Why are these geologists all over these rocks? Because, gentle readers, these are some seriously cool rocks. The geologists are all participants on a pre-GSA-annual-meeting field trip to the Superior Craton, a chunk of ancient crust at the “nucleus” of the North American continent. The rocks are syn-tectonic volcaniclastic conglomerates of the Seine Group. They … Read more
Along the Beartooth Highway, east of Cooke City, Montana, you will see this striking mountain: Click through to make it really big. That’s Pilot Peak. It’s a horn in Wyoming. My Rockies students get really jazzed when they see it. Glaciers carved away the rest of the mountain, leaving only this pyramidal spire. Awesome.
Callan’s answer to the riddle of the mystery outcrop is revealed. Spoiler: the glacier did it.
Callan embarks on an exhausting climb of a major summit in the Wyoming Bighorn mountains, a peak named in tribute of one of his geological heroes. Come join the trek to the top of Darton Peak!
To follow up to my Cascade Canyon post, here’s a gigapan of the scene: [gigapan id=”82540″]
Busy days here in DC and northern Virginia… Blogging time has been limited. A few more shots from this past summer’s time at Mount Washington, to fill the void… Prius atop mountain: The Great Gulf: Hikers in relatively warm weather: Another look down the Great Gulf: Glacial cobble of diorite, exotic to the top of … Read more
A week ago Saturday, my three Honors students and I went on a field trip led by Gary Fleeger of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, to examine some cool glacial features in western Pennsylvania. The trip was associated with the joint meeting of the northeastern & north-central sections of the Geological Society of America, held in … Read more
Saw this beauty on a field trip Saturday, examining the glacial geology of western Pennsylvania. Note the faceted surfaces and profusion of scratches of multiple sizes in multiple orientations.
Quite appropriately, Glacial Till won the new the latest edition of “Where on (Google) Earth?”, hosted here yesterday. The location I picked is the subject of a new paper by Mark Johnson and colleagues appears in the current issue of Geology (October 2010). It shows a place in Iceland where a piedmont-style outlet glacier called … Read more
After my thesis defense at the University of Maryland, my mentor and friend E-an Zen asked me if I had ever heard of the Purgatory Conglomerate. I had not. Over the years, E-an has been a great source of new ideas and information to me, and so when he raises a notion, I pay attention. … Read more