Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park, Part 5: Bucolic Scene with Naiads Attacking Unwary Tourists | Wisconsin, USA
Looking southeastward at the wonderfully exposed Douglas Fault adjacent to the Upper Falls.
One of the most underreported aspects of Wisconsin state parks is that they are often infested with mythological creatures—dryads (wood nymphs), naiads (water nymphs), fauns, centaurs, and so on. Fortunately, Bacchus and his retinue of maenads (crazed and overtly dangerous party girls) have not yet been spotted.
As this image demonstrates, naiads can be particularly troublesome. Here two of their number have surreptitiously approached an unwary, lithically lounging couple that has ventured too close to their aqueous realm. The tragic result: the naiads are about to drag the unwitting offenders into the Upper Falls plunge pool, where they will probably turn them into zombies.
Of course, I realize that some unimaginative people might think that this whole tableau shows nothing more than two kids sneaking up on their parents to splash them. But since we are now deep into the twenty-first-century Endarkenment, such rational conclusions should be categorically rejected.
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This photo, like the Part 4 image, was taken on a late-summer day when the flow of the Amnicon River was minimal. Much more of the lower bedrock, usually covered by water, is nicely exposed here. Compare this shot with Part 3, taken three years later.
The reverse fault's up-thrust hanging wall, composed of late-Mesoproterozoic Chengwatana Volcanic Group basalt, is visible along a diagonal just above the human (or mythological) figures.
Below the fault plane is the footwall of somewhat younger but still most probably late-Mesoproterozoic Orienta Sandstone (maximum deposition age = 1.059 Ga). Normally, it's brick-red to maroon in color, but where it's usually submerged it has a pale gray or even a whitish cast. Note the very thin bedding and, in places, the high dip (angle of tilt) of the strata. The latter is the result of stresses incurred when the fault was active. That in turn was one manifestation of the Midcontinent Rift was inverted during an episode of crustal compression.
You'll find the other photos and descriptions of this series in my Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park album.
Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park, Part 5: Bucolic Scene with Naiads Attacking Unwary Tourists | Wisconsin, USA
Looking southeastward at the wonderfully exposed Douglas Fault adjacent to the Upper Falls.
One of the most underreported aspects of Wisconsin state parks is that they are often infested with mythological creatures—dryads (wood nymphs), naiads (water nymphs), fauns, centaurs, and so on. Fortunately, Bacchus and his retinue of maenads (crazed and overtly dangerous party girls) have not yet been spotted.
As this image demonstrates, naiads can be particularly troublesome. Here two of their number have surreptitiously approached an unwary, lithically lounging couple that has ventured too close to their aqueous realm. The tragic result: the naiads are about to drag the unwitting offenders into the Upper Falls plunge pool, where they will probably turn them into zombies.
Of course, I realize that some unimaginative people might think that this whole tableau shows nothing more than two kids sneaking up on their parents to splash them. But since we are now deep into the twenty-first-century Endarkenment, such rational conclusions should be categorically rejected.
- - - - - - - -
This photo, like the Part 4 image, was taken on a late-summer day when the flow of the Amnicon River was minimal. Much more of the lower bedrock, usually covered by water, is nicely exposed here. Compare this shot with Part 3, taken three years later.
The reverse fault's up-thrust hanging wall, composed of late-Mesoproterozoic Chengwatana Volcanic Group basalt, is visible along a diagonal just above the human (or mythological) figures.
Below the fault plane is the footwall of somewhat younger but still most probably late-Mesoproterozoic Orienta Sandstone (maximum deposition age = 1.059 Ga). Normally, it's brick-red to maroon in color, but where it's usually submerged it has a pale gray or even a whitish cast. Note the very thin bedding and, in places, the high dip (angle of tilt) of the strata. The latter is the result of stresses incurred when the fault was active. That in turn was one manifestation of the Midcontinent Rift was inverted during an episode of crustal compression.
You'll find the other photos and descriptions of this series in my Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park album.