Here’s a fun picture of a giant pink dinosaur named Dinah, who now holds a sign welcoming visitors to Vernal, Utah. In the past Dinah held up a sign for the Dine-A-Ville Motel and Cafe.
Monday Geology Picture: Vernal’s Giant Pink Dinosaur
Plane Views: Anchorage to Nome
This is Part IV (the final part) of my series of “Plane View” pictures taken during my trip from Cape Town, South Africa to Nome, Alaska. Part I is here, and Part II is here, and Part III is here.
After we reached Anchorage, my husband and I had three nights to recover from jetlag (and do some work, kayaking, and shopping) before our flight up to Nome. Thus, we were rested and able to enjoy the views on the flight to Nome although cloud cover kept us from seeing the best views of Nome. Perhaps when we fly out next month the weather will be clearer, and we’ll be able to see more.
Enjoy the pictures! As usual, please feel free to comment on any interesting geological features which you observe.
Flying out of Anchorage:
Middle of Flight:
Flying into Nome:
Monday Geology Picture(s): Maine Geology Extravaganza!
Adam and Kelly, my friends from college, recently (back in June) were married. For their honeymoon Adam and Kelly went to Maine. Adam was kind enough to send me some geology-themed pictures from their honeymoon, and I thought I’d share them here on Georneys. These pictures are from Owl’s Head State Park and Acadia National Park. I’ve provided a few notes about the photos, but please feel free to leave comments with additional insights and observations, particularly if you are familiar with the geology of the two parks. Perhaps we can tell Adam and Kelly a little more about the rocks they saw on their honeymoon. Here’s a great website by the National Park Service on the geology of Acadia National Park.
Here are some pictures from Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park:
At Thunder Hole water can splash up to 40 feet high! The hole is a popular tourist attraction, but you need to be careful when the sea is rough. In 2009 several people were swept into the ocean when they were visiting Thunder Hole.
Here are some pictures from Little Hunter’s Beach in Acadia National Park:
Adam tells me that the cobbles from Little Hunter’s Beach were used in the past to pave New England streets. They certainly look like cobblestone street cobbles!
Thanks so much for sharing these pictures, Adam! Also, congratulations, Adam and Kelly!
Sledge Island Scenery
As I mentioned earlier, I’m currently spending a couple of months working in Nome, Alaska. When the sun comes out, Nome is a really beautiful place. The picture above shows my view from work the other day! That’s Sledge Island and part of the mainland in the picture. Not too shabby a view, is it?
Monday Geology Picture: A Student Field Map
One thing I loved about learning geology back in college was coloring. Yes, coloring… or colouring, for my South African and European friends. Most of the rough geologic maps I made for assignments back in college were made using colored pencils, such as the group map shown in this week’s Monday Geology Picture above. This map was made by a small group of students during a quick (3 or 4 day, if I remember correctly) mapping project in Montana. I won’t vouch for the map’s accuracy, but the coloring sure is pretty!
Plane Views: Minneapolis to Anchorage
This is Part III of my series of “Plane View” pictures taken during my trip from Cape Town, South Africa to Nome, Alaska. Part I is here, and Part II is here.
By this third flight, my husband and I were starting to become fairly tired. However, we managed to take some excellent pictures out the window anyway, particularly as we approached Anchorage. Enjoy! Feel free to comment on any interesting geology you see!
I’ll try to post Part IV (the last part) sometime in the next several days, work schedule and internet connectivity permitting.
Whale Carcass on the Beach in Nome, Alaska
Here’s a bit of a biological interlude. I’m currently spending about two months in Nome, Alaska working for a marine gold exploration company as I explained before. I’m really loving my job so far, but I can’t share pictures or information related to my work. However, I can share some pictures from the town and surrounds. Currently, there is a giant whale carcass on one of the beaches here in Nome. I find the dead whale disgustingly beautiful, if that makes sense. I imagine the carcass will continue to decompose. Perhaps I’ll take pictures of the carcass again in a few weeks. Can anyone identify the whale species?
Monday Geology Picture: Mudcracks
Here is a delightful picture of some mudcracks, taken during somewhere in the western USA in Fall 2005 when I was on my undergraduate field program “The Stretch.” I don’t remember exactly where this picture was taken, but I recently found it again in my folder of field camp photos. I think this picture also shows little round imprints from a recent light rainfall on the mud– what do you think?
Plane Views: Amsterdam to Minneapolis
This is Part II of my series of “Plane View” pictures taken during my trip from Cape Town, South Africa to Nome, Alaska. Part I is here.
After traveling from Cape Town to Amsterdam, my husband Jackie and I boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis. Below are some pictures taken out the airplane window. For this second flight, Jackie and I pulled out our nice camera, so the image quality is much better than the Blackberry pictures I shared in Part I. Feel free to point out any interesting geological features you see in the pictures… and enjoy!
Pictures of Iceland:
Pictures of Greenland:
Pictures of Northern Canada:
That’s all for now. I’ll share some pictures from my second and third flights as time and internet connectivity permit.
Monday Geology Picture(s): A Lava Road Closure on Hawai’i
My friend Arthur recently visited Hawai’i and sent me some wonderful pictures of lava and basalt! My favorite picture is the one above of a former road now almost completely covered by basalt. Arthur informs me that the sign was for Chain of Craters Road, which is now buried under several meters of basalt in places. Here’s the approximate location of the roadsign.
Arthur also sent me a few pictures of some active lava flows. Wonderful! There’s nothing like fresh lava to get a geologist’s blood boiling with excitement!
Georneys 