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The opinions expressed here are well-reasoned and insightful -- needless to say they are not the opinions of my employers

06 October 2007

Where On (Google) Earth? #59

Looking at Zoltan's meandering channels took me back to my first class in geomorphology, and I've had images of area:slope ratios, shear stress, the law of the wall, and ::shudder:: Reynolds numbers (OK, the equations, not the images) running through my head for the last few days.

While scanning around, looking for potential sites that might present enough of a challenge for the brilliant members of this community I came across this NW-SE drainage. The beauty of the image, the sharp angles of the hills and the broad curves of the channels, just blows me away (notice that there's even a lovely little stream capture at the center of the image).

I had a natural history teacher once tell me that the more I understood the details of the natural world the less I would notice its beauty. I knew he was full of shit at the time and every time I go into the field I'm reminded again how incredibly wrong he was. And other geologists I meet seem to have the same sense of the numinous when looking at landscapes.

So without further ado I present you with WOGE #59:


All the usual boilerplate, including the Schott Rule, are hereby invoked. Winners will have their names carved in the digital plaque and have the honor of hosting #60. Post time is 10:45 PDT.

Cheers...

Update (10/9): These rocks were deposited in a large inland sea and contain both ammonites and inoceramus...

6 comments:

Ron Schott said...

Mancos!

Full explanation to follow...

jrepka said...

Nice work Ron. I was beginning to think that the site was too generic...

These badlands, and the adjacent Fremont River, provided fodder for 2 dissertations, one on channel erosion into bedrock (Greg Hancock, now at William and Mary) and one on exposure dating of river terraces (myself)...

If anyone is planning a field trip out west, I can't recommend the country around Capitol Reef enough.

John Van Hoesen said...

So if one wanted to find the next WOGE, it will be on Ron's page? :)

Newbie, but looks fun!

jrepka said...

John--

Yes, keep an eye on Ron's blog.

Ron Schott said...

Sorry for the slow turnaround. I'm writing up a pair of posts right now: first an analysis of how I solved #59, and then WoGE#60. They should be up in an hour or two.

Ron Schott said...

Okay. Here's my analysis of solving WoGE #59 and brand new WoGE #60. Again, sorry for the delays.

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