Tag: geology

SoCS: rocks

When I was a child, I collected rocks in a shoe box. Maybe “collected” is too strong a word as it usually denotes some kind of organization or classification that was not the case. I just picked up rocks that I thought were interesting or pretty for their color or shape.

Rocks were part of every day life – the stepping stones in the brook that we used to get across, the huge boulders under the high lines across from the house, the stones in the yard, the pea-stones along the side of the macadam road.

We had stone samples with garnets in them from the excavation of the underground powerhouse carved out of the mountain for Bear Swamp, a pumped storage power plant that was part of the hydro system that my father oversaw as superintendent of what was then called New England Power. (The plant is still operating over fifty years later, although under another name and company.)

I loved earth science when I took it in high school, so much so that I took a few geology courses when I was in college.

I do still have a few special rocks, including some that have been carved or inscribed with special words. I love their ability to help me feel grounded.

We all come from the earth, after all…
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “rock.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/06/30/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-1-2023/

SoCS: waterfalls

I don’t live near a waterfall, but I like to visit them.

One that is not too far from home is Taughannock Falls in Ithaca. I especially like to walk on the trail to its base. There are a lot of waterfalls in the Finger Lakes region, due to, well, geology…

Of course, these are small falls compared to Niagara Falls, which I saw first as a child and have visited several times as an adult. I love to look at the power of the water and see the mist and occasional rainbows. I also wonder how loud it must have been when it was having its natural flow. For decades now, some of the water has been diverted to harness the hydropower. I admit to having a particular interest in hydropower because I grew up around it. My father worked for many years for New England Power, including lots of years as superintendent of the Upper Deerfield. We often visited the network of dams and hydro stations, including Bear Swamp, a pump storage project that was constructed when I was a child. Some of the dams were designed to spill when the water was too high, looking somewhat like waterfalls. Usually, though, you tried not to spill excess water, as you wanted to store it for generation later.

Some of the most beautiful waterfalls I have seen were in Hawai’i. Because all the islands are volcanoes, the sides are quite steep, giving lots of opportunities for waterfalls to develop. Often, the peaks have hundreds of inches of rain a year, which flows down to meet the surrounding ocean. Often, too, it isn’t raining where the waterfalls are, so there are often rainbows as the sun shines through the mist caused by the falling water. Of course, the beauty of the Hawaiian waterfalls is enhanced by the lush vegetation nearby, watered by the rain falling on the heights of the volcano. Now that E no longer lives in Hawai’i, we haven’t visited recently, but I hope to get back there someday.

Do you have a favorite waterfall?
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This week, Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday was to ask someone for a prompt! I asked my daughter T who gave me the prompt “waterfalls.” Join us! Find out how here:  https://lindaghill.com/2018/12/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-29-18/

Mount Etna and more!

Check out spectacular geologic images from Steph at this link:  http://wordwomanpartialellipsisofthesun.blogspot.com/2017/03/smoking-smoke-rings-mount-etna-sicily.html  I especially appreciate the Mount Etna photos because I visited there when the Smith College Alumnae Chorus toured Sicily.  Be sure to check out the bonus images in the first comment from Steph, aka Word Woman.  Enjoy!

SoCS: Steph’s blog

I knew Linda’s prompt this week was “pretty” and I wasn’t sure I would write a post, but this morning, this link: http://wordwomanpartialellipsisofthesun.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-corundum-conundrum-sapphires-rubies.html landed in my inbox.

Steph writes a blog that is a cross between science, often geology, and wordplay. She often has pretty photos of rocks, electron microscope patterns, geologic formations, and today, some very pretty gems.

Her blog is not on WordPress, so it is hard to re-blog other than by link, but I hope people will pop over to Steph’s blog and see some beautiful corundum in various colors.

Thank you, Steph, for sharing pretty pictures and words with us!
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Join us for Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Find out how here:  https://lindaghill.com/2016/11/25/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-2616/

 

 

Mount Saint Helens

Re-blogging this post: http://wordwomanpartialellipsisofthesun.blogspot.com/2016/05/may-18-1980-where-were-you-when-mt-st.html  from blogger friend Steph on the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in the western United States.  Great explanations and photos to remind us of the incredible power of geology. Check it out!

Sand: up-close and personal

Sharing the link below from Steph of Partial Ellipsis of the Sun: A Blog for Scientists who like Words and Writers who like Science.

There are stunning and fascinating highly-magnified photos of the huge variety among grains of sand.

They are all beautiful – except the frack sand, which is dangerous to breathe and can cause lung disease, including silicosis.  Those of you who know me know I couldn’t find anything about fracking beautiful.

Here is the link:  http://wordwomanpartialellipsisofthesun.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-universe-truly-is-in-grain-of-sand.html

Enjoy!