The geologists go on field trips all the time. Occasionally (every 10th year or so) they let the geophysicists join in.
We studied the making of the Pyrenees; the Pyrenean orogenesis. We didn’t bother about all of Genesis, just a small part of it, in the southern Pyrenees.
(And we had some great hikes while looking at the old rocks. I know that I’m privileged.)
The Pyrenees are younger than the Rockies, but older than the Alps. The Pyrenees have been there for a long time.
They helped Republicans escape from General Franco during the Civil War.
They survived the Spanish flu.
They witnessed the Spanish inquisition.
The mountains were carved long before Man made God.
But in the end they will be gone, planed by water and ice. That’s the inevitable faith of a mountain range.
(We hiked a steep and stony trail. After an hour we stopped at the crest of a great moraine. The reward we got was the view of the mountain in the picture above.)
the earth is constantly in motion.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is. And the Earth is in motion in more than one way. First, it moves in the orbit around the sun. Second, the so-called tectonic plates that makes up the crust moves around on the molten mantle beneath.
DeleteIt's interesting to see that if you make a plot of the location of active volcanoes, they line up along the plate bounaries, see for instance THIS MAP . From the map you can see that Japan is located at the most unfavorable place on earth. Also you can see that there's a plate boundary through California, responsible for the San Andreas fault and the San Fransisco earth quakes. In our recent trip to the Pyrenees, we visited an old subduction zone were the Iberia plate (Spain and Portugal) crashed into the Eurasian plate. This is cool stuff >:)
"But in the end they will be gone, planed by water and ice." That kind of stinks, doesn't it? Hopefully, they'll be replaced by something just as beautiful. Or maybe nothing at all. Heh.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite the view, Cold. Lucky you. ;)
Being planed is the faith of all mountains. That's why all the high mountains are fairly new (on the geological time scale). The Himalaya is brand new and still growing.
DeleteSome places there are remnants of older mountain ranges, such as the Caledonides, which goes through Scandinavia and continues through Scotland. Also, the Appalacians are old, formed some 300 million years ago, when North America and Africa collided to form the supercontinent Pangea, when all continents were gathered in one piece.
You are definitely privileged. I'd love to witness a view like that.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know. I'm fortunate to have a job that takes me to many nice and interesting places around the world, and sometimes to Texas too. Never been to the panhandle though, but maybe some time >;)
DeleteNicely done. I like your style.
ReplyDeletePearl
Thank you >:)
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