Vignettes from the Field

Geology

I went on a geology trip with my class.

Going home to NY after 10 days pass.

My suitcase is packed and ready to go.

The line at the airport moves real slow.

First day is Salt Lake City. I hope it's neat.

On the plane I don't get the window seat.

We go to Salt Lake. The sand is hot.

Should I leave my shoes on or not?

I step on rocks that slice my feet.

Why do bugs have to bite? My blood must be sweet.

We are ready to go. Where is Jim?

What about Seth? Did he kidnap him?

Finally the bus pulls around

As Brandon shows off his knife on the playground.

Bison, bears, and elk, oh my!

It's so cold with no sun in the sky.

Tourists take pics off the walk

So Kristie isn't afraid to give them the talk.

Time is ticking by and Randy wants meat.

Everyone falls asleep on the bus. They are beat.

I try to open my door with soap.

The lights turn off in the lobby;there is no hope.

Sandra sees a bird. Is it too fat to fly?

She chases it away while making a bird cry.

Josh is resting in the bus

With pop tarts and goldfish

Kiley is auditing

For a grade, she doesn't wish.

Kayleen has a picture hat

On her head looking cool.

Robbie ripped his pants twice,

The breeze is pretty cool.

Nate is sketching hot springs

The bacteria types all look the same

But it's not his fault.

The different colors are to blame.

Michigan wants to be a cop.

He has a Yellowstone badge so he can serve.

Bringing justice to Wyoming

Just like they deserve.

Colosimo and Barone-

Have a flashlight on their phone

Singing through the woods

Back to the hotel at Yellowstone.

Only three more days to see what fun brings.

Do you think that Liz bought enough things?

Everyone on the trip is fun and sweet.

Grateful for this class or we would never meet.

On June 16, 2014, we stopped in the small town of Kelly, WY to study the mass wasting catastrophe that took place in 1925. Stepping off the bus and seeing the hundred-foot deep scar was shocking. The unexpected, fast-moving landslide is known as the Gros Ventre Rockslide. In a matter of minutes, rock and debris came tumbling down the mountains, depositing 50 million cubic yards of rock and soil. The large amount of debris blocked the Gros Ventre River and created a 200-foot dam, producing Lower Slide Lake.

The goal of this stop was to study why this unexpected landslide occurred. We used our background knowledge of geology and our intelligent professors to piece together why this slide happened. The bedrock is tilted and the slopes were oversteepened due to erosion from the Gros Ventre River. Small earthquakes, gravity, and rainfall mixed together, creating a recipe for disaster. Also, the composition of rock has a major impact. The Tensleep Formation became slippery, enabling the slope to fail. Unfortunately, the bedrock was saturated with water, causing the ground to become unstable. Luckily only 6 citizens of Wyoming died.

After we were done piecing together the geologic history, we were able to frolic among the rock pile and got to hammer on some travertine limestone and sandstone with large quartz crystals. Being out in the field made me feel like a real geologist!

LIttle did we know we'd come face to face with more than just rocks on this trip!

Just Some Good Old Western Fun!

Robbie showing off his skills.

That modeling though.

Our Last Day @ Craters

Our last day of the trip took place in Craters of the Moon National Park in Arco, Idaho. Craters was one of the coolest places we visited, making it an amazing end to our trip. We were all very tired and worn out by the end of the week, but Craters offered us more than what we expected, such as Pahoehoe and A'a lava flows, opportunities to climb cinder and spatter cones, and even explore a lava tube (and maybe even get lost)!

You can see how tired (and cute) these boys look after a long week of exploring and adventuring the western beauty. We spent the night prior in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which showed us a good time! Such a great little tourist town.

Here's a picture of some of the Pahoehoe lava flows at the North Crater Flow Trail. Look at how ropey those rocks look! These basaltic lava flows at Craters were very low in silica, which allowed then to flow more easily. The lava cooled quickly at the surface, and created this rope like texture while cooling and continuing to flow.

Nate and Seth had some fun climbing to the top of a cinder cone after our last lunch on the trip. Look at how small they look!

After lunch, we climbed to the top of Inferno Cone. It was insanely windy at the top, but offered us an amazing view. Some of us even layed at the top of the cinder cone and tried to catch some sun! The sound of the leaves blowing in the wind and the warmth of the basaltic rocks beneath us made for a very relaxing little cat nap.

Here's an awesome picture from the inside of the Indian Tunnel lava tube that we explored. There was so many cool little places to hideout and fun fallen rocks to climb. We all had such a great time climbing our way out!

Who knew Idaho had more than just potatoes? Speaking of potatoes, they may be gone soon... We've learned that the cinder cones and divergence in the park of Craters of the Moon erupts, on average, every 2000 years. We're overdue! We may have been lucky making it out alive! :)