The rift Kirk manages to send the car in.

[slundal]

The giant rift that Kirk drives his Uncles (?) car into in the beginning of the movie is that the rift that the Zindi cut during their attack on earth in Enterprise season two ending?

Just hit me know that I might be and I'm wondering if the rift was intentional or not?

 

[Cyke101]

The giant rift that Kirk drives his Uncles (?) car into in the beginning of the movie is that the rift that the Zindi cut during their attack on earth in Enterprise season two ending?

Just hit me know that I might be and I'm wondering if the rift was intentional or not?

The Xindi cut open Florida and the surrounding area. The canyon in Iowa seems to be more for industrial purposes.

 

[Jeri]

Not a canyon. It's a quarry. That's why it's so rectilineal.

It's CGI, but it was based on shots of a real quarry in New England; J.J. sent a unit back there to get some shots.

 

[Gepard]

This "quarry-as-Xindi-rift" thing has come up before, as if there's no other explanation for a deep pit in the ground. I wonder what gives people these ideas.

 

[M'Sharak]

Not a canyon. It's a quarry. That's why it's so rectilineal.

It's CGI, but it was based on shots of a real quarry in New England; J.J. sent a unit back there to get some shots.

It is indeed a quarry.

Eastern Iowa has lots of quarries, though they are generally wider and not so deep. The one digitally inserted into the "Iowa" landscape in the movie was modeled on parts of a real granite quarry in Vermont.

http://www.rockofages.com/en/gift-shop-a-tourism

http://www.fox44now.com/Global/story.asp?S=10303428

See a short video tour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR1kV6xTB0U

 

[Jeri]

Wow, now that is service! Thank you, M'. You are indispensable. I've seen a newspaper article with photo about the quarry, but not the video.

 

[M'Sharak]

Wow, now that is service! Thank you, M'. You are indispensable. I've seen a newspaper article with photo about the quarry, but not the video.

This article, maybe? [Edit: or here's another article which has essentially the same text, but includes a link to the official site at the bottom for people who wanted to see their quarry in the movie trailer.]

And I hadn't seen the video before stumbling across it today; there appear to be quite a number of others taken at the same quarry in the "related videos" sidebar.

 

[Cyke101]

Not a canyon. It's a quarry. That's why it's so rectilineal.

It's CGI, but it was based on shots of a real quarry in New England; J.J. sent a unit back there to get some shots.

Err, that's what I meant, a quarry. If I had more time but didn't remember the name, I'd call it "The artificial canyon where they do stuff like drill rocks and drop cars."

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Ok, I'm in a weird mood today.

First, for some reason I thought I was in GEN Trek forum.

Second, reading the title of this thread, I had this image in my head:

Kirk has no hand. Instead he has a chainsaw instead of a hand. And a phaser rifle. And he and an old beat up car are sent through the time rift to fight the evil dead demons in medieval times. I think Kirk would show up even Ash!

 

[Jeri]

M', that's the one. It was their 15 minutes of fame; I can imagine how pumped they might have been for a while.

Cyke, I could tell you were getting there. I wasn't meaning to contradict; just being clear...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Thanks for the info - that "canyon" struck me as weirdly un-Midwestern - but of course, who knows how the landscape will be mangled and altered by the 23rd C. It never occurred to me that it might be man-made.

I wonder what the heck they were quarrying that would result in a long, narrow, deep gash in Iowa?

I also gotta wonder, why there are skyscrapers in Pacific Heights (and did they bulldozer it flat first?)

 

[Cyke101]

Cyke, I could tell you were getting there. I wasn't meaning to contradict; just being clear...

Oh no, it was my own lapse of memory. Now, if I really wanted to be pedantic about it... I would've called it the Gravity Hole

 

[BenRoethig]

Thanks for the info - that "canyon" struck me as weirdly un-Midwestern - but of course, who knows how the landscape will be mangled and altered by the 23rd C. It never occurred to me that it might be man-made.

I wonder what the heck they were quarrying that would result in a long, narrow, deep gash in Iowa?

I also gotta wonder, why there are skyscrapers in Pacific Heights (and did they bulldozer it flat first?)

Limestone. You've never been out here, have you. There are quarries all over the place.

 

[Jeri]

We're not too far from Iowa here; and driving down the Tri-State Tollway just south of Chicago, you can look deep down into a huge one -- the Thornton Quarry, one of the largest aggregate quarries in the world. It's about 400 feet deep.

 

[Cyke101]

We're not too far from Iowa here; and driving down the Tri-State Tollway just south of Chicago, you can look deep down into a huge one -- the Thornton Quarry, one of the largest aggregate quarries in the world. It's about 400 feet deep.

I keep forgetting that you live Chicago. And I suppose I should be a good little Trekkie and check out the Quarry...

 

[Jeri]

I remember the first time I went by there; I had no idea it was there, and it was a big shock! Unfortunately, I am not a good Chicagoan, even though I've lived here going on 15 years now. I still feel like a westerner.

 

[M'Sharak]

We're not too far from Iowa here; and driving down the Tri-State Tollway just south of Chicago, you can look deep down into a huge one -- the Thornton Quarry, one of the largest aggregate quarries in the world. It's about 400 feet deep.

I keep forgetting that you live Chicago. And I suppose I should be a good little Trekkie and check out the Quarry...

In the meantime (and for those not conveniently nearby) here's the view from the Tri-State Tollway which crosses right through the middle of it.

 

[Cyke101]

I remember the first time I went by there; I had no idea it was there, and it was a big shock!

...you drove your antique Corvette over the cliff too, huh?

We're not too far from Iowa here; and driving down the Tri-State Tollway just south of Chicago, you can look deep down into a huge one -- the Thornton Quarry, one of the largest aggregate quarries in the world. It's about 400 feet deep.

I keep forgetting that you live Chicago. And I suppose I should be a good little Trekkie and check out the Quarry...

In the meantime (and for those not conveniently nearby) here's the view from the Tri-State Tollway which crosses right through the middle of it.

Whoa, you're helpful, as always. Thanks much! I live between I-55 and 355, so it's a bit of a drive anyway.

 

[M'Sharak]

^ I have a hard time passing up an opportunity to play with Google Maps on stuff like that.

 

[flightmech73]

Aw see that's just my luck. I was thinking too bad I dont live in cali becuase id try to go to one of the open casting calls for extras. But I live in NH. All I had to do is drive a couple hours to the next state over and wave at the helicopters to get into the movie? Just not fair.