In this week's episode find out what the purple stuff floating in the roadside ditch was.
Mystery Purple Stuff
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Friday, April 10, 2020
International Beaver Day!
I am going to try this blog post again and hopefully this time it will work. For the next few blog posts I am going to try something a bit different and try doing video posts. Since so many of us are stuck inside looking at the same view day after day I thought it might be nice to try a few video blogs to help break the monotony a little. Be kind it has been about 15 years since the last time I had to make videos.
International Beaver Day Video
International Beaver Day Video
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Our Laundry is infested with.......just what are those things!?
I always love when people come running up to me holding a box, bucket, or coffee can claiming there is something inside and they want to know what it is right away. I have learned the hard way NEVER to open these packages indoors. Supposedly dead birds have flown into my face and then taken up roost in my office for hours while I tried to evict them.
I arrived back from lunch one afternoon and a coworker stuck his head into the office asking me to come out to the visitor center desk and help identify something. I popped around the corner to see a slightly frantic woman standing at the desk. This is what happened next:
Frantic Woman: "Do you know anything about bugs?" she thrust out a peanut butter jar towards me.
Me: "Yep, your in luck I know a thing or two." I took the jar making sure the lid was screwed on tight.
Frantic Woman: (This was said all in one rapid fire breath.) "Are those bed bugs? We got our laundry back from the company that cleans it and the sheets are infested with those. Do we have to send them back to get cleaned again? Are they dangerous? Should we call the company? Do we need to look for a new company to clean our sheets?"
Me: After a few minutes of staring into what I thought was an empty jar I noticed some brown "dust particles" at the bottom. I started to unscrewed the lid to get a better look. "Good new! They are not bed bugs, they are not dangerous to humans, probably no reason to call the company, and they are going to be easy for you to get rid of."
Frantic woman: "Your 100% sure?"
Me: "Absolutely! What happened is last night after your sheets came out of the dryer and were folded these little guys took advantage of the lingering heat inside your laundry bags and crawled in to stay warm since it was a rather chilly fall night last night. Easiest way to get rid of them grab the sheet shake real hard and then remake the bed and vacuum the rug and you should be good."
Frantic woman: "Really!?"
Me: "Yep, flicking the sheet will kill most of them and those that live with die by vacuum."
What this woman had handed me in the jar was about seven or eight little pseudoscorpions which to the average person look like little baby scorpions.
These are in the same taxonomic group as spiders, Class Arachnida. Now unlike a real scorpions these have no stinger or tails and can not deliver a sting. They are also super super super small body size ranging from just 1/16-1/8 of an inch long. You can tell just how small they are by comparing them to the size of the thumb and forefinger on the left side of the photo below.
These little creepy crawlies live in the soil, leaf littler, the books in your bookcase and spend their time hunting for springtails, fleas, bark lice, ants, mites. They grab their unsuspecting prey with those large claws, inject it with poison from a gland inside those claws and then once their prey stops moving they inject saliva into the prey. This saliva slowly dissolves the prey's insides before the pseudoscorpion slurps up the juice much in the same way a spider does.While they do have a thin exoskeleton you walking though your backyard squishes them flat as a pancake. I am sure if you took a magnifying glass to the contents of your vacuum cleaner bag you could find bits and pieces of pesudocorpions along with the dist mites they were trying to capture.
Want to know more:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/how-book-scorpions-tend-to-your-dusty-tomes/
https://extension.umn.edu/insect-relatives/pseudoscorpions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5KSNA5K57s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYBDtlZvaX0
https://www.wired.com/2015/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-sexy-saga-of-the-harlequin-beetle-and-the-pseudoscorpion/
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150511-tiny-arachnids-grisly-sacrifice
I arrived back from lunch one afternoon and a coworker stuck his head into the office asking me to come out to the visitor center desk and help identify something. I popped around the corner to see a slightly frantic woman standing at the desk. This is what happened next:
Frantic Woman: "Do you know anything about bugs?" she thrust out a peanut butter jar towards me.
Me: "Yep, your in luck I know a thing or two." I took the jar making sure the lid was screwed on tight.
Frantic Woman: (This was said all in one rapid fire breath.) "Are those bed bugs? We got our laundry back from the company that cleans it and the sheets are infested with those. Do we have to send them back to get cleaned again? Are they dangerous? Should we call the company? Do we need to look for a new company to clean our sheets?"
Me: After a few minutes of staring into what I thought was an empty jar I noticed some brown "dust particles" at the bottom. I started to unscrewed the lid to get a better look. "Good new! They are not bed bugs, they are not dangerous to humans, probably no reason to call the company, and they are going to be easy for you to get rid of."
Frantic woman: "Your 100% sure?"
Me: "Absolutely! What happened is last night after your sheets came out of the dryer and were folded these little guys took advantage of the lingering heat inside your laundry bags and crawled in to stay warm since it was a rather chilly fall night last night. Easiest way to get rid of them grab the sheet shake real hard and then remake the bed and vacuum the rug and you should be good."
Frantic woman: "Really!?"
Me: "Yep, flicking the sheet will kill most of them and those that live with die by vacuum."
What this woman had handed me in the jar was about seven or eight little pseudoscorpions which to the average person look like little baby scorpions.
 |
| Photo By Ryan Hodnett |
 |
| Photo By Casey Richart & Bill Leonard |
Want to know more:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/how-book-scorpions-tend-to-your-dusty-tomes/
https://extension.umn.edu/insect-relatives/pseudoscorpions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5KSNA5K57s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYBDtlZvaX0
https://www.wired.com/2015/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-sexy-saga-of-the-harlequin-beetle-and-the-pseudoscorpion/
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150511-tiny-arachnids-grisly-sacrifice
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Opps! Sorry, Did I Do That!?
Think about what you do for work and then make a mental list of all the dangers and possible ways you could die doing your job. Is it a long list or fairly short? A bunch of jobs I have worked in my career have come with JHSAs (Job Hazard Safety Analysis) sheets which I was required to read and sign before the first day of work. Regardless of how great you are at predicting the worst case scenario there are those things you never see coming or can predict would happen in a million years. The summer of 2003 I took a job working as a laboratory/field technician for the Center for Biodiversity Research. I would be working as part of a larger team doing a biological inventory of the Fort Indian Town Gap National Guard Training Base and I would be specifically focusing on bugs. Now for those of you who do not know anything about the training base the biggest thing that you need to know is THEY USE LIVE BOMBS and AMMUNITION! It is one of only three places in the United States where you can fire/drop/launch live ordinances (bombs). Before starting our research we were required to attend a range safety lecture where they would go through all the hazards we could potentially face such as: getting run over by a tank (the range officer kept telling us not to take naps on the tank roads), stepping on a UXO (unexploded ordinance) causing it to explode, getting shot, having something heavy dropped on you as they trained on how to use a helicopters to move a tank, picking up a magnesium flare that had not fully exploded, the list goes on but I will not bore you with the whole list. Thankfully, we made it through the research season with no injuries except for my boss developing a minor case of heat stroke.
Things were going well with the research we were finding interesting insects in our collected specimens.
Things were going great until one day I walked into the lab and turned off the fume hood. The rule of thumb in the lab is if you put something into the fume hood you are supposed to tape a note to the door with with your name and why it is on and if/when it can be turned off. After listening to its jet engine like noise for five hours straight I got up and turned it off not seeing any reason that it needed to be left on after all there were only four mason jars in it. Fast forward two hours later my coworker walks into the lab and starts talking to me and in just a few minutes realized we (mainly me) need to go outside QUICKLY. We sat outside talking for a while, I really have no idea how long, and then at some point I looked at him and said "why are we sitting outside?" "Welcome back" was his first response followed by a looooong silent pause. He sifted nervously on the grass trying not to make eye contact. I stood and brushed the grass off my pants and started to head back into the lab before he stopped me and said it would probably be a good idea to wait a little longer. By this time I was beginning to get annoyed because it was clear something was going on and my coworker was not going to talk easily. Over dinner, he insisted on paying, he spilled the beans by first asking me if I noticed a funny smell in the lab which I had not noticed anything different. "I made killing jars and put them in the hood to dry and forgot about them." he explained. "I'm gonna, need more information here." I replied staring at him. So, long awkward story short killing jars are made with a killing agent, layer of sawdust over that, and then a cap of plaster of paris. In the case of the jars my coworker made cyanide crystals are the killing agent.
Now there are two types of people in this world; those who posses the gene which allows you to smell cyanide (my coworker) and those of us who lack this particular gene (me). If I had possessed said gene I would have noticed shortly after turning off the fume hood the somewhat odd smell of either bitter almonds or industrial bleach depending on your perspective. According to my coworker when he arrived in the lab I was having some difficulty stringing words together, admitted to having a headache, and being slightly dizzy. Those are just some of the signs of cyanide poisoning. Good news in this story is because it was not a small confined space and there was a cross draft through the lab there was not going to be any permanent damage to me. Large dose of fresh air and I was my normal self again. I am fairly confident that to this day my coworker clearly labels fume hoods from now on.
More Info.
https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/cyanide/basics/facts.asp
Things were going well with the research we were finding interesting insects in our collected specimens.
 |
| Family: Enicocephalidae |
Things were going great until one day I walked into the lab and turned off the fume hood. The rule of thumb in the lab is if you put something into the fume hood you are supposed to tape a note to the door with with your name and why it is on and if/when it can be turned off. After listening to its jet engine like noise for five hours straight I got up and turned it off not seeing any reason that it needed to be left on after all there were only four mason jars in it. Fast forward two hours later my coworker walks into the lab and starts talking to me and in just a few minutes realized we (mainly me) need to go outside QUICKLY. We sat outside talking for a while, I really have no idea how long, and then at some point I looked at him and said "why are we sitting outside?" "Welcome back" was his first response followed by a looooong silent pause. He sifted nervously on the grass trying not to make eye contact. I stood and brushed the grass off my pants and started to head back into the lab before he stopped me and said it would probably be a good idea to wait a little longer. By this time I was beginning to get annoyed because it was clear something was going on and my coworker was not going to talk easily. Over dinner, he insisted on paying, he spilled the beans by first asking me if I noticed a funny smell in the lab which I had not noticed anything different. "I made killing jars and put them in the hood to dry and forgot about them." he explained. "I'm gonna, need more information here." I replied staring at him. So, long awkward story short killing jars are made with a killing agent, layer of sawdust over that, and then a cap of plaster of paris. In the case of the jars my coworker made cyanide crystals are the killing agent.
Now there are two types of people in this world; those who posses the gene which allows you to smell cyanide (my coworker) and those of us who lack this particular gene (me). If I had possessed said gene I would have noticed shortly after turning off the fume hood the somewhat odd smell of either bitter almonds or industrial bleach depending on your perspective. According to my coworker when he arrived in the lab I was having some difficulty stringing words together, admitted to having a headache, and being slightly dizzy. Those are just some of the signs of cyanide poisoning. Good news in this story is because it was not a small confined space and there was a cross draft through the lab there was not going to be any permanent damage to me. Large dose of fresh air and I was my normal self again. I am fairly confident that to this day my coworker clearly labels fume hoods from now on.
More Info.
https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/cyanide/basics/facts.asp
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Dragging out my soapbox!
Recently I was looking online to get more information on why hedgehogs are illegal as a pet here in Maine and found out that in 2017 the state of Maine removed restrictions from owning a hedgehog as a pet. Prior to 2017 you could own a hedgehog but there were two permits you needed to have.
Now while I was reading through various news articles about the recent change I stumbled across one in a local paper which really (pardon my language here) pissed me off. The author of said article basically made it seam like you would have to be insane to want to own one of these animals which could potentially kill you and all your neighbors just by owning one because of all the potential viruses they carry!
Taking a deep breath here, first let me say that I worked with and cared for a hedgehog at a science center I worked in for three years. This hedgehog was given to us after the owner realized that the much more specialized care then they had time for. Second thing you need to know is said hedgehog's home was the preschool room where his cage was right next to the pet rabbit and at no time did any of the children in the preschool or any of the other school children, who met the hedgehog, get sick or die from touching it.
Hedgehogs have the potential to carry a variety of diseases such as ringworm and salmonella to name just two. The most common hedgehog related illness is Salmonella Typhimurium. This form of Salmonella can be found in the poop of reptiles, rats, mice, hamsters, ducks, chickens, horses, goats, sheep, parrots, cats and dogs just to name a few.
Looking at the CDC website there have been at least two major outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium caused by pet hedgehogs, 2012 and 2019, sickening a total of 80 people and tragically leading to one death. No other diseases hedgehogs have been know to carry have caused outbreaks in the United States. Another popular animal which also carries the same strain of Salmonella which has been on the raise as the trend of "backyard farming" has taken off is chickens. Scanning the CDC website there have been three major outbreaks (2013, 2017, 2019) of sickness from a variety of Salmonella strains which resulted from contact with backyard chickens. In total three people died and 2,610 were sickened. IT IS ALL ABOUT PROPER HANDLING!!!!!!!
When I was teaching I ALWAYS had two rules the children had to follow if they wanted to touch the hedgehog; 1) No hitting or hurting the hedgehog, 2) After touching the hedgehog you walk straight to the teacher without touching your face or anyone else to wash your hands. Sounds simple want to avoid getting sick do not; lick, snuggle next to your face, let it walk around where you are doing food preparations, do not let it sleep with you, simple things will keep you safe and germ free.
As to the second point in the newspaper article as to why hedgehogs are a dangerous pet they pose a threat to other wildlife if released. That is a possibility in certain areas of the country where the temperature never gets much below 70 F. Hedgehogs in the United States are domesticated from African species and cannot really tolerate temperatures below 68 F anyway. Here in Maine at least survival in the wild would be rather slim. If they were such a huge threat to local wildlife the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife would not have decided to add them to their unrestricted list.
Sliding my soapbox back into the closet........until next time.
Read more:
https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium-01-19/index.html
https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/blog/hedgehogs-and-salmonella/
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Are you a stander or runner?
As a park ranger you get asked a lot of questions some of which can be humorous some can be intriguing and some are down right invasive (hint never ask park rangers about their personal lives), but some of the questions make you think about the what ifs.
During my time at Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park I and my coworkers spent a lot of time educating people on how to act in and enjoy exploring habitats shared with grizzly and black bears. One day before my ranger lead hike I was going through my standard safety talk about what we all needed to do to stay safe while hiking in bear country when a gentleman next to me nudged me and said "Are you a stander or a runner?" In way of an answer I winked and said avoider. The question asked to many of my coworkers and myself is simple if faced with a bear are you going to stand your ground or turn and run away? I always try my best to avoid coming in contact with bears all together.
I am no stranger to bears prior to my time at either Yellowstone or Glacier I had a close encounter of the bear kind at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve where a relocated black bear tried unsuccessfully to push in the front door to my house to get at the tasty salmon his nose told him I had cooked that evening for dinner. As a result of this adventure I was banned by my roommates from cooking anything fish related for the whole rest of the summer. I have also hiked on trails where I've seen plenty of evidence of recent bears in the area.
Follow the rules of bear country and most of the time nobody gets hurt. Here are my top four rules:
1) Hike in a group of three or more.
2) Carry bear spray on your hip and know how to use it.
3) If there is a bend in the trail and you can not see around it stop make loud noises wait a few minutes before walking around the corner.
4) Know basic bear behavior and how to tell the difference between aggressive and curious bear behavior.
For more information on staying safe check out the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center's website.
One afternoon as I hiked down from Avalanche lake, in Glacier National Park, I was answering questions and enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon when I was stopped by a four year old boy wondering what they should do if they saw a bear. I answered his question and asked him what he should do to avoid a bear? "Yell, HEY BEAR!" was his answer. This is my least favorite thing people can yell in bear country. Think about it if you are half a mile down the trail listening to the birds and the bees there is a good chance you are not going to hear the HEY part and just hear the BEAR part. If I hear crashing in the trees around me you better believe the finger is going to be on the trigger of the bear spray. They all agreed that HEY BEAR was a bad idea and thought my suggestion on what to yell was a lot more fun. I told that family and many others if you are going to yell something give the bear and others on the trail some information about you like; "MY NAME IS RANGER JEN!, I'M A VEGETARIAN AND I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!" I had the family practice with me some things to shout before I continued down the trail. I rounded the bend in the trail 5 feet from where I had just been talking with the family and BAM! bear standing on it's back legs in the middle of the trail! My brain at that point got seriously conflicted and let out a string of obscenities that would make a sailor proud while stepping in a circle, before opting for the half stand your ground half turn and flee maneuver. Imagine if you can a person whose lower half is glued to the ground while the top half of the body does some odd circular aerobics move and you will have a vague idea what I looked like. I gave myself a quick mental slap across the face and told myself to get a grip after all if I was going to get out of this I need to make some decisions fast. Started mentally yelling questions to myself while flipping through my mental file cabinet of information.
Question 1: What kinda bear is it? Small rounded ears, tallish, brown fur, WOW!! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE CLAWS!!! Claw size HUGE. Answer: Grizzly!
Question 2: What is it doing? Answer: Looking at the crazy person in front of it.
Question 3: Acting aggressively? Answer: nope, no stamping feet, no flipping rocks towards me, no jaw popping, no huffing, no bluff charging.
Question 4: Any other behaviors going on? Answer: Nose in the air breathing heavily. So, you have a curious bear standing in front of you trying to figure out if you are a threat. You may not begin talking to the bear in low tones, while making sure to not make any sudden movements.
So, here I stood feet glued to the ground talking Shakespeare, the weather, how it would be lovely if he or she would move out of the trail so that I could continue on my way. By about half way through our conversation he/she got back down on all fours which is slightly more terrifying when you know just how fast they can close the gap between you and them. This situation got even more complicated a few minutes later when a couple appeared on the ridge opposite me heading straight for the bear's backside. Another sting of sailor obscenities. "PARK RANGER DO NOT MOVE!! WAVE IF YOU HAVE HEARD ME!" I screamed towards them alternating my attention between the bear and the couple. They waved towards me. And the bear and I started having a less friendly more ok bub time for you to move it along type conversation. After a few more glances in my direction grizzly decided to wander back into the trees and on his merry way. I greeted the couple on the other ridge as I neared them. "Why did you make us stop?" she asked as they waved. "You were about to walk into the back side of a grizzly bear." I laughed as I waved back. "It was standing about 50 feet in front of me and I did not want you two to suddenly scare it." Her jaw fell open and he went a little pale before they both asked if I was ok? "Just another day in the park I told them." I asked them to alert people who passed them coming down the tail that there had been a bear in the area and I told those heading up the trail about the grizzly.
The grizzly bear and his twin brother appeared a few more times that summer along the trail and near the campground. They were one year old cubs which had recently been shooed away by their mother and they were in that awkward what should I do with my life stage. Eventually they would learn where the less peoplely areas were and stake out their own territories in the park.
During my time at Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park I and my coworkers spent a lot of time educating people on how to act in and enjoy exploring habitats shared with grizzly and black bears. One day before my ranger lead hike I was going through my standard safety talk about what we all needed to do to stay safe while hiking in bear country when a gentleman next to me nudged me and said "Are you a stander or a runner?" In way of an answer I winked and said avoider. The question asked to many of my coworkers and myself is simple if faced with a bear are you going to stand your ground or turn and run away? I always try my best to avoid coming in contact with bears all together.
I am no stranger to bears prior to my time at either Yellowstone or Glacier I had a close encounter of the bear kind at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve where a relocated black bear tried unsuccessfully to push in the front door to my house to get at the tasty salmon his nose told him I had cooked that evening for dinner. As a result of this adventure I was banned by my roommates from cooking anything fish related for the whole rest of the summer. I have also hiked on trails where I've seen plenty of evidence of recent bears in the area.
 |
| Bear poop full of berry seeds and worms in Yellowstone National Park |
Follow the rules of bear country and most of the time nobody gets hurt. Here are my top four rules:
1) Hike in a group of three or more.
2) Carry bear spray on your hip and know how to use it.
3) If there is a bend in the trail and you can not see around it stop make loud noises wait a few minutes before walking around the corner.
4) Know basic bear behavior and how to tell the difference between aggressive and curious bear behavior.
For more information on staying safe check out the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center's website.
One afternoon as I hiked down from Avalanche lake, in Glacier National Park, I was answering questions and enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon when I was stopped by a four year old boy wondering what they should do if they saw a bear. I answered his question and asked him what he should do to avoid a bear? "Yell, HEY BEAR!" was his answer. This is my least favorite thing people can yell in bear country. Think about it if you are half a mile down the trail listening to the birds and the bees there is a good chance you are not going to hear the HEY part and just hear the BEAR part. If I hear crashing in the trees around me you better believe the finger is going to be on the trigger of the bear spray. They all agreed that HEY BEAR was a bad idea and thought my suggestion on what to yell was a lot more fun. I told that family and many others if you are going to yell something give the bear and others on the trail some information about you like; "MY NAME IS RANGER JEN!, I'M A VEGETARIAN AND I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!" I had the family practice with me some things to shout before I continued down the trail. I rounded the bend in the trail 5 feet from where I had just been talking with the family and BAM! bear standing on it's back legs in the middle of the trail! My brain at that point got seriously conflicted and let out a string of obscenities that would make a sailor proud while stepping in a circle, before opting for the half stand your ground half turn and flee maneuver. Imagine if you can a person whose lower half is glued to the ground while the top half of the body does some odd circular aerobics move and you will have a vague idea what I looked like. I gave myself a quick mental slap across the face and told myself to get a grip after all if I was going to get out of this I need to make some decisions fast. Started mentally yelling questions to myself while flipping through my mental file cabinet of information.
Question 1: What kinda bear is it? Small rounded ears, tallish, brown fur, WOW!! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE CLAWS!!! Claw size HUGE. Answer: Grizzly!
Question 2: What is it doing? Answer: Looking at the crazy person in front of it.
Question 3: Acting aggressively? Answer: nope, no stamping feet, no flipping rocks towards me, no jaw popping, no huffing, no bluff charging.
Question 4: Any other behaviors going on? Answer: Nose in the air breathing heavily. So, you have a curious bear standing in front of you trying to figure out if you are a threat. You may not begin talking to the bear in low tones, while making sure to not make any sudden movements.
So, here I stood feet glued to the ground talking Shakespeare, the weather, how it would be lovely if he or she would move out of the trail so that I could continue on my way. By about half way through our conversation he/she got back down on all fours which is slightly more terrifying when you know just how fast they can close the gap between you and them. This situation got even more complicated a few minutes later when a couple appeared on the ridge opposite me heading straight for the bear's backside. Another sting of sailor obscenities. "PARK RANGER DO NOT MOVE!! WAVE IF YOU HAVE HEARD ME!" I screamed towards them alternating my attention between the bear and the couple. They waved towards me. And the bear and I started having a less friendly more ok bub time for you to move it along type conversation. After a few more glances in my direction grizzly decided to wander back into the trees and on his merry way. I greeted the couple on the other ridge as I neared them. "Why did you make us stop?" she asked as they waved. "You were about to walk into the back side of a grizzly bear." I laughed as I waved back. "It was standing about 50 feet in front of me and I did not want you two to suddenly scare it." Her jaw fell open and he went a little pale before they both asked if I was ok? "Just another day in the park I told them." I asked them to alert people who passed them coming down the tail that there had been a bear in the area and I told those heading up the trail about the grizzly.
The grizzly bear and his twin brother appeared a few more times that summer along the trail and near the campground. They were one year old cubs which had recently been shooed away by their mother and they were in that awkward what should I do with my life stage. Eventually they would learn where the less peoplely areas were and stake out their own territories in the park.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Hidden Cool Rocks
It is very very rare that I get excited about rocks which I blame on my horrible college geology professor who made the study of geology about as exciting as watching paint dry. However, there are a few rocks I can totally get behind and if you have a chance to see these rocks I would say they are going to be well worth the effort.
Rock #1- The Xenolyth
Rock #2 Stromatolites
If you hike all the way to the end of the Grinell Glacier tail in Glacier National Park you can see the famous stromatolites. What makes these rocks interesting is they are over 1.5 billion years old and were originally made when Glacier National Park sat under either an ocean or a large lake, but right
now scientists are not sure which it was because noone has been able to find any
fossils. these circular rock formations that I'm sitting on was made by cyanobacteria (blue green algae) which trapped
sediments on their sticky coatings. These sediments then reacted to the
calcium carbonate in the water to form limestone. Stomatolytes grow very slowly a three foot
tall one could be over 2,000 years old. While these stomatolytes were forming they
were living in a time with no other life forms, no plants, no animals in fact
there was not enough oxygen to support either life forms. As the cyanobacteria multiplied and
photosynthesized they produced more and more oxygen and over thousands of
years were able to start creating the environment that the first primitive
plants enjoyed.
Rock #3- Lewis Overthrust
Also in Glacier National Park you will find the Lewis overthrust an area where you are staring at the oldest rocks laying on top of the younger rocks on the bottom. During the time that the Rocky Mountain Range was forming as two tectonic plates were pushing against each other. Now at the risk of botching up an explanation as to how this structure came to be I will leave that to the experts. See the explanation by clicking here.
Rock #4-Sedimentary Rocks
Keep your eyes peeled the next time your outside on a trail or even walking around your neighborhood to see if there are any cool rocks near you.
On both the Canadian and American sides of Glacier National Park you will find some stunning red rocks and green rocks along with rocks are swirled red and green. These sedimentary rocks were formed with sediments rich in iron oxide. When
the water level receded and the sediments were exposed to air the iron
oxidized or rusted producing these amazing red sedimentary rocks. Other sedimentary
rocks also rich in iron oxide which spent a greater time under water tend to
have a greenish color to them. The
iron oxide in these rocks combined with silica and then through pressure and
heating were transformed into chlorite the green coloring of the rocks. In certain areas of the park you can find
rock with both read and green stripes which tell shows the water level in that area was constantly fluctuating.
|
Want to know more:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/xenolith/
https://blogs.agu.org/georneys/2011/05/18/geology-word-of-the-week-x-is-for-xenolith/
http://www.indiana.edu/~geol105b/images/gaia_chapter_10/stromatolites.htm
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/glac/3/sec5.htm
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