Geology
Oregon mountains from afar: LAPC
Today I’m featuring views of Oregon mountains from afar. We’re lucky to have wide open views of these landmarks.
The first picture shows a view of the iconic Cascade Volcanoes west of Bend, Oregon. From left to right you can see Broken Top, South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister, Black Crater, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte, and Mount Jefferson. Visitor can drive scenic roads, hike, rock climb, bike, go boating, fish, hunt, and nature watch around these peaks. This map helps you find the activities you’re looking for.
The second picture shows mountains east of Terrebonne, Oregon. The highest peak is Gray Butte, where I’ve seen lots of stunning wildflowers in the spring. At the base of the mountains, on the left side, you can find Smith Rock State Park. This park is a destination for rock climbers and hikers from around the world.
Layers upon layers: Wordless Wednesday
Pushed by hot magma haiku: Haiku Prompt Challenge
pushed by hot magma
through ancient layers of rock
the pull of dawn’s light
Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge # 371 – Pull and push
Kayaking at Prineville Reservoir: LAPC
We went kayaking in early May at Prineville Reservoir after an unexpected change of plans. The high elevation lake we had planned to visit was not yet open.
The 15-mile long Prineville Reservoir covers 3,030 acres. It’s located south of Prineville, near the geographic center of Oregon.
I had never kayaked here before and wasn’t sure what to expect. The geology surrounding the lake was a pleasant surprise.
This formation was smooth and vegetated on one side and bursting with colorful rocks on the other.
These layers of color looked like a slice of spumoni ice cream.
When I paddled a little closer, the layers rippled with texture.
Norris Geysers – big & little: LAPC
We just returned from a trip to Yellowstone National Park and the Norris geysers were spectacular, as always. Some of the geysers are big and showy; others are small but still impressive.
The picture below is of Steamboat Geyser. Gray stone, dappled with red and brown-colored rocks, surrounds the vent.
In 2020, this geyser erupted 48 times. Water shoots 300+ feet into the air, making it the tallest in the world. This year, once again, we just missed its latest eruption. It went off on May 31, 2021, the day we drove to the park from Bend, Oregon.
Here’s an overview of the basin. If you don’t have time to walk the trails, You’ll get great views from this observation area.
Here’s a view from the trail. There are geysers everywhere you look in the Norris Geyser Basin.
Continue readingVolcanic views from Lava Lands: Pull up a Seat Challenge
I recently hiked the Trail of Molten Lands at Lava Lands Visitor Center and paused to take in the volcanic views. The center is located within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, a place with many recreational opportunities.
I took these photos from the Phil Brogan Viewpoint. On a clear day, you can see Mt. Bachelor, the Three Sisters, and other peaks in the distance. On this day, clouds covered them in soft shrouds. The visitor center reopened on May 20, a couple days after my visit. It’s a great place to learn more of this area’s volcanic past.
Here are a couple pictures of the volcanic views from a closer angle.
This 1.1 mile trail winds through basalt lava flows surrounding Lava Butte to the viewpoint.
Crack in the Ground – An amazing sight!: LAPC & FFC
Last week we visited Crack in the Ground in Central Oregon near Christmas Valley. You may be wondering what exactly this place is. Well… it’s a huge crack in the ground in the middle of the desert.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was impressed by the crack’s picturesque angles and curved surfaces.
There’s a 2-mile trail inside that reaches a depth of ~70 feet below the surface. We took the left path that has a more gradual entrance. It’s in the middle of the picture below. This trail is relatively easy but if you go the whole length, expect to climb over boulders and through some cracks.
But how did this crack get here? It’s an ancient volcanic fissure. I learned in most climates, fissures fill up with soil and rock from erosion. Since it’s so dry here, there has been relatively little filling.
Crack in the Ground sits within the Four Craters Lava Bed. During the Pleistocene, four cone volcanoes were active here. A shallow depression formed when older heavier rock sunk. The fissure opened near the edge where there was tension along a fault zone. This Bureau of Land Management map shows the extent of the lava beds and the location of Crack in the Ground.
Continue readingPine trees at Lava Lands: Thursday Tree Love
Pine trees towering over an ancient lava flow at Lava Lands Visitor Center, in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Oregon. You can see South Sister and Broken Top in the distance.
The 0.4-mile Trail of the Whispering Pines winds its way through the forest near the visitor center. You get great views of pine trees, Lava Butte, and several nearby volcanoes. This path sits on part of Newberry Volcano, a 1,200-square mile shield volcano.
South Sister, pictured on the left above, is the youngest and most geologically active of the Three Sisters volcanoes. The mountain last erupted 2,000 years ago, but a “bulge” began forming in 1997. By 2001, the bulge grew to 9 inches in height and 10 miles in diameter. Its growth since that time has slowed considerably. Both South Sister and Newberry are regularly monitored for volcanic activity.
An amazing collection – Baker City Rocks!: LAPC
When I walked around a corner into a gallery at the Baker Heritage Museum a couple years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. Wow, what a special moment! As you may know, I like rocks and this is an amazing collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils.
One of the first pieces you see is a 950-pound crystal from Arkansas. I would love to have something like that in my rock garden.
Two sisters in Baker City, Mamie Cavin and Elizabeth Cavin Warfel, collected specimens for 45 years and donated their collections to the museum in 1983. The 18-ton Cavin-Warfel Collection, together with other donations at the museum, is considered to be one of the best collections in the country. In fact, at one time the Smithsonian offered $500,000 to acquire it.
Cabochons and cut pieces of picture jasper cover one wall. Cabochons are gemstones that have been shaped and highly polished, rather than faceted. Billy Wyatt donated this collection.
Colorful specimens of green malachite and blue azurite are in this cabinet. Both are secondary minerals found in copper deposits. Malachite is one of my favorites and I have a few in my collection. The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries donated specimens related to mining to the museum.
A cluster of crystals up close: Macro Monday
Close up view of a cluster of crystals sprouting off of a matrix.
Macro Monday
Steam-filled Yellowstone landscapes: LAPC
During the chilly winter months, I sometimes think of the steam-filled landscapes of Yellowstone National Park. I wish I had a natural hot spring in my backyard. The thermal activity beneath Yellowstone is always producing steamy white clouds.
This view is from the Artists’ Paint Pots trail. Lots of contrasting colors and great views of the steaming basin from the top of the trail.
This is a hot spring near Morning Glory Hot Spring, one of my favorite sites in the park. See the ravens enjoying the warm water?
Grand Prismatic has rainbow colors, layered soil, and lots of steam. Did you notice the bison tracks in the foreground?
The bison spend time near the hot springs throughout the year. Here’s a pair grazing near a boardwalk trail.
Continue readingMarvelous Malachite up close: LAPC
Today I’m sharing close up photos of marvelous malachite. According to geology.com, malachite is a “green copper carbonate hydroxide mineral.” The site also refers to its striking green color and that’s why I collect it.
This first piece has a rough texture and interesting shape. For scale, it measures 1.5 x 1.0 inches.
The second piece is opposite of the first – rounded shapes and smooth textures. It measures 3.75 x 1.5 inches.
Igneous rocks up close: Macro Monday & SS
The following images of igneous rocks up close were taken in my yard near Bend, Oregon.
What’s an igneous rock? Geology.com describes them as being “formed from the solidification of molten rock material.” For example, granite, gabbro, basalt, scoria, and obsidian are all types of igneous rock.
You probably notice some of these rocks have round bubble-like holes in them. These “vesicles” form when gas is trapped within the melted rock at the time it cools and turns solid.
Continue readingSunrise on green sheen obsidian: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Onion in the Obsidian: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Wandering the roads of Utah: LAPC
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is the long and winding road. Wandering the roads of Utah a few years ago, we saw many picturesque roads.
The Mt. Carmel Tunnel in Zion National Park.
Winding dirt roads bordering the canyons in Canyonlands National Park.
Utah State Route 95 curves down towards the Hite Bridge in Lake Powell.
Continue readingAhead of the curve: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Bryce Canyon before the storm: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
My Mount St. Helens Adventure: FOWC
On May 18, 1980, a trip to help band golden eagles at the Yakima Canyon in eastern Washington turned into an unexpected Mount St. Helens adventure.
The adventure begins
I was part of the Young Adult Conservation Corps, working for the Washington Department of Game in Olympia, Washington. We spent most of our time in the office, but we took occasional field trips. One of the wildlife biologists invited four of us to help him band eagles and we were excited to get out in the field.
We piled into John’s Volkswagen van and took off for eastern Washington. John suggested stopping at Crab Creek Habitat Management Area, 20 minutes south of Royal City, to do a little birdwatching before driving south to meet the biologist. We stopped and saw yellow-headed blackbirds, cinnamon teal and other kinds of ducks, a short-eared owl, and two Virginia rails with a newly hatched chick.
Making the cut-Capitol Reef National Park: LAPC
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is cropping the shot. I’m sharing before and after images taken at Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey, Utah. These pictures show examples of making the cut to highlight the subject matter.
Sometimes you want to cut a road out of the picture so you can focus on the scenery. I loved the layered land forms at this park.
Rose Quartz up close: SMM
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: LAPC
When I saw that the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week was A River Runs Through It, I immediately thought of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
This river meanders its way through colorful rock formations
And pounds down in the Upper Falls
Photo Bloopers 4: More photo fun
It’s time once again for fun with photos. Welcome to Photo Bloopers 4! This is what I do with pictures that don’t quite fit in or turned out weird looking. They needed a few words to make them more interesting. Hope they entertain you!
Earth & Water: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
West Thumb Geyser Basin: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Stories within the layers of stone: LAPC
Sometimes I look at layered rock formations and imagine stories within the layers.
This formation at Fort Rock looks like the giant prow of a ship bursting through the cliffs.
A closer look shows where the water levels were before the ship drained the basin.
In this land…Oregon countryside : LAPC
In this land, Nature weaves colorful tapestries into the earth and sky
And creates havens for its creatures to pause and rest
In this land, pale sandy deserts settle in some basins
Continue readingKiger Gorge Panorama: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
A Painted Hills Landscape: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Finding Different Angles: LAPC
Angles are often used in art and architecture and are also found in nature. Here are several photos that show art and nature from different angles.
This sculpture of a flock of birds zigzags down a foyer and flutters around the corner of a building in downtown Bend, Oregon.
Swallows collect beakfuls of mud to create these nests along the roof angles at Summer Lake Wildlife Area, Oregon.
Obsidian Up close & personal
I enjoy visiting Glass Buttes in Central Oregon to collect obsidian. Did you know there are over 24 kinds found there? Here are photos of obsidian up close. The stones are beautiful in color, but also in form.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Detail
Favorite Rocks in Oregon: LAPC
Oregon rocks come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Here are a few of my favorite rocks.
Craggy cliffs circling wonder
Sculptures shaped by the sea
A redwing near Winter Ridge: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Winter
Yellowstone Elements: LAPC
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Here are pictures that feature several of the elements that I took at Yellowstone National Park.
Blue Basin Bench: Pull up a Seat
This bench awaits you at the end of the Blue Basin Island in Time Trail at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Eastern Oregon. When you sit there, you are surrounded by an amphitheater of greenish blue stone highlighted by hills of red volcanic soil. It’s a dramatic, and impressive, landscape.
Here is a 360-degree view of what I saw at the end of the Island in Time Trail.
Showing less can reveal more: LAPC
When focusing on only parts of a scene, showing less can reveal more.
This fox didn’t pause to smile for the camera, but this image of her running across a sun-dappled meadow captured her spirit.
This image doesn’t include any wildlife or colorful flowers but it conveys peace.
Continue readingRoadside Rocks in Malheur NF: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
A different world-Utah rocks: LAPC
You live in the image you have of the world. Every one of us lives in a different world, with different space and different time.
Alejandro Jodorowsky
The geology of Utah is so unique and interesting. I imagined many details of alternate worlds while visiting there.
The formations at Capitol Reef form thrones ready for giant-sized royalty.
The mountains of Zion National Park look as though they have been compressed, kneaded, and scratched by the claws of big cats
Continue readingFinding a new world in close-ups: LAPC
When I last visited Yellowstone, I was searching for a new world to inspire me in my fiction writing. Here are some that I found…
A new world of waves and wonder
A world of contrasting colors
A world of muted rainbows
Continue reading