Diamond Craters and Round Barn
Next up was an exploration of Oregon’s Diamond Craters, an area that – other than the craters – has more lava flows, cinder cones, and spatter cones. Located in a fairly remote area… Continue reading
Category Archive: rocks & geology
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The John Day Fossil Beds, Part 3: Sheep Rock
I visited the Sheep Rock Unit last, spending an entire day there. While this area has rock formations no less stunning than the other two units, the stars here really are the fossils.… Continue reading
The John Day Fossil Beds, Part 2: Clarno
The Clarno area of the park showcases formations from the time directly preceding the Painted Hills, from 54 to 37 million years ago, and shows a very complete record of the different mammals… Continue reading
The John Day Fossil Beds, Part 1: The Painted Hills
The John Day Fossil Beds are three separate areas in central Oregon managed by the National Park Service. Where there are fossils, there are usually interesting rocks and with that, I headed towards… Continue reading
Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Or, An Excuse to Post Lots of Pictures of Rocks.
Newberry National Volcanic Monument surrounds the area of Newberry volcano and includes lava flows, obsidian fields, cinder cones surrounding volcanic vents, and a lava tube. From the highest point in the park, Paulina… Continue reading
Mount St. Helens. Or, Those are Regular Trash Cans!
Mount St. Helens National Monument showcases the aftermath of the devastating 1980 eruption, inviting visitors to explore the various changes to the landscape. Far from being completely surrounded by barren lava fields, Mount… Continue reading
Yellowstone, Part 1: Geothermal Features
My favorite parts of Yellowstone were almost all geothermal features. Because the park is located over an underground active volcano, there are numerous geysers, hot springs, boiling mud pits, and other formations created… Continue reading