt weathering, but it also can act as sandpaper to create ventifacts.

In the foreground of this picture there is some young desert pavement developing, or more likely an ephemeral stream bed.  In the background the ghost town is built on a differentially weathered outcrop of resistant rock! Unfortunately the town was likely built over, and out of, any talus cones’ debris leaving only part of the pediment visible.

In sediment-rich arid landscapes dunes will form depending on the direction and regularity of the wind. Barchan and parabolic dunes look similar, but the slip faces are on opposite sides. The slip face is where the sand is deposited and falls down when passes the angle of repose; which is about 34 degrees. But it depends on grain size and roughness. Though beautiful, make sure to bring more than enough water when exploring arid landscapes!



To the right of the Sarasin’s helmet there is a barchan sand dune, you can tell that it is not a parabolic dune because the slip face is on the inside of the arch rather than the outside. Some more complex form of sand dune is on the left but you can’t get a good enough look at it to be sure. I personally think it is a barchanoid ridge.

An Air of Heaven

Inversions occur when an unmoving cold air mass sits on top of a warm air mass. This poses problems for people living in depressions where pollution is unable to disperse upward because of the inversion, or sideways due to the restrictive geography.



Valley fog forms when cold air drains down from the surrounding mountains bringing the air temperature down to the dew point.



Sea smoke forms when cold air lies over warm water.  The water evaporates into the colder dryer air above, and then the remaining cold air sucks out heat bringing the water back to its dew point.

  

  

(Because this system is unstable the plumes of fog rise through the cold air allowing us to see them in over the bushes to the left of the tree.)

The dew point is when an air parcel becomes supersaturated. When warm air carrying water vapor is cooled latent heat from the water vapor is released into the air allowing the water to condense around particulates in the air.  

(On a small scale this allows us to see our breath in winter and pretend we are dragons.)

 When this happens on a large scale over the ocean massive tropical storms develop, capable of birthing hurricanes/typhoons/cyclones,  lihtning, towering waves, and strong winds.

(Not an ideal time to go on a sailing trip…)

Arabian country’s climates are largely defined by the belt of high pressure air around 30 North of the Equator. These “horse latitudes” are characterized by clear skies, and low precipitation.

(Please don't steal people's horese... even if you are a famous actor. ^^; )

Between Heaven and Hell

(Note the lack of tributaries, dry or not, on the canyon walls, as well as the smooth surface of the cliff face. Also, look at the thin layer of soil that is both the same color as, and lies directly on, the bedrock! The plants at the bottom of the valley also tell us that there is a reliable water source.)

Due to the lack of precipitation and plant growth near the Kingdom of Heaven it is difficult for significant, or even healthy, layers of soil to develop. The wind and temperature changes from day to night are the main weathering forces in action, slowly breaking down the bedrock into entisol. The foliage could either be growing in the lower reaches of a drainage basin, or they could be below the water table. There might even be a natural artesian well!  The lower infiltration capacity of desert topography, combined with the steep canyon walls increases the danger of flashfloods for anyone living here.

(Check out the highly triangular drainage basins! Strange how they are directly below the snow line don’t you think?)



These mountains however experience their significant mass wasting events during the warmer months. When the combination of melting snow and spring rain wash out much of the entisol in their drainage basins. All the way down into the tributaries and streams flowing far below.

Of Heaven and Earth

In this picture we see protrusions of light colored felsic rocks, most likely a more resistant type of intrusive rock that formed during a volcanic event. As it seems to form many separate upright structures I would have to guess that they were dikes that formed when magma broke through and filled vertical faults in the original rock. The implied faulting and generally mountainous terrain we can see here also indicates past tectonic activity.

Here we can see an arid valley landscape where the resistant and protective top layer, probably a large extrusive basalt flow, has been eroded away exposing much weaker rock layers below, probably sedimentary in nature. More layers of resistant rock occurring at fairly regular intervals indicating repeated volcanic activity in the area.

In the third picture we can see a village that sprung up around a large plug of erosion resistant rock, which could be a pluton or a volcanic neck, but the lack of steep sides and vertical forms leads me to lean towards a pluton, which fits in well with the other evidence of up lift and volcanic activity in the area.

In the last picture we can see a line that strikes across the mountain side. It could be the transition from surrounding rock to a pluton but from the extremely strait edge I would have to guess that it was a fault. With all of this stunningly beautiful evidence of active geology it would be a hard choice between sitting in wonder and running for your life.

Getting to Heaven

Getting to heaven is something that many people are interested in, fortunately Orlando Bloom’s character in The Kingdom of Heaven agrees with them. Our good luck is further exemplified by the fact that there are many different types of beautiful scenery and interesting geological processes clearly visible along the way. I chose to write my blog about the places seen in The Kingdom of Heaven. I also want to make it clear that repeated exposure to Mr. Bloom and an array of siege engines, as well as other exquisitely rendered crusade-age war technology, is just a bonus. My name is Sean Robert Donald Slocum and I am the only one fortunate enough to be writing this blog. To clarify, I chose to examine the geological aspects of the backdrops in The Kingdom of Heaven because of the varied landscapes as well as the high resolution of the dvd.

                     I wish that was my helmet ^