Storms rolling off the La Sals...

this evening, as seen from Castle Valley, Utah:

Active weather always adds more drama to an already breathtaking landscape.

The botanical survey of canyon country...

resumes after a series of snow squalls kept me indoors the last two days (click images to enlarge). For starters, here's spreading daisy (Erigeron divergens):

Fremont's mahonia (Mahonia fremontii) is greening nicely, smelling sweet, and busting out with yellow blossoms after a long winter:

Lastly, one of the most recognizable plants in the desert southwest is Mormon tea (Ephedra viridis), and here you can see a male plant with developing pollen cones:

Notice a recurring theme...

in downtown Moab, Utah?

No wonder these are running around the desert in the local area.

Get 'em while you can...

Sony To End Floppy Disk Production in 2011.

Seriously, who the heck uses these things anymore? I'm frankly eager for spinning disk data storage technology to die - it's mechanical, slow to access, and sucks battery life.

Essays from the volcanic ash...

Edge: THE ASH CLOUD

The sweet pungent aroma...

of Cliff Fendlerbush (Fendlera rupicola) was in the air today along the Colorado River (click to enlarge):

Really, it's too bad the computer screen isn't scratch-n-sniff capable. And let's not forget this bright yellow gem, a Western Wallflower (Erysimum asperum):

I try to carry my camera with me wherever/whenever I go, and today these beauties were caught colorfully painting the ruddy sandstone ledges along my commute to the big city (um, Moab). Enjoy.

Great blue herons...

are beginning to flock to their rookery along the Colorado River near milepost 9 on Utah 128, between Moab and Castle Valley, Utah. Here's a wide shot of several of their nests in a Gamble oak grove on the opposite side of the river (click to enlarge):

And a close-up of one of the big ladies (Ardea herodias) standing in the apical nest:

I've counted as many as a dozen nests in this cluster, and most are usually occupied by late spring based on my prior observations.

Peeling off the strata...

of the Onion Creek salt-cored anticline in this mini-pan view toward the west (click to enlarge). The highly-deformed gypsum caprock of the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation is the light green to gray unit in the bottom of the valley, with the overlying red beds of the Cutler Formation (Early Permian) dipping off slightly to the north (right) and south (left). Those are the Fisher Towers on the skyline to the right of center.

See the post immediately below for related geo-info.

Something really stinks...

at the appropriately named Stinking Spring on Onion Creek, Utah, where both hydrologic features sit directly upon the Onion Creek salt diapir. Here's an image of the spring where it joins the creek (click to enlarge), with the contorted beds of gypsum caprock of the Paradox Formation (Pennsylvanian) in the background:

Filamentous green sulfate-reducing bacteria thrive in the hyper-saline water and can be seen here upon close examination of the spring, and they are the source of the hydrogen sulfide gas that produces the strong rotten eggs smell:

Vital feces...

Climate Change: Whale Poop To The Rescue!

Wow...

Starry-Eyed Hubble Celebrates 20 Years of Awe and Discovery

White-Nose Syndrome...

is unfortunately moving westward (click map to enlarge), having just been discovered in Missouri and western Tennessee, according to Bat Conservation International and other state and federal agencies:

"Since White-nose Syndrome was discovered in a single New York cave in February 2006, more than a million hibernating bats of six species have been killed by the disease in twelve states."

Follow this link to learn more about this devastating disease, and remember, bats need friends.

You don't need a telescope...

to enjoy these shows: Best Meteor Showers of 2010. Don't dawdle, the Lyrids are peaking right now.

The best is yet to come...

First Light for the Solar Dynamics Observatory

If it's not one thing it's another...

Threat of New, Larger Icelandic Eruption Looms

Amazing images from Iceland...

More from Eyjafjallajokull

Hey, what do you expect from an active divergent margin?

Rocks came tumbling down...

yesterday in Castle Valley, Utah while I was engaged in explorations elsewhere. But my quick thinking neighbor captured this mass wasting event to share with others who may have missed it.

Image credit: JW. Thanks!

Time will tell...

Get Ready For Decades of Icelandic Fireworks

Previous related post.

"Flying Men" petroglyphs...

were the objective of this morning's hike near Moab, Utah, in the company of Geogal and Skipper. On the short walk we encountered a lovely meadow at the peak of bloom with desert wild onion (Allium macropetalum) (click to enlarge):

And blue-star (Amsonia tomentosa) was no slouch either:

We ultimately achieved our goal, finding two large boulders liberally adorned with anthropomorphic figures bearing wings:

There's even an embedded anorexic Kokopelli for the careful observer.

NOTE: The upside-down and more recently pecked "JB" (upper left on boulder) was done by a vandal, and not by your desert correspondent!

We'll have to rewrite...

geology textbooks: Extramarital Sex Fuels Earthquakes, Warns Iran Cleric. In sum:

"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers at overnight prayers in Tehran.

Be sure to read the fine print...

7,500 Online Shoppers Unknowingly Sold Their Souls

Vistapans from Dry Mesa...

acquired during my mini-expedition yesterday to remote overlooks above the Colorado River (click to enlarge). The first shows the tortured rocks at the southern end of Cache Valley, sinking into the collapsing center of the salt-cored structure:

And here's the wide view into Ida Gulch (left) and Castle Valley (distant center):

Enjoy!

The sliver of a new Moon...

accompanied by Venus and Mercury, caught at sunset last night over Porcupine Rim (click to enlarge).

I'm siding with Neil...

Battle of the Moonwalkers.

UPDATE: The only geologist-astronaut weighs in too: Former Astronaut Blasts Obama’s Plans for Space Program.

Desert flowers were strutting their stuff...

in Cache Valley Wash in Arches National Park yesterday, and here are just a few examples (click to enlarge). First, there is the ubiquitous and diverse desert paintbrush (Castilleja chromosa):

In addition, the alkaloid-bearing woolly locoweed (Astragalus mollissimus) appeared in parts of the gravelly creek bed, and if ingested by livestock can often be lethal:

But not to be outdone, the showy Utah penstemon (Penstemon utahensis) stood erect and was adorned with bright red flowers:

Rarely-seen views...

from the seldom-visited Dry Mesa were the highlight of my solo sojourn into this remote area adjacent to Arches National Park. In fact, it's accessed via a 4WD jeep road from the Lower Delicate Arch viewpoint in the park, and from there, by foot on faint game trails and then, by bushwhacking. (Click to enlarge images.)

Here's a shot, looking southeast, into the axis of the Onion Creek anticline. Fisher Towers are in the escarpment to the left of the down-dropped center portion of the salt-cored structure:

Here's the view looking due south, into Ida Gulch and beyond to the La Sal Mountains. Not too bad:

And into Castle Valley, another collapsed salt-cored anticline. That's Parriott Mesa to left of center, and the location of my home away from home is circled:

While relaxing on my lofty perch I enjoyed a nice lunch consisting of some jerky and the best apple ever:

To summarize this terrific day:

• ~1,350 ft elevation gained/lost
• ~ 7.5 mi hiked
• 3 bighorn sheep
• 0 people

Priceless. And, oh yeah, it's my birthday.

Watch out for jokulaups...

as a subglacial volcanic eruption in Iceland, beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, produces a giant glacial outburst flood (termed a jokulaup for you non-geo readers): Iceland Volcano - Hundreds Evacuated After Eruption.

In addition, air traffic has been disrupted over the north Atlantic and northern Europe due to large amounts of volcanic ash in the atmosphere.

Trapped in amber...

since the Cretaceous: a slideshow.

Another bellwether...

of springtime weather is Parry's biscuitroot (Lomatium parryi) in the blackbrush community in southern Utah (click to enlarge).

Newberry's twinpod...

(Physaria newberryi) is an indicator that spring has sprung in canyon country (click to enlarge). This little gem was found blooming in Stearn's Creek this morning, in Professor Valley, Utah. Enjoy.

Oh yeah, this species is named after geologist John Strong Newberry.

Mountain snowpack...

in the southern Rockies is well above normal, but it is pretty dismal elsewhere, especially in the Pacific Northwest (map as of 1 April 2010). In the La Sals, shown above (click to enlarge), snow depth for this time of year is running about 110 - 129 % of normal.

Project Ozma...

commences 50 years ago, in early April 1960, led by Frank Drake, in a pioneering experiment searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. This led to the now famous Drake equation:


that estimates the number (N) of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. (Follow the link to understand the other terms in the equation.)

Here's an earlier post about SETI's 50th anniversary.

RELATED: A similar equation has been formulated that explains why geeks lack girlfriends.

One can never get used to...

this fantastic view at the end of the day in Castle Valley, Utah, or at least it never goes unnoticed and unappreciated (click to enlarge). I just snapped these images, assembled the panorama, and added the geographic and geologic annotations just moments ago, at the time of this post.

Be sure to duck...

Newfound Asteroid Will Fly Close by Earth Thursday

What I'm reading...

right now: Landscape of Desire by Greg Gordon. It's a mix of the pedagogical and geological.

Hat tip: RT.

Um, why exactly should one buy the iPad?

13 Glaring iPad Shortcomings

RELATED: This reminds me of this satirical video (warning - it contains very crude language - if that sort of thing bothers you).

Seismic signature...

of Sunday's magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Baja California, Mexico, as recorded on the seismometer at EWU. (Click to enlarge.)

UPDATE: Cause of the earthquake discovered. Riiight.

The Easter bunny never showed...

but a herd of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) wandered through the property yesterday in the early evening (click to enlarge).

Hat tip: LS.

I won't reveal the name...

nor the location of this canyon incised into the Navajo Sandstone in close proximity to Moab, Utah, as it contains some significant archeological deposits. Friend, blog reader and frequent commenter Geogal and her faithful trail companion Skipper accompanied me on a fabulous walkabout in this special place today, exploring numerous rock shelters and fantastic petroglyph panels (click to enlarge):

But the real gem came when we discovered the appropriately named Cave (Easter) Primrose (Primula specuicola) in bloom at a damp spot beneath a weeping sandstone wall:

An oasis of life...

may potentially exist in any water-filled pothole in canyon country. The sustained presence of warm water in some potholes will trigger the emergence of diminutive fairy shrimp, as seen below (click to enlarge):

The Bu bro and I stumbled upon this teeming population in a pothole at about 8,500 ft elevation (not the pothole pictured above) during explorations in 2008. How the heck did they get there?

Wise words...

Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world.

-- Mary Shafer (NASA)

Signs along the road...

commemorating the fatal landfall of a tsunami at Lapahoehoe, Hawaii, on this date in 1946. A large earthquake in the Aleutian Islands triggered the tsunami that claimed 159 lives on Hawaii. I snapped this image of the memorial during a visit to the tragic site in 2007 (click to enlarge).

NASA to launch final space shuttle...

as a David Bowie concept mission.

Happy April Fools' Day.