Andrew RodgersAn image 8 years in the making, or 300 million, depending on how you count.
About 8 years ago I was flying into or out of Chattanooga near sunset and noticed this network of ridges across the valley floor, as if someone had dragged a rake along the Tennessee river leaving zen garden-esque lines in its wake.
My curiosity about these features led me on a fascinating journey of geological learning. These features, as old as the Appalachian chain itself, are subduction zones, pushed down and compressed by the same forces that thrust the Appalachian mountains out of the earth. Over the millions of years since, erosion from water and glacial scour wore away the softer top layers, leaving behind these densified ridges that survive today.
I've been on 3 flights to attempt to capture what I saw out the window of my flight that evening, to no avail, but finally, the fourth attempt paid off with weather, aerosols and timing working in my favor.
About 8 years ago I was flying into or out of Chattanooga near sunset and noticed this network of ridges across the valley floor, as if someone had dragged a rake along the Tennessee river leaving zen garden-esque lines in its wake.
My curiosity about these features led me on a fascinating journey of geological learning. These features, as old as the Appalachian chain itself, are subduction zones, pushed down and compressed by the same forces that thrust the Appalachian mountains out of the earth. Over the millions of years since, erosion from water and glacial scour wore away the softer top layers, leaving behind these densified ridges that survive today.
I've been on 3 flights to attempt to capture what I saw out the window of my flight that evening, to no avail, but finally, the fourth attempt paid off with weather, aerosols and timing working in my favor.
