Friday fold: tension gashes near Sunflower, Arizona

Reader John Christian shared these folds with me via email last week. They are quartz veins in slightly metamorphosed Precambrian igneous rocks found near Sunflower, AZ in the Mazatzal Mountains. The second photo is a close-up shot of the curviest, cleanest batch of folds from the first shot. These are beautiful examples of folds in … Read more

Brittle overprinting ductile in the South Mountains metamorphic core complex, Phoenix, Arizona

Today, we take a look at the structural geology that reveals the deformation evolution (first ductile, then brittle) of the South Mountains metamorphic core complex, south of Phoenix, Arizona. Expect lots of photos of smeared-out rocks, broken by faults.

Friday folds: Mather Gorge Formation

It’s been a very Billy-Goaty week for me. Three times since Sunday afternoon, I’ve taken people to the Billy Goat Trail’s “A” loop in C&O Canal National Historical Park. On Tuesday and Thursday, it was my NOVA Physical Geology students. On Sunday, though, it was just my son and me. Good news! He helped me … Read more

Q&A, episode 6

A reader asks about Callan’s source of inspiration, a fitting question given the advent of Earth Science Week, which this year has as its theme “The Earth as Inspiration.” Brace yourself for a tantalizing cavalcade of gorgeous images of patterns in rocks!