Sunday, May 4, 2014

Geo 730: May 4, Day 490: Erratic Erratic

I think at some point, probably late fifties and sixties, this spot was more heavily visited and, if not better known, known with more intense interest. This was likely because the idea of Harlan Bretz, that enormous floods had scoured the Pacific Northwest, had recently been accepted, and seemed so ridiculously outlandish. As such, it seems samples of Erratic Rock were taken as souvenirs. The rock is, frankly, not all that interesting, just a dark, slightly metamorphosed mud/siltstone. Yet the story it tells is gripping. Unfortunately, in taking a souvenir of the story, tourists have diminished the actual storyteller, by roughly 50%, and scattered miscellaneous chunks around the hilltop. Please do not take samples here.

I'm in the midst of a minor crisis- not a big deal, and nothing to worry about  in the grand scheme- and busy dealing with it, so no funnies today.

Photo unmodified. July 10, 2012. FlashEarth location.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fascinating, especially for a geo-rookie. Just wondering what 590% diminished means: Perhaps that it's currently about one-seventh its original size? Thx!

Lockwood said...

Errm, oops. Typo. Corrected to to 50%.