Integrative Natural History of Southern Illinois, Part 4: The Close-in View from Inspiration Point | LaRue-Pine Hills Section, Shawnee National Forest, Illinois, USA
Taken in very early April, just at leaf-break, on the eastern bluff of the Mississippi Valley.
While the deciduous tree at right is unidentified, I'm guessing it's a walnut (Juglans sp.) or a non-shagbark hickory (Carya sp.), based on its furrowed, long-scaled bark and what I take to be catkins hanging from it. But I could be wrong.
At left, however, are certified examples of Juniperus virginiana, or Eastern Red Cedar. In abandoned farm fields this species is much more upright in habit, but in this, another of its customary habitats, it often has a decidedly scrawny look. It seems to enjoy hanging on for dear life on cliff edges, and I've seen it in such exposed and practically soilless places from the traprock ridges of New England's Connecticut River Valley to locales far west of this one.
The thin-bedded, jointed rock beneath the trees is the Devonian-period Bailey Limestone, which is notably cherty. Its high silica content has led to its being quarried farther downriver for the production of abrasive tripoli powder.
For more on this beautiful and geologically fascinating locale, get a copy of my Geology Underfoot in Illinois.
And to see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit Integrative Natural History of Southern Illinois album.
Integrative Natural History of Southern Illinois, Part 4: The Close-in View from Inspiration Point | LaRue-Pine Hills Section, Shawnee National Forest, Illinois, USA
Taken in very early April, just at leaf-break, on the eastern bluff of the Mississippi Valley.
While the deciduous tree at right is unidentified, I'm guessing it's a walnut (Juglans sp.) or a non-shagbark hickory (Carya sp.), based on its furrowed, long-scaled bark and what I take to be catkins hanging from it. But I could be wrong.
At left, however, are certified examples of Juniperus virginiana, or Eastern Red Cedar. In abandoned farm fields this species is much more upright in habit, but in this, another of its customary habitats, it often has a decidedly scrawny look. It seems to enjoy hanging on for dear life on cliff edges, and I've seen it in such exposed and practically soilless places from the traprock ridges of New England's Connecticut River Valley to locales far west of this one.
The thin-bedded, jointed rock beneath the trees is the Devonian-period Bailey Limestone, which is notably cherty. Its high silica content has led to its being quarried farther downriver for the production of abrasive tripoli powder.
For more on this beautiful and geologically fascinating locale, get a copy of my Geology Underfoot in Illinois.
And to see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit Integrative Natural History of Southern Illinois album.