Strata Rock Formations

[CCC]

I compiled a decent reference for those that like to play with strata rock formations of various types. Lot's of stuff one can see in Utah.

[choronr]

Utah, my favorite place for hiking in the Canyonlands near Blanding.

[CCC]

You live there? I am so jealous.   

[choronr]

You live there? I am so jealous.   

No I do not; but, during a period from 1976 through 1989, I would make at least one to two trips each year spending a week exploring these outstanding, beautiful areas. I was so impressed, I moved from Chicago to Phoenix, AZ so I could be closer to the great southwest. I haven't made any trips here recently, but, promosed my son that we'll do it again soon.

When Terragen and computers came along, I never forgot the striking landscapes; and, has helped me visualize some of those memories in this great program.

Bob

[CCC]

Ahh, i was in Phoenix for three days a few years ago. Interesting city.

More goodies i had forgotten:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8780/ISS017-E-5351_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8360/canyonlands_etm_1999276_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5497/goosenecks_iko_2004129_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5476/archesnp_l7_03oct99_28.5m.jpg

[choronr]

Ahh, i was in Phoenix for three days a few years ago. Interesting city.

More goodies i had forgotten:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8780/ISS017-E-5351_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8360/canyonlands_etm_1999276_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5497/goosenecks_iko_2004129_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5476/archesnp_l7_03oct99_28.5m.jpg

Thank you; I have been to those places a number of times - Arches National Park, The Goose Necks; and, the others. We have made the 'Grand Circle' which goes from the southwestern part of Utah at Bryce through central - then to the four corners. This place makes one feel they are on another planet ...absolutely beautiful.

[otakar]

Yep, Utah is easily forgotten, but the National Parks are excellent. Try Bryce Canyon with fresh snow, absolutely fabulous. Capitol Reef was also very scenic and uncrowded on a recent trip. Of course, Arches is spectacular and a haven for photographers. It's really amazing how empty that State is, untouched nature for hundreds of miles.

One thing with modeling these landscapes is how complex it gets, the various layers can look very different.

[CCC]

Yep, Utah is easily forgotten, but the National Parks are excellent. Try Bryce Canyon with fresh snow, absolutely fabulous. Capitol Reef was also very scenic and uncrowded on a recent trip. Of course, Arches is spectacular and a haven for photographers. It's really amazing how empty that State is, untouched nature for hundreds of miles.

One thing with modeling these landscapes is how complex it gets, the various layers can look very different.

Capitol Reef is one of my favorites. That was vast and the colors are mesmerizing. I have hundreds of photos from Arches alone. It helps to have four cameras.   

What makes it very difficult is no current solution to a procedurally based erosion model to create things like Talus, Fluvial Channels, High Sedimentation and so on. Strata is hard to because the colors and displacement can be each unique for each layer. Then you gotta twist and erode all of that stuff.

[CCC]

Ahh, i was in Phoenix for three days a few years ago. Interesting city.

More goodies i had forgotten:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8780/ISS017-E-5351_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8360/canyonlands_etm_1999276_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5497/goosenecks_iko_2004129_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5476/archesnp_l7_03oct99_28.5m.jpg

Thank you; I have been to those places a number of times - Arches National Park, The Goose Necks; and, the others. We have made the 'Grand Circle' which goes from the southwestern part of Utah at Bryce through central - then to the four corners. This place makes one feel they are on another planet ...absolutely beautiful.

You do feel like your on another planet.   

[choronr]

Ahh, i was in Phoenix for three days a few years ago. Interesting city.

More goodies i had forgotten:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8780/ISS017-E-5351_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8360/canyonlands_etm_1999276_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5497/goosenecks_iko_2004129_lrg.jpg

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/5000/5476/archesnp_l7_03oct99_28.5m.jpg

Thank you; I have been to those places a number of times - Arches National Park, The Goose Necks; and, the others. We have made the 'Grand Circle' which goes from the southwestern part of Utah at Bryce through central - then to the four corners. This place makes one feel they are on another planet ...absolutely beautiful.

You do feel like your on another planet.   

No, not really; but, coming from the Midwest and seeing red rock in so many places; and in so many shapes and strata it is hard to imagine that the Earth actually has so much variety. For a photographer or an artist, this area holds unlimited resources for creativity.

[ndeewolfwood]

nice documentation, thanks for sharing

[schwi77]

Hello guys!

I'm new to TG2... was wondering... can we use these images to create heightfields???
Can we fake our own aerial map or photoshop a unreal/surreal place?
I'm kind of very ok on photoshop... it would make my life so much easier!

I think it's possible to do but havent found a step by step tutorial.

Thanks and Thanks for sharing the images.

felix

[Oshyan]

Painting heightmaps and importing them into TG2 is certainly possible, but it's not as easy as simply taking existing images and expecting them to make meaningful height values. Heightfields work by using dark shades to represent low altitudes, and light shades to represent high altitudes. So for example if there was white snow in your image, it would be shown as "high" even if it were in a valley. Hand-painting heightfields can be a very powerful and rewarding way of working (there are several people here who do it quite well), but it can be challenging to get the hang of visualizing black-to-white height values as you're working. Once you do, you have a whole new way to build your scenes.

- Oshyan