Outside The Interzone: Jun 22, 2014

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Saturd80's: Who's Next Edition

This gets my vote for the greatest rock album ever, and I've been listening to it frequently since it came out. I received it as a birthday gift for my twelfth, in October of 1971, and I've had at least six copies of it. 3 vinyl, 2 CDs and one digital.

Baba O'Riley

My Wife

Won't Get Fooled Again (One of the top "rock'n'roll screams," but there are a couple others that might be almost as good)

Geo 730: June 28, Day 544: Why Did the Geo-Tourists Cross the Road?

To get a better view of Bushnell Rock, naturally!

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Geo 730: June 27, Day 543: Unfortunately...

...there's a new outcrop at this quarry, which prevented us from seeing what I think I recall seeing roughly 30 years ago. The other side of this sign didn't say nothing; that side was made for you and me. But in this area, land owners are likely to have firearms, and it's best to heed the side they want you to read. Too bad. I was thrilled to find this spot again... so close, yet so far.

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Geo 730: June 26, Day 542: Quarry Curiosity

The curiosity here is "What is actually in the quarry?" For a reason I'll show tomorrow, we didn't investigate more closely than this. (Hint: Woody Guthrie's line, "That side was made for you and me.") While I hadn't actually visited this spot since the mid to late 80's, this visit didn't help refresh my memory. What I seem to recall is that the rock that was being quarried is basalt, and that recessed area on the left in back is an interval of pillows, which had been tilted up to vertical. That would imply that the overlying, nearly horizontal beds of Lookingglass Formation in Bushnell Rock were deposited on an angular unconformity after this basalt was beveled off. However, to be clear, I'm not positive we're in the right spot here. That is, I'm sure I've seen such an outcrop and quarry, but because we didn't look any closer than this, I'm not sure this is where it is. In fact, I'm quite suspicious that the spot I'm recalling was a bit farther south, near the Wildlife Safari Fault. We didn't get there on this trip.

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Geo 730: June 25, Day 541: Bushnell Rock

A few miles up the road from the Giardet Winery, one finds Bushnell Rock. It's much quicker than finding its name... a long story with which I won't bore you. About an hour long, in fact. This was an auspicious find, a place that I had stopped, at least two or three times, on other field trips. While we were at the winery, I kept catching my attention wandering to the peaks in the distance, and finally asked our guide, "If we go up the road a few miles, is there a big, bare, rocky peak?" The answer was yes, so after leaving, Dana and I headed up the road, and sure enough, there it was, just as I recalled. The funny thing is, if Dana hadn't needed to go to the bathroom when she did, necessitating a stop at the winery, I don't think I could've found this spot in a week of searching. I'm pretty sure, based on an outcrop where we stopped after we turned around, that we're looking at a conglomeratic facies of Lookingglass Formation.

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location. (As always, the location is approximately where I was standing; the rock is off to the ENE of the crosshairs.)

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Geo 730: June 24, Day 540: Lookingglass to Libations

In the foreground, we see pulverized Lookingglass silt/mudstone, mixed with manure. In the mid-ground are numerous bebe vines. If I recall, the fellow showing us around said that it would be a few years before these really started producing- unlike much of agriculture, wine is a long term investment and commitment. You can't switch to a different crop next year, if you think the market will be better for something else. Like the geology embodied in this recent set of photos, wine is about the long run.

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Geo 730: June 23, Day 539: Lookingglass Layers

As I mentioned yesterday, the (presumably) Lookingglass Formation silt/mudstone here is somewhat weathered, but is a good protolith for wine grape soil at the Giardet Winery. I haven't actually measured strike and dip, but it appears to be dipping gently to the south. This spot will be (or has been) broken up and harrowed, manure added and mixed in, then planted with vines, eventually ending up, hopefully, in some contented drinkers belly.

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Geo 730: June 22, Day 538: Soil to Be

We're looking at, I believe, Lookingglass Formation here. Soils in this area are quite thin, and the Giardet Winery basically creates its own. They break up the underlying sedimentary rock, as we see in the photo, and mix in some manure (I described it to Chris, on his visit, as "organic material," and was firmly corrected). I'm not sure if they let it age for a year or two, but it looks like the transition from grassy savannah to new grape vines is fairly swift; they may just plant immediately afterward. This transformation from bedrock (albeit it crumbly, weathered bedrock) to useable agricultural soil was new to me, and quite interesting. It might not work for many plants other than grapes, for which poor soils are beneficial.

Photo unmodified. March 9, 2012. FlashEarth location.