The Earth Story

Bridal Veil Falls, Utah This is Bridal Veil Falls outside of Provo, Utah. The falls are a double-cataract waterfall, bringing water down nearly 200 meters (over 600 feet) along the sides of Provo Canyon to the Provo River below. The rocks are of the Bridal Veil Falls formation. They are carboniferous-aged limestones, deposited here between 300 and 400 million years ago. The limestones are fine-grained, implying that they formed in an offshore environment where fine-grained carbonate muds could be deposited. There are also thin sandy layers interspersed with the limestones; possibly storm deposits or the remnants of avalanches closer to shore. The area is just off a highway up Provo Valley and is a popular tourist stop. In particular, during the winter the falls will ice over and this area becomes a great stop for those familiar with ice-climbing. -JBB Image credit: Lanie (creative commons): https://www.flickr.com/photos/herlanieship/514312918/ Read more: http://www.utahvalley.com/things-to-do/default.aspx?detailID=58 http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g57106-d2690129-Reviews-Bridal_Veil_Falls-Provo_Utah.html http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_2295.htm http://www.geology.byu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2004-Shoore-David-J.pdf

Seafloor off the Bahamas The patterns of currents and tides sculpt the sand and seaweed beds off the Bahamas into these amazing underwater shapes that reflect the sunlight and shadow when snapped from space. the patterns are not dissimilar to the ones that winds sculpt in desert sands to make dunes. The link shows a wider image of the area, showing that the dunes are covering part of the Grand Bahama Bank, a reef and oolite limestone platform that has been building since at least the cretaceous. Loz Image credit: NASA http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2014/01/16/best-of-the-archives-dunes-of-the-great-bahama-bank/?src=fb

The Solnhofen Limestone. The Solhofen Limestone of Germany is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte- a geological unit that contains an amazingly rich and well preserved fossil assemblage. Geological Setting. During the late Jurassic the area was part of a group of islands at the edge of the Tethys sea (http://bit.ly/KBMZRU ) The area included segregated lagoons that were low in oxygen, and also high in salinity. This meant that many of the normal predatory organisms were not present as the salinity was to high to support them. This meant that any organism that fell into these lagoons was undisturbed as it sank to the bottom of the sea floor, and preserved in extraordinary detail in fine grained carbonate mud. The closest modern analogue we have to the Solnhofen Limestone is the Orca Basin in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, however the Orca Basin is much deeper than the Solnhofen lagoons are thought to have been. What's been found there? Organisms within the Solnhofen have included delicatly preserved wings of dragonflies, imprints of feathers, small dinosaurs washed out to sea, pterosaurs, marine invertebrates, and possibly the most famous discovery was that of Archaeopteryx lithographica. Over 600 species in total have been recognised from the Solnhofen. Economic Potential. For many years, the fine grained lime muds of the Solnhofen were quarried to make lithographic plates, and it was during this period of quarrying in the late 19th century that many important fossils were discovered. The name " Archaeopteryx lithographica" commemorates the early use of the solnhofen. Geoconservation.

The Solnhofen site is not protected by UNESCO, such as the Burgess shale is. It instead falls under government protection, which makes it difficult to stop fossil poachers and tourist fossil hunters, and in fact you can hire a hammer and chisel from the local museum, and looking is actively encouraged. Recommendations from the Palaeontological community are however to look, but hand over any significant finds to the local scientific community so that they may be catalogued for future generations to enjoy. To read more about the Solnhofen Limestone head to any of the following links: http://bit.ly/MJZFfO http://bit.ly/Ki7o1e http://bit.ly/LszVPh -LL