#geological phenomenon

[good-night-space-kid]

I love learning. Unfortunately, this funny thing happens when you love learning which is that you learn things and know more than the baseline audience for most shows, podcasts, etc. and then you have Opinions on how everything is presented

[mydango]

Earth's Icy Past: Understanding the History of Ice Ages | Proterozoic Snowball Earth

Understanding the History of Ice Ages

Earth’s Ice Ages are periods in the planet’s history characterized by a significant drop in global temperatures, leading to the expansion of ice sheets and glaciers. These periods can last for thousands or even millions of years, and have occurred periodically throughout the planet’s history. The study of Earth’s Ice Ages provides valuable insights into the causes and consequences of climate…

[mini-uzzy]

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[hat-of-knowledge]

Wizard News

The Boiling Hills have quit boiling. The region is known for its inhospitable swirling red sand and geysers. The sand is just as red as ever, but is swirling less than before with the geysers mysteriously on hiatus.

We interviewed an ecologist to find out why this might be:

"I have no idea. Geysers are a geological phenomenon. Who are you? How did you get in my house?"

[ranticore]

aerated water and extremely stratified standing water on Siren

image: a pelagic phocid trapped under a flow of aerated water, unable to reach the surface to breathe

I had to whip up a picture REALLY quick because this is text heavy and it turned out nice :) not so nice for this guy but hey. I'm going to talk about the deadliest natural phenomenon on Siren.

First things first some basic Earth limnology, if there are no tides and the wind is not blowing, standing water doesn't move. Water which is not mixed by either a current, wind, or a tide, or some other mixing factor, will stratify. It separates into layers. There'll usually be an oxygenated layer on top and an anoxic layer underneath, which can only be inhabited by certain extremophiles adapted to low or no oxygen conditions.

This is the normal way of things on Siren when the tides aren't moving; the ridges of land formed by glaciation that break up the sea are effective wind barriers and mixing is minimal. It doesn't make a difference to phocids and selkies because these people are air-breathing; in fact this stratification is why all attempts at a human with gills never really made it off the drawing board, they would be less suited to live in this water than an air breathing human. The sea never gets that deep on most of the planet's surface.

Vents in the sea floor are usually inactive or minimally active, letting out thin streams of gas (same as what makes up the atmosphere; oxygen, nitrogen, etc). However occasionally, an earthquake or other geological event will cause a vent to force out what lies beneath the crust; aerated water. Aerated water is low-density water. It's used in wastewater treatment plants on Earth right now. And if you fall in, you can't swim. You go straight through it. (These treatment plants have mechanisms to detect anything entering the water, and a mobile floor will rise up to lift you out of the water)

Aerated water on Siren is known by a variety of ominous regional names as it's pretty universally feared by sea people. In the stratified water, the aerated layer sits on top of the normal oxygenated later, creating an interface where the less dense water sits on top of the denser water. In particularly rapid flows of aerated water, it can form thick currents on the surface which do not disperse for days or even weeks at a time, and they can be so large and so sudden that entire villages could be wiped out instantly. You can't swim through aerated water, so you become trapped underneath it. You can't see the interface easily from below, so it's hard to judge its edges, it's hard to see how far it stretches. At best, you might have just taken a breath and you'll have 30 minutes to find the edge of the flow, but what if you swim in the wrong direction? What results, if people are particularly unlucky, is a mass drowning event of all air-breathing creatures in the area.

The flow usually starts in a linear shape and if it encounters open water with no land ridges, it will slowly begin to spread into a roughly round shape, getting thinner and thinner as it widens out until the layer is too thin to pose any risk. The gas discharge into the normal water can be significant and provides a nice boost for the oxygenated layer. Pelagic people have to be alert for this danger and have drilled responses and emergency flotation devices at their villages, just in case (in fact they make their own underwater hot air balloons to quickly rise to the surface using lighter than air flight)

It's not just aquatic people who are at risk. Flying people who might think to land on the sea to rest in the middle of a long journey risk landing on an aerated flow that won't support them, causing them to sink immediately. Ships with the correct displacing hulls and hydrofoil arms that penetrate to the layer of normal water can traverse aerated flows, but rafts and canoes, used by most of the population, are in danger of vanishing below the surface. Most modern whaling vessels are hydrofoils.

The final effect of the flow is incredibly rare but it has happened enough to provide fuel for superstitious rumours about flying phocids and selkies; if you're directly above the vent when the aerated water explodes out, you will be airborne very quickly and also concussed and/or dead from bludgeoning damage.

The first recorded death from aerated water occurred during year 16, when a settler human unwittingly piped a swimming pool's worth of it into a test chamber. the beta phocid test subject, Ambla, was supposed to be doing some basic aquatic locomotion studies. they were taken completely by surprise and died before the pool could be drained to save them (beta phocid lung capacity was not impressive). Ambla was the first recorded death of a genetically modified human (technically the second, but the first failed to be born and died in the deep dream so was never really alive) and initially the lab workers blamed a malfunctioning pressure generator, thinking that it had somehow increased the weight of water on Ambla and pinned them. The other beta phocids were distraught, in retribution began a campaign to sabotage the pressure pumps and other atmospheric systems at the settlement so that nobody else would die in such a manner. It was their first act of rebellion.

[timkarr]

Unsettling Sound The Puget Sound is an unsettled sea that lies above the tectonically active western edge of the North American Plate. This large body of frigid water is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Olympic Mountains to its west and the Cascades to its east. Glaciers crowded into the Sound during the last ice age, advancing from the north. When they retreated some 13,000 years ago they left behind deep deposits of interglacial sediment. These sand and clay remnants, in turn, were carved by frequent rain, sea and wind erosion to form high, unstable coastal bluffs, which were soon blanketed by dense evergreen overgrowths of cedar, hemlock and fir, and undergrowths of alder, blackberry and fern. As erosion progresses this cover slides from high bluffs in slow cascades that often take decades to complete from hilltop to shore. The process is sped up when the northwest rains are heaviest. Landslides can carry trees and their understory to the beach in an instant. Once arrived on the shore, the upended forest enters the marine ecosystem, where it functions as nutrient, shelter and barrier. In the last centuries, human structures have been added to this tumult. Houses perched on bluffs afford spectacular views and command high prices, but they face the disturbing prospect of being splayed across the beach following a prolonged downpour. Slides in the Northwest earn frequent headlines, and were even the subject of a popular book and film set on the slopes of Queen Anne Hill. Much hilltop construction in the area occurs with little immediate awareness of the role erosion plays in maintaining both the geological and biological integrity of the Sound. A common response to the inevitable is to line the bank with black basaltic stones quarried from ancient lava beds. The proliferation of these bulkheads throughout the Puget Sound has resulted in a phenomenon called “shoreline hardening.” According to some government statistics, approximately 30 percent of the Sound’s shoreline is now armored with stone and concrete reinforcements. This happened along the beach where my family has lived for nearly a century. in the 1970s and 80s, property owners piled stone bulkheads to shore up against sliding —attempting to fix in time something that’s always in flux. The results of our obstinance has been devastating. Within years this beach began to lose much of its value. As a child, I can remember clawing a hundred Native Littlenecks from the sand and clay beneath beach rocks. We let these clams sit for a couple of hours in a bucket of seawater. My grandparents taught us to sprinkle in cornmeal so they could spit out stomach sand as they fed. Once full, they were transferred into a steaming pot where they open latticed shells to offer up their tenderness. Today I’m lucky if I find a single Littleneck after 30 minutes of raking. When I visit the Sound, I think of Sue and Payne, who were privileged to live on this shore and loved what it could yield to any of their grandchildren willing to put some time into it. They left us more than 20 years ago, and a new generation of family has built modern homes on the foundations of those Sue and Payne left behind. In time, ownership may be handed to successive generations, or we might drift away, passing the beachfront to someone with no memory of what it meant to a family that gathered there. And while the Sound may retain much of its scenic beauty, this too is fleeting. The tides will rise and fall revealing stretches of rocks and sand, again and again, and still something will always remain unsettled until it’s gone.

[the-spacedust-collector]

Unveiling Saturn- a few lesser known facts

source

Saturn, the majestic ringed planet, often steals the spotlight in our cosmic lineup. But did you know there's more to this gas giant than meets the eye?

1. Saturn's Many Moons: While almost everyone knows Saturn has a bustling entourage of over 80 moons, it’s lesser known why.

Saturn's numerous moons are a result of its massive size and gravitational influence. As the second-largest planet in our solar system, Saturn exerts a powerful gravitational pull, allowing it to capture and retain many objects in orbit around it. Additionally, its proximity to the asteroid belt provides a steady supply of potential moon candidates.

Many of Saturn's moons are believed to have formed alongside the planet during the early stages of the solar system's formation, as material in the protoplanetary disk coalesced to form both the planet and its moons. Others may have been captured later as Saturn migrated in its orbit or as it encountered passing objects.

The complex interplay of gravitational forces among Saturn's moons, as well as tidal effects from Saturn itself, contribute to the diversity and number of moons. Some moons may be locked in resonance with each other, stabilizing their orbits, while others may experience tidal heating and geological activity, shaping their surfaces and interiors.

In summary, Saturn's extensive moon system is a result of its size, gravitational pull, orbital dynamics, and its location in the solar system, making it one of the most moon-rich planets known.

2. The Hexagonal Storm: Deep within Saturn's atmosphere lies a peculiar hexagonal-shaped storm at its north pole (as seen in the image below). This bizarre weather phenomenon, discovered by the Voyager mission in the 1980s, continues to puzzle scientists to this day. How and why it formed remains one of Saturn's enduring mysteries.

3. Saturn's Density Dilemma: Despite being known as a gas giant, Saturn is surprisingly less dense than water! If you could find a bathtub large enough, Saturn would actually float in it. Its low density is due to its composition of mostly hydrogen and helium, making it one of the lightest planets in our solar system.

Who Discovered Saturn?

Saturn's discovery is shrouded in ancient history. While it's difficult to pinpoint a single individual credited with its discovery, the planet has been observed by civilizations throughout history.

Galileo Galilei: In 1610, Galileo became the first person to observe Saturn through a telescope. However, due to limitations in his telescope's optics, he mistook Saturn's rings for large moons on either side of the planet.

Christiaan Huygens: It wasn't until 1655 when Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens correctly identified Saturn's rings as a disk surrounding the planet. His discovery revolutionized our understanding of Saturn's unique features.

first ever colored picture taken of Saturn source 1

source 2

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Smithsonian Magazine:

In the Upper Midwest, it’s the time of year when corn is getting high in the field and the days feel languid. As a heat wave moves out of the region and residents start to cool off from the oppressive temperatures and humidity that broke records on Tuesday, the internet is abuzz with talk of a phenomenon that might be making things even stickier: so-called “corn sweat.”

“Using the term ‘corn sweat’ is kind of funny,” Illinois State Climatologist Trenton Ford tells AGDAILY’s Braeden Coon. “It’s not perfect as with most metaphors. Humans and a few other animals will perspire when we get hot, and sweat is evaporated off our skin. What corn does is a bit of a different process.”

The technical term for that biological process is evapotranspiration, and all plants—not just corn crops—do it. As part of evapotranspiration, plants take in water via their roots, transport it through their tissues and then release water vapor into the air. The process is critical for the plant’s metabolic health and for shuttling nutrients in the water from root to leaf.

But with the nation’s largest corn-producing states concentrated in the Midwest, that moisture can add up. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a single acre of corn can add 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water into the atmosphere each day during the growing season, and high temperatures increase transpiration rates.

For context, farmers planted 91.5 million acres of corn in 2024, of which only about 20 percent is grown for human consumption. Of that fraction, most goes to producing high fructose corn syrup and other processed foods. The majority of the country’s corn is used in animal feed and ethanol-based fuels.

The natural prairie ecosystems that covered the drier expanses of the Great Plains before the onset of industrial agriculture appear to have contributed far less moisture to the atmosphere, compared to the corn fields of today. Prairie contributions to humidity also peak earlier in the summer, when temperatures are likely to be lower.

[thoughtlessarse]

The climate crisis is causing the length of each day to get longer, analysis shows, as the mass melting of polar ice reshapes the planet. The phenomenon is a striking demonstration of how humanity’s actions are transforming the Earth, scientists said, rivalling natural processes that have existed for billions of years. The change in the length of the day is on the scale of milliseconds but this is enough to potentially disrupt internet traffic, financial transactions and GPS navigation, all of which rely on precise timekeeping. The length of the Earth’s day has been steadily increasing over geological time due to the gravitational drag of the moon on the planet’s oceans and land. However, the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets due to human-caused global heating has been redistributing water stored at high latitudes into the world’s oceans, leading to more water in the seas nearer the equator. This makes the Earth more oblate – or fatter – slowing the rotation of the planet and lengthening the day still further. The planetary impact of humanity was also demonstrated recently by research that showed the redistribution of water had caused the Earth’s axis of rotation – the north and south poles – to move. Other work has revealed that humanity’s carbon emissions are shrinking the stratosphere.

continue reading

[steamberrystudio]

I have a few questions about Arcalis if I may.

Is it safe to presume that most area outside of the domes on the Day Side is desert? One would presume after thousands of years with an unending day, any flora outside of the most sturdy plant life would have gone extinct or evolved to something else, perhaps deep under ground mycelium complexes or expansive succulent variants.

Storms in the twilight makes sense due to the clash of cold and warm fronts but is there any significant weather in the day side? What kind of geological side effects could the tidal locking incur? Ancient sinkholes where once strong stone has dessicated? But would that be prohibited by the ruins that you indicated potentially cover the whole planet? And would those also be affected by the tidal lock? Is it safe to presume they were there before the event?

Is there any other large bodies of water on the planet other than the one indicated between night and day side? Had night side considered nuclear or fusion power? What's the biodiversity on the night side like? Would there be more lush flora on the edges where the temps would be most moderate?

Thank you in advance for tolerating my barrage of questions. I've played the whole game but still intrigued by the setting and hope some day there's a sequel, perhaps expounding in brenin and developments there or deeper exploration into the erian ruins especially since Morgan seems to be a key to this civilization. Maybe her discoveries encourage a future mc. That is again and have a lovely day.

Most of the Day Side is some form of desert. Biodiversity decreases as you get to the focal point of the sun. Because of the wind, it's not as hot and dry across the entire Day Side as it could be. So that cools things down and there's precipitation (very little) as well. It's not all heat blasted landscape or dunes. There are desert scrublands and other types of areas as you move away from that focal point.

The wind and storms aren't just in the twilight area. The entire plant is pretty windy all the time. The storms decrease as you get towards the extremes but they are not unheard of out on the ice or in the desert.

If Arcalis was a natural phenomenon, it probably would have some geological effects from the tidal locking but it's not, so the effects are abnormal. There may be some increased volcanic and seismic activity on the Day Side but nothing major. (And yes, the Ereian ruins existed long before the tidal locking.)

The Night Side just has never had the resources to set up a viable system of nuclear power. The Triad has always gone to lengths to keep the Night Side dependent on them - basically from the earliest points in the planet's history.

There is some biodiversity on the night side, but yes, it mostly flourishes more towards the edges. There is life out on the ice, though - just as there is life adapted to the desert.

So yeah! Hope all that answers your questions! I don't know if I'll ever revisit Arcalis as a setting - not because I dislike it or feel "done" with it. I just have a lot of other ideas and, sadly, there is only one of me to try to write them all. 😭😭

But maybe one day. It really is a fun setting to write within.

[bigfootbeat]

Bigfoot on Mars

The photo known as "Bigfoot on Mars" is a remarkable illustration of how human sight and imagination can construct exciting narratives from ambiguous visual data. A NASA rover obtained this photograph, which appears to show a humanoid figure on the surface of Mars, attracting significant attention and controversy. The phenomenon sheds light on the dynamic relationship that exists between science and imagination, as well as the human propensity to recognize patterns that are familiar in settings that are foreign to them. The core of the "Bigfoot on Mars" image is the idea of pareidolia, which is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals detect recognized features or patterns, such as faces or figures, in random data. The human brain firmly ingrains this pattern of behavior, assisting us in making sense of our surroundings by recognizing potential adversaries or coalition partners. A mind on Mars, a desolate and foreign setting, is particularly prone to projecting familiar forms onto unfamiliar territory. The image appeared to suggest the existence of life on another planet, which is why it attracted the attention of the public. This innate behavior explains why the image was so captivating.

The frenzy that has surrounded the photograph of "Bigfoot on Mars" is also a reflection of humanity's everlasting obsession with the prospect of life existing beyond our planet. Because Mars is so close to Earth and shares many characteristics with it, it has been the subject of scientific investigation and speculation for many years. The concept of life on Mars has fuelled numerous hypotheses, ranging from highly developed civilizations to microscopic species. The image of "Bigfoot" contributed to these narratives by providing a tantalizing piece of evidence that, despite being false, grabbed the imagination of both the general public and the media. This phenomenon further highlights the significance of modern technology's role in shaping our perceptions of other worlds. NASA operates rovers equipped with high-resolution cameras, offering unparalleled access to distant planets. This access enables scientists and the general public to explore these alien landscapes from a distance of millions of kilometers. On the other hand, the enormous volume of data that is generated also means that certain abnormalities may be misconstrued, resulting in exaggerated statements and misconceptions.

As a means of responding to the "Bigfoot on Mars" image, scientists and skeptics underline the significance of critical thinking and scientific investigation. The researchers are able to provide more credible explanations for the figure by analyzing the image in its context and gaining a grasp of the geological aspects of Mars. Erosion created a rock formation, serving as one example of such an explanation. This scientific approach not only dispels myths, but it also improves our understanding of Mars' surface and the planet's geological history. In the end, the photograph titled "Bigfoot on Mars" serves as a reminder of the power of the human imagination as well as the significance of preserving a balance between wonder and skepticism. It is possible that the photograph may not give evidence of life on other planets; nonetheless, it does illustrate our natural curiosity and our urge to inquire about things that are unknown. These characteristics will serve as the impetus for our pursuit of knowledge and discovery as we continue our exploration of Mars and other celestial bodies. They will challenge our understanding of the universe and ourselves.

[alphynix]

It Came From The Wastebasket #04: Breaking Up Bellerophon

Bellerophonts were small snail-like marine molluscs that were either early gastropods or very close relatives of them. They had symmetrically-coiled shells superficially shaped like those of nautiluses, with about half of the shell covered by their mantle similarly to some modern sea snails, and some fossil shells also preserve hints of banded color patterns.

First appearing in the late Cambrian (~500 million years ago), these molluscs existed all the way until the early Triassic, surviving the Great Dying mass extinction (~252 million years ago) only to go extinct just a short time later (~249 million years ago) – a phenomenon known as "dead clade walking", when a group just barely scrapes through a mass extinction event but doesn't manage to actually recover afterwards.

The whole group is something of a wastebasket of similar-looking shells, and might actually be more of an "evolutionary grade" made up of various early gastropods and gastropod-relatives than a single defined lineage.

But there's also another wastebasket nestled inside this wastebasket: the namesake of them all, the genus Bellerophon.

Bellerophon tenuifascia

Originally named in 1808, this genus has had a huge number of species assigned to it over the last couple of centuries. This gives a false impression that Bellerophon-like molluscs didn't change for hundreds of millions of years, and it makes figuring out their actual long-term patterns of evolution and extinction much more difficult.

In the last few decades some mollusc paleontologists have been gradually chipping away at Bellerophon, and multiple new genera have been broken off from it. But even today it remains a very bloated mess – there are still well over a hundred named species spanning about 230 million years of geologic time.

Studies do indicate the whole genus is highly polyphyletic, made up of a tangle of multiple different lineages that all really need to be revised and renamed – but there's a lot of work still needing to be done to clean up this particular wastebasket.

———

Nix Illustration | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon

[sunderedandundone]

Oh, SoSu. Oh, poor SoSu.

So just to back up and provide some context: if you ask me, the great sin of UrSkek culture isn' so much that it's 'collectivist' but that it's just...*so* collectivist that the society can't countenance any person within it needing more than their 'fair share.' And before you say that sounds reasonable, by 'fair share' they really mean it. No UrSkek is supposed to really need more of any resource than any other.

Hold on! What I'm saying is that In other words, *disability is fundamentally not okay.*

Yeah. How you like them apples?

Part of the problem, of course, in their defense, is that they haven't had to think about disability for literal eons. Not on a societal level. Disease, war, and poverty have after all been eliminated, and the species is a product of extensive self-administered genomic engineering. (We are talking here about non-physical/informational 'genetics', of course, given the UrSkek's being Ascended all. But the point is, whatever malformations or birth syndromes the original bio-species might once have been prey to are long gone.) Trauma? Is something that happens very occasionally to off-planet UrSkeks, and off-planet UrSkeks don't really ever count quite as much as Homeworld UrSkeks do. If you are by some wild chance traumatized off-planet UrSkek, you're best advised just not to attempt a homecoming. (I'm sorry nobody mentioned that, GraGoh.)

I knew I had it in my head that SoSu was a Homeworld native, and that they also had a bit of a 'rough patch' in their youth that they had by sheer dint of geological time lived down, to eventually become one of the most respected academics on-world. I knew they had genuinely spent all the intervening eons working to be the very bestest, most unselfish, most not-needing-extra-love UrSkek they could possibly be.

But it wasn't till today that I realized, *they got put through Purgation as well.*

Purgation is the other sentence you can get that's not exile, and when UrSkeks choose exile over Purgation, it's because they're not keen on the idea of having the problematic bits of their body-mind 'genome' copy-pasted over with fresh acceptable code. The idea, in short, of being partly mind-wiped and re-educated. In a sequestered environment. As many times as it takes for them to start behaving rightly again.

It dawned on me today with horror that the first time round, SoSu chose Purgation.

It happened when they were very young. They were an immense psychic talent who -- again in what fairness to the UrSkek I can muster -- had to watch their emotions, which at that time easily escaped control and could manifest in, you know, stuff that could hurt people or the environment.

Or at least, stuff that if it went further, which they worried that it might, could conceivably potentially hurt somebody.

They underwent the psychic surgery to be made better, and again, worked for actual billions of Earth years to become a paragon. (And as NaNol's also-tragic story recounts, probably even benefitted from some of the extremely subtle and slow-moving erasure of history that is a phenomenon among certain UrSkek elders, so that in time, between that and the other UrSkeks that had actually been there voyaging off to other worlds or higher planes and never coming back, as the Eldest of the Eldest do...they could in time enjoy a spotless reputation on Homeworld.)

The second time they were convicted of a crime, all those long Ages later, they......................did *not* choose Purgation.

[oncoming-sun]

Greetings @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan ! The legends refer to a dark s-u-n, or a dark star, not a male child, s-o-n. From what I've been able to read from legends and stories, allegedly before the star arrives and possesses the native star, both geological, psychic and socio-political upheaval happens for several days. Then this tyrant star arrives, causing mass panic and hysteria, before fading away again.

It's not a phenomenon unique to this star system within the Calixis sector, if the stories are true. I find the topic quite fascinating and-

Ah. I must cut this post short. There is an urgent knocking on my door. Talk to you again soon!

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Marvelous Lenticularis

New Zealand’s stunning scenery has famously provided the backdrop for fictional worlds in fantasy films. A unique cloud that forms over the Otago region of the country’s South Island also evokes the otherworldly, while very much existing in reality.

The elongated lenticular cloud seen here, known locally as the “Taieri Pet,” is a product of the particular weather patterns and topography on the southern part of New Zealand’s South Island. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 acquired this image of the phenomenon on September 7, 2024.

Lenticular clouds form when prevailing winds encounter a topographic barrier, such as a mountain range. Wind that is forced to flow up and over the mountains creates a kind of wave in the atmosphere. Air cools at the crest of the wave, and the water vapor it contains condenses into clouds. Conversely, falling air leads to warming and evaporation.

“The Taieri Pet is a common feature found in the skies near Middlemarch, Otago,” said meteorologist John Law of New Zealand’s MetService. Here, strong winds from the northwest pour over the steep-sided, flat-topped Rock and Pillar Range, which runs almost perpendicular to those prevailing winds. “As the cloud forms on the crest of this wave, it remains almost stationary in the sky and is shaped by the strong winds blowing through it,” Law said.

Lenticular clouds appear smooth with well-defined edges. Ground-based and airborne observers have described them as a “huge stack of pancakes” or a “pile of plates” that seem to hover in one place. But those looks can be deceiving. “The appearance of the Taieri Pet is a great indicator of strong winds high in the atmosphere,” Law said. Conditions in and around these types of clouds pose aviation hazards in the form of vertical currents, severe turbulence, and icing. In some settings, lenticulars can signal that precipitation is on the way.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

[voraciouspangolin]

Our natural areas are some of my favorite things about the US, so here are some loosely relevant facts! That I may or may not have just spent an hour researching despite no one asking!

* The US has multiple deserts, the four major ones being the Mohave (which you probably know about if you've played Fallout New Vegas), the Sonoran, the Chihuahuan (which also extends into Mexico), and the Great Basin

* Like the rest of the continent, America's deserts have been home to native nations for thousands of years, including the Navajo, Mojave, Apache, Chemehuevi, Zuni, and Quechan

* Monument Valley (the place so gorgeous you understandably mistook it for Australia) is sacred to the Navajo Nation, in whose language it's called Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii or "valley of the rocks"

* America's deserts are also home to many unique animal species, such as kangaroo rats, which are absolutely adorable and I love them

* If you'd like to learn more about the area that Monument Valley is located in, it's called the Colorado Plateau! It's known for having stunning geological formations

Hell yeah... these are really good.....

I'm not very well versed on the southern united states, the most of my knowledge comes from the research I've done on natural pottery (which comes from research that others have already done). Specifically Mata Ortiez pottery and the modern phenomenon of potters in mexico and the southwest of the united states.

I love nature so much, and my passion and respect for the vastness of its biomes and how humans have learned to prosper and survive and love their specific attributes is bottomless...

In terms of environment, the desert is quite the opposite of the Canadian Sheild around me- precambrain rock exposed to the surface with boreal forests, wetlands, bogs, conniferous and deciduous forests, so many lakes, and so many rivers.

Thank you very much for telling me more.... I love nature....