View allAll Photos Tagged Cliffs
I hiked into a scenic area known for its Swallow Cliff and Bat Cave in Chiayi County with my wife and dog last weekend. Although it only took an hour or so, the trail was steep and tiring. The Swallow Cliff had supposedly once been full of swallows, hence the name, but now visitors had scared them off. Still, the path behind the waterfall was cool, as was the rainbow where the water reached the rocks.
This happy little couple lives on our porch. We have 2 of these mud nests under the roof of the porch (with several more under the eaves of our roof on every side of the house), and we enjoy sitting there watching the antics of these sparrows. I took this picture about a week ago, or so, and the sparrows were still sitting on their eggs, but their eggs have hatched now, and the little ones are always hungry. These sparrows don't eat from our feeders, but seem to have a 100% "buggy" diet, which is good, because with all the rain we've had lately, there are plenty of mosquitos for them to catch. The Fiddle Festival we were going to yesterday, was called off because of the rain. It's beautiful today, but there's no place to go today. I just may sit out on the porch and watch the sparrows for a while.
Taken mid-afternoon in late September
From Wikipedia:
'Capitol Reef National Park is a United States National Park, in south-central Utah. It is 100 miles long but fairly narrow. The park, established in 1971, preserves 241,904 acres and is open all year, although May through September are the most popular months.
Called "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman, Capitol Reef National Park protects colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. About 75 mi of the long up-thrust called the Waterpocket Fold, a rugged spine extending from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell, is preserved within the park. "Capitol Reef" is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular segment of the Waterpocket Fold near the Fremont River. The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold. The local word reef referred to any rocky barrier to travel. Easy road access came with the construction in 1962 of State Route 24 through the Fremont River Canyon.
Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a warp in the earth's crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline in North America. In this fold, newer and older layers of earth folded over each other in an S-shape. This warp, probably caused by the same colliding continental plates that created the Rocky Mountains, has weathered and eroded over millennia to expose layers of rock and fossils. The park is filled with brilliantly colored sandstone cliffs, gleaming white domes, and contrasting layers of stone and earth.
The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold.
The fold forms a north-to-south barrier that even today has barely been breached by roads. Early settlers referred to parallel, impassable ridges as "reefs", from which the park gets the second half of its name. The first paved road was constructed through the area in 1962. Today, State Route 24 cuts through the park traveling east and west between Canyonlands National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, but few other paved roads invade the rugged landscape.
The park is filled with canyons, cliffs, towers, domes, and arches. The Fremont River has cut canyons through parts of the Waterpocket Fold, but most of the park is arid desert country. A scenic drive shows park visitors some of the highlights, but it runs only a few miles from the main highway. Hundreds of miles of trails and unpaved roads lead the more adventurous into the equally scenic backcountry.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Reef_National_Park
...
At the San Luis NWR, in Los Banos, California, above the door I noticed some Cliff Swallows starting to build their mud nests. It was quite interesting to see them form their nests. It seemed they were used to people, and they just kept on working. It was taken on April 7th, 2013.
Outrigger boats line up and rest by the cliffs while the travelers enjoy snorkeling and kayaking around one of El Nido's natural attraction, the Small Lagoon.
El Nido is showered by these majestic limestones which have been home to birds that create nests which most of us associate with soup. The waters from which these stones seem to sprung from are in a cool shade of jade and the dark green patches are live corals where the a number of species of fish live.
In small lagoon, however, the fish are a lil too territorial. Snorkel among them and you're sure to find them staring back at you. Stand near their home and you'll feel them nibbling your legs. Definitely a place for the braver ones.
I ♥ Pinas
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonata).
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.
Grayson County, Texas. 30 April 2017.
Nikon D7200. AF-S Nikkor ED 500mm f4 D.
f4 @ 1/2500 sec. ISO 640.
Located on the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument includes the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. The Monument borders Kaibab National Forest to the west and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the east.
This remote and unspoiled, 280,000-acre Monument is a geologic treasure, containing a variety of diverse landscapes from the Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes, and Paria Canyon. Elevations range from 3,100 to 7,100 feet.
Visitors will enjoy scenic views of towering cliffs and deep canyons. Paria Canyon offers an outstanding three to five day wilderness backpacking experience. The colorful swirls of cross-bedded sandstone in Coyote Buttes are an international hiking destination. There are also opportunities to view wildlife, including California condors. There are two developed campgrounds just outside the Monument: Stateline and White House. Dispersed camping is allowed outside the wilderness area in previously disturbed areas.
A permit is required for hiking in Coyote Buttes North (the Wave), Coyote Buttes South, and for overnight trips within Paria Canyon.
Learn more at: www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/natmon/vermil...
Photo: Bob Wick, BLM California