Car And Motorcycle Route: From Las Vegas to San Francisco: a 2 week trip

Owner: Dromos
Region: United States
Linked groups: Nature • Geography • TOP Examples • World heritage • Monumental constructions • Film • Geology • Nature Parks
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From Las Vegas to San Francisco: a 2 week trip

A two week trip which brings you through the most amazing landscapes of Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California.

Do not use as yet as GPS track for navigation (but for general planning of your trip).

Statistics

General difficulty level

General difficulty score: 80/100.

Easy Difficult

Difficulty level in detail

Total ascent: 20071 m
Difficulty level (relative): 9/10

Max. slope (base 500m): 10.17 %
Difficulty level (relative): 7/10

Length: 2930 km
Difficulty level (relative): 9/10

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Places of interest (along the route) (show all)

Bellagio (distance from start: 4.77 km/2.96 miles)

Bellagio

Las Vegas

The Bellagio was already famous but became more famous with the movie Ocean's 11.

Hoover Dam (distance from start: 61.1 km/37.97 miles)

Hoover Dam

Clark

Hoover dam blocks the big Colorado river and creates a lake which is the essential source of water to allow the city of Las Vegas o survive in the middle of a desert.

Route 66 (distance from start: 295.06 km/183.34 miles)

Route 66

Ashfork

This is a famous and one of the many beautiful parts of Route 66.

The Grand Canyon (distance from start: 466.08 km/289.61 miles)

The Grand Canyon

Williams

Votes several times as worlds top view to see!

Colorado River (distance from start: 499.72 km/310.51 miles)

Colorado River

Coconino

Geologist agree that the Colorado River was running (at leat for a part) in the opposite direction before. There is quite some evidence for this statement. The most obvious one is that the tributaries of the Colorada at the East part of the Grand Canyon are shaped as a tree in the opposite direction of the current river flow. Have a look on arial pictures of this region and you will see the obvious...

Desert View (distance from start: 499.72 km/310.51 miles)

Desert View

Coconino

At Desert View, you get a great panorama at the strange curve the Colorado makes here. This curve still puzzles geologist and geomorphologists. Why did the Colorado turn here abruptly from Norh-Southe to East-West?

Antilope Canyon (distance from start: 683.26 km/424.56 miles)

Antilope Canyon

Tuba City

Definitely one of the top beauty-geo-wonders in the world. The Antilope river cut through a fault in a sandstone block creating a very narrow canyon. Only around noon, a sun-light beam can hit some parts of the canyon floor. The sandstone is created from sanddunes the area was ones covered by. The zigzag layering of the sanddune sediments, created by the wind, causes now one of the most amazing canyon morphologies to be seen.

Monument Valley (distance from start: 872.52 km/542.16 miles)

Monument Valley

Oljato

Monument Valley is one of the top drive through sceneries of the US. It became famous in the previous century when it was used in the movies of John Wayne. Later one, it has been used in many more, such as in the famous run-scene of Forest Gump.

Utah landscape (distance from start: 950.76 km/590.77 miles)

Utah landscape

Blanding

This is Roadrunner and Car-country. You will find many of these spots along the road which reminds you of these cartoons!

Lake Powell (distance from start: 1089.11 km/676.74 miles)

Lake Powell

Hite

Here is the start of Lake Powell and the end of the Colorado River, till it flows out of Lake Powell again.

Capitol Reef National Park (distance from start: 1252.03 km/777.97 miles)

Capitol Reef National Park

Escalante

If you don't go hiking in the Capitol Reef National Park, a drive-through is defintely worth considering. And for the geologists, you can find some nice gypsum minerals in the lake deposits of the national park, just along the road!

Bryce Canyon (distance from start: 1374.71 km/854.2 miles)

Bryce Canyon

Tropic

Bryce Canyon is named after Ebinezer Bryce, who came to live here in this area. His famous quote of this place was: 'It's a hell of a place to lose a cow'. Difficult for us to understand about such a practical issues when you see this top natural monument of the USA.

Zion National Park (distance from start: 1489.24 km/925.37 miles)

Zion National Park

Orderville

Zion National Park is almost completely shaped in sandstone rocks which were ones sanddunes, covering this area. As a result, you get to see amazing morphologies carved out in this rock and partly following the layers of sand deposited in the dunes.

The Narrows (distance from start: 1492.09 km/927.14 miles)

The Narrows

Hurricane

The Narrows are a set of canyons you can find in the northern part of Zion National Park. It's a great hike. You have to walk almost all the time through the river following the narrow canyon. Check first the information center if it is safe to do this walk, because it is vey dangerous when floods are expected!

Zion National Park, water source (distance from start: 1492.09 km/927.14 miles)

Zion National Park, water source

Hurricane

Even in summer you will find sources along the sandstone walls in Zion Park. The rain and snow seeps slowly thourgh the cracks in the sandstone-rocks. Scientist measured the time it takes between the water falling on the top, and coming out at the bottom. They calculated that it takes more than 4000 years. You want to get a taste of a 4000 year old water-vintage? This is the place to be.

Volcanic deposits in Death Valley (distance from start: 1956.19 km/1215.52 miles)

Volcanic deposits in Death Valley

Death Valley

Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. A big part of the valley lies under sea-level, but you rarely see water here. All the water which runs into the basin evaporates. Along this road, you can also see the black basalts of old volcanoes erputing in the valley.

Death Valley Salt Deposits (distance from start: 2047.02 km/1271.96 miles)

Death Valley Salt Deposits

Death Valley

Death Valley is a closed basin, but you don't find a lake in this type of climate. All the water evaporates here in summer, and leaves a saltcrust. You can see many saltdeposits such as here in this valley, but the most famous spot to see it is in the main valley at the Devil's Golfcourse.

Yoshua trees (distance from start: 2073.91 km/1288.67 miles)

Yoshua trees

Independence

The Yoshua trees are a striking plant in the middle of the desert. There is a dedicated natioanl park for this plant, but you find species along many roads in this area.

Yosemite National Park: Granite (distance from start: 2344.3 km/1456.68 miles)

Yosemite National Park: Granite

Twain Harte-Tuolumne City

Yosemite National Park is almost completely carved out in hard granite rock. Besides amazing mountains such as Halfdome and El Capitan, you get also to see very nice small micro landscapes which are unique to this type of rock.