My Geology meme list

Here is my geology meme list! Bold the ones you have done (mine are in the comments).

1. See an erupting volcano (Mt St. Helens in summer 2006)
2. See a glacier (Glacier National Park and Sierras)
3. See an active geyser such as those in Yellowstone, New Zealand or the type locality of Iceland (Yellowstone in summer 2006)
4. Visit the Cretaceous/Tertiary (KT) Boundary. Possible locations include Gubbio, Italy, Stevns Klint, Denmark, the Red Deer River Valley near Drumheller, Alberta
5. Observe (from a safe distance) a river whose discharge is above bankful stage (A creek near my house in Jan 1997)
6. Explore a limestone cave (Several in the foothills in the Sierra, wild and by tours, Crystal Cave in Sequoia NP, and Lehman Caves in Nevada)
7. Tour an open pit mine, such as those in Butte, Montana, Bingham Canyon, Utah, Summitville, Colorado, Globe or Morenci, Arizona, or Chuquicamata, Chile (Round Mountain in Nevada)
8. Explore a subsurface mine (Sutter Gold mine in Sutter Creek, CA; mines outside of Ruth, NV)
9. See an ophiolite, such as the ophiolite complex in Oman or the Troodos complex on the Island Cyprus (The coast ranges of California)
10. An anorthosite complex, such as those in Labrador, the Adirondacks, and Niger (there's some anorthosite in southern California too)
11. A slot canyon, many of these amazing canyons are less than 3 feet wide and over 100 feet deep. They reside on the Colorado Plateau. Among the best are Antelope Canyon, Brimstone Canyon, Spooky Gulch and the Round Valley Draw
12. Varves, whether you see the type section in Sweden or examples elsewhere
13. An exfoliation dome, such as those in the Sierra Nevada (I like Turtleback dome in Yosemite, which give nice views of valley)
14. A layered igneous intrusion, such as the Stillwater complex in Montana or the Skaergaard Complex in Eastern Greenland (I have seen the Stillwater Complex in summer 2006)
15. Coastlines along the leading and trailing edge of a tectonic plate (I live in California)
16. A gingko tree, which is the lone survivor of an ancient group of softwoods that covered much of the Northern Hemisphere in the Mesozoic (I remember a bunch around my high school)
17. Living and fossilized stromatolites (Glacier National Park is a great place to see fossil stromatolites, while Shark Bay in Australia is the place to see living ones) (I have seen in the ones in Glacier National Park)
18. A field of glacial erratics
19. A caldera (Crater Lake National Park and Long Valley Caldera)
20. A sand dune more than 200 feet high (I have rolled down smaller dunes!)
21. A fjord
22. A recently formed fault scarp
23. A megabreccia
24. An actively accreting river delta
25. A natural bridge (Natural Bridges National Momument)
26. A large sinkhole (Does TV count?)
27. A glacial outwash plain
28. A sea stack (Nice ones along the California and Oregon Coast)
29. A house-sized glacial erratic (Out in Washington and Idaho)
30. An underground lake or river
31. The continental divide (Glacier National Park)
32. Fluorescent and phosphorescent minerals (some of my favorite samples are at a state mineral muesum in Mariposa, CA)
33. Petrified trees (Ginko Petrified Forest and some in Utah and Nevada)
34. Lava tubes (Of course, Lava Beds National Monument)
35. Grand Canyon, part way down and back (I have been out on the edge of Horseshoe Mesa)
36. Meteor Crater, Arizona, also known as the Barringer Crater, to see an impact crater on a scale that is comprehensible
37. The Great Barrier Reef, northeastern Australia, to see the largest coral reef in the world
38. The Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, to see the highest tides in the world (up to 16m)
39. The Waterpocket Fold, Utah, to see well exposed folds on a massive scale (I was there this summer, swam in the Fremont River, and did a remote sensing project for one of my classes)
40. The Banded Iron Formation, Michigan, to better appreciate the air you breathe
41. The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
42. Lake Baikal, Siberia, to see the deepest lake in the world (1,620 m) with 20 percent of the Earth's fresh water
43. Ayers Rock (known now by the Aboriginal name of Uluru), Australia. This inselberg of nearly vertical Precambrian strata is about 2.5 kilometers long and more than 350 meters high
44. Devil's Tower, northeastern Wyoming, to see a classic example of columnar jointing (Does Devils Postpile count?)
45. The Alps
46. Telescope Peak, in Death Valley National Park. From this spectacular summit you can look down onto the floor of Death Valley - 11,330 feet below (I have been to Augerberry Point)
47. The Li River, China, to see the fantastic tower karst that appears in much Chinese art
48. The Dalmation Coast of Croatia, to see the original Karst
49. The Gorge of Bhagirathi, one of the sacred headwaters of the Ganges, in the Indian Himalayas, where the river flows from an ice tunnel beneath the Gangatori Glacier into a deep gorge
50. The Goosenecks of the San Juan River, Utah, an impressive series of entrenched meanders
51. Shiprock, New Mexico, to see a large volcanic neck (only in the distance)
52. Land's End, Cornwall, Great Britain, for fractured granites that have feldspar crystals bigger than your fist
53. Tierra del Fuego, Chile and Argentina, to see the Straights of Magellan and the southernmost tip of South America
54. Mount St. Helens, Washington, to see the results of recent explosive volcanism (in 2003 and 2006)
55. The Giant's Causeway and the Antrim Plateau, Northern Ireland, to see polygonally fractured basaltic flows
56. The Great Rift Valley in Africa
57. The Matterhorn, along the Swiss/Italian border, to see the classic "horn" (How about the ride at Disneyland?)
58. The Carolina Bays, along the Carolinian and Georgian coastal plain
59. The Mima Mounds near Olympia, Washington (I have seen some in California, previous post)
60. Siccar Point, Berwickshire, Scotland, where James Hutton (the "father" of modern geology) observed the classic unconformity
61. The moving rocks of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley (I hope to soon)
62. Yosemite Valley (Numerous times)
63. Landscape Arch (or Delicate Arch) in Utah (I have been to both and wish I had more time to explore)
64. The Burgess Shale in British Columbia (I want to plan a trip soon)
65. The Channeled Scablands of central Washington (very cool)
66. Bryce Canyon (several different times)
67. Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone
68. Monument Valley
69. The San Andreas fault (What part?)
70. The dinosaur footprints in La Rioja, Spain
71. The volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands
72. The Pyrennees Mountains
73. The Lime Caves at Karamea on the West Coast of New Zealand
74. Denali (an orogeny in progress)
75. A catastrophic mass wasting event (Mt. St. Helens; rockslides in Yosemite Valley)
76. The giant crossbeds visible at Zion National Park
77. The black sand beaches in Hawaii (or the green sand-olivine beaches)
78. Barton Springs in Texas
79. Hells Canyon in Idaho
80. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado
81. The Tunguska Impact site in Siberia
82. Feel an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 5.0 (Loma Prieta, 1989)
83. Find dinosaur footprints in situ
84. Find a trilobite (or a dinosaur bone or any other fossil) (Lots)
85. Find gold, however small the flake (been goldpanning)
86. Find a meteorite fragment
87. Experience a volcanic ashfall
88. Experience a sandstorm (Red Rock Canyon, Mojave Desert, summer 2003)
89. See a tsunami
90. Witness a total solar eclipse
91. Witness a tornado firsthand. (Important rules of this game)
92. Witness a meteor storm, a term used to describe a particularly intense (1000+ per minute) meteor shower
93. View Saturn and its moons through a respectable telescope
94. See the Aurora borealis, otherwise known as the northern lights
95. View a great naked-eye comet, an opportunity which occurs only a few times per century
96. See a lunar eclipse
97. View a distant galaxy through a large telescope
98. Experience a hurricane
99. See noctilucent clouds
100. See the green flash

Not bad with 45 completed, but there are still many more to go!

General meme list

Here is my general meme list. The idea is to bold the ones you've done (I'm also going to add commentary in parentheses).

1. Started my own blog (This one)
2. Slept under the stars (I slept on a cot when camping)
3. Played in a band (Not really any musical talent)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (I have climbed many and many more to go)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped (I want to!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea (Does Lake Tahoe count?)
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Luckily never!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (Many of sleepover when younger)
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Always to do fun things)
24. Built a snow fort (Doesn't snow were I live )
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (I want to)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (All of the Italy and France items are on my list of items to do)
29. Seen a total eclipse (talk about it when I teach)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (I played high school softball)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors ( I would have alot of countries to visit, which is ok with me)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (you can be happy without money)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (summer 2006)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (many beaches in California)
46. Been transported in an ambulance (I was really sick a few years back and actually had several different rides)
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (I am not patient enough for fishing)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Hawaii)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (I love to be muddy)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (there was a local theater)
55. Been in a movie (Does a homemade one count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class (I have always want to)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I have voluntarily and not voluntarily)
65. Gone sky diving (I would like to)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (I think only twice)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (But I have been in many other speeding objects)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (How about I was an editor and wrote several sections)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (My 2006 Subaru Forester)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (Only parts of it)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (When I was in 1st grade)
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Does George Zimmer count?)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one (my cat)
94. Had a baby (My son Justin is almost four)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (Many, I keep breaking them)
99. Been stung by a bee (It stung me after I stepped on it)
100. Ridden an elephant

Looks like I still have many things to do!

The semester is over, but........

Well, I finished my advanced volcanology class last night, woohoo! Now, I have to patiently wait for my grades on my term paper and overall class. I also met with my advisor this morning since I wouldn't see her until after the new year. At this point in my graduate learning, I have completed some research, but mostly focused on taking classes and teaching. That is no longer the case, my six week vacation has now been determined for me. I must complete numerous research related items before school starts again on Jan 26. I know most of my days during this time will be spent tracing plagioclase like in the above picture and computer work involving the CSDCorrections program by Michael Higgins. This textural analysis program is downloadable for free at http://wwwdsa.uqac.ca/~mhiggins/home.html.

But first things first, I have a very large Christmas tree to decorate and then it is on to outlining!

Out of the fog

In my last entry, I was wanting to get out of the Central Valley fog and look for a sunny location. So I took a road trip to Yosemite on Thursday with my husband. The first picture is some mima mounds located near Snelling. Snelling is along the Merced River and I would say the dredge piles outnumber the people in town.

The next picture is along a road I have always wanted to take, but never did. The road climbs Mt. Bullion near Mariposa CA, is unmarked with many potholes and has some nice greenstone outcrops. In my mind, the best kind of road to take. It was also on this road that the sun was no longer hidden by fog.

This is the Merced River Canyon and Highway 140. Where I live, it is about the same amount of time to take Highway 120 or Highway 140 to Yosemite, but the difference is the scenery along each. Highway 140 follows the Merced River to Yosemite Valley.

This is the slate that lines the canyon, I believe it is part of the shoo fly complex (~500 mya)

Fog, more fog, and where is the sun?

Living in the Central Valley of California is a wonderful thing, since the Sierras and Pacific Ocean are only a couple hours away by car. Wintertime is a different story with the tule fog. The fog stays for days at a time and becomes really depressing (i.e. the picture of my street). This week the fog has been around since the weekend. Atleast with rainstorm, you know that the sun will come out again, unfortunately with the fog that is unknown. I wish I could go take a drive up in the mountains to get away and bask in sunshine again, but I have some work to complete first. Possibly in the next few days, I will be able to get out and lose this depressive mood and get to use my hiking boots.