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from north
Yukon/Alaska border
13,766 ft (4,196 m)
"a massive and complex peak with many challenging ridges...a spectacular steep north face with a large hanging glacier giving it the appearance of a half eaten heavily frosted wedding cake" - A Climber's Guide to the St. Elias Mountains, Volume 1, by Richard Holmes
Considerable loss of ice in last 4 decades - see 2nd note from left on image
1st ascent, 6/29-8/12 1953 - publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195403200/...
(difficult trip out - "On August 3rd we began the 60-mile journey to the ocean. Rain, fog, and poor visibility made the trip a most uncomfortable one. When we reached the beach on August 9th we didn’t have a piece of dry clothing among us. The preceding six days had been too much for even waterproof articles. To add to our misery, a cache of food left on the beach was stolen, apparently by fishermen. We were reduced to a diet of wild peas for three days. On August 12th we were picked up by Merriman. Dr. Robert Sharp, geologist studying the Malaspina Glacier, had spotted us earlier that day while attempting to air drop supplies at his camp on the Malaspina Glacier.")
(1999 traverse AAJ 2000 p 219 - c498469.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/2000/220_canada_aaj2000.pdf)
"Named in 1874 by . H. Dall, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), for Captain James Cook, 1728-79, English navigator and explorer who was responsible for considerable exploration of the Alaska coast as far north as Icy Cape, near latitude 70." - edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/13...
publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196803600/... -
"In 1874 W. H. Dali and Marcus Baker of the U. S. Coast Survey named Mounts Cook and Vancouver from the sea, but somehow the names and elevations must have gotten scrambled, as they mapped Cook’s approximate elevation on Vancouver and Vancouver’s approximate elevation on Cook, and surely they had intended the higher mountain to bear Cook’s name, for he was the more famous of the two British navigators. At any rate, the names stuck where they first appeared on the maps and the elevations were soon applied to the right mountains. At the time of the Klondike gold rush the need was seen to determine the Alaska-Canada boundary more precisely, as the old Russian-British Treaty of 1825 had merely said for this section, "the chain of mountains which follow, at a very small distance, the winding of the coast.” The crests and interior of the Saint Elias Mountains were quite unknown around 1900 and "a very small distance” was taken to be within 10 marine leagues, so it was decided to connect prominent peaks no more than 34½ miles from the sea to form the boundary between the head of Portland Canal and the 141st meridian. Mount Vancouver was used as Boundary Peak 181, but the surveyors went in no further than the sea in this area, hence they used the south-southeast summit rather than the higher one hidden behind it."
aka Boundary Peak 182
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boundary_Peaks_of_the_Alask...
www.famousfix.com/list/international-mountains-of-north-a...
more distant view (showing vast Seward Glacier) - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/32070263882/
my photos arranged by subject, e.g. mountains - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections
Yukon - Alaska border
4,196m, 13,766ft
difficult for me to find gology information on Cook (would welcome information on where to look)
found - "Tg - ...bio. hbde. tonalie, altered bio. hbde. tonalite bio. hbde. qtz. diorite; loc. bio. musc. granodiorite; high-level plutons: may range Paleocene to Oligocene in age: incl. King Pk., Mt. Vancouver, Newton Glacier Mt. Cook and (?) Mt. Owen plutons" - from map "Geolgy, Mount St. Elias Map Area (115B & C (E1/2))
(similar to image previously posted - now replaced both with larger version)
more distant view - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/36734838822/in/photolist
yet more distant - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/32070263882/
"Named in 1874 by . H. Dall, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), for Captain James Cook, 1728-79, English navigator and explorer who was responsible for considerable exploration of the Alaska coast as far north as Icy Cape, near latitude 70." - edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/13...
publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196803600/... -
"In 1874 W. H. Dali and Marcus Baker of the U. S. Coast Survey named Mounts Cook and Vancouver from the sea, but somehow the names and elevations must have gotten scrambled, as they mapped Cook’s approximate elevation on Vancouver and Vancouver’s approximate elevation on Cook, and surely they had intended the higher mountain to bear Cook’s name, for he was the more famous of the two British navigators. At any rate, the names stuck where they first appeared on the maps and the elevations were soon applied to the right mountains. At the time of the Klondike gold rush the need was seen to determine the Alaska-Canada boundary more precisely, as the old Russian-British Treaty of 1825 had merely said for this section, "the chain of mountains which follow, at a very small distance, the winding of the coast.” The crests and interior of the Saint Elias Mountains were quite unknown around 1900 and "a very small distance” was taken to be within 10 marine leagues, so it was decided to connect prominent peaks no more than 34½ miles from the sea to form the boundary between the head of Portland Canal and the 141st meridian. Mount Vancouver was used as Boundary Peak 181, but the surveyors went in no further than the sea in this area, hence they used the south-southeast summit rather than the higher one hidden behind it."
aka Boundary Peak 182
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boundary_Peaks_of_the_Alask...
www.famousfix.com/list/international-mountains-of-north-a...
"a massive and complex peak with many challenging ridges...a spectacular steep north face with a large hanging glacier giving it the appearance of a half eaten heavily frosted wedding cake" - A Climber's Guide to the St. Elias Mountains, Volume 1, by Richard Holmes
1st ascent, 6/29-8/12 1953 - publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195403200/...
(difficult trip out - "On August 3rd we began the 60-mile journey to the ocean. Rain, fog, and poor visibility made the trip a most uncomfortable one. When we reached the beach on August 9th we didn’t have a piece of dry clothing among us. The preceding six days had been too much for even waterproof articles. To add to our misery, a cache of food left on the beach was stolen, apparently by fishermen. We were reduced to a diet of wild peas for three days. On August 12th we were picked up by Merriman. Dr. Robert Sharp, geologist studying the Malaspina Glacier, had spotted us earlier that day while attempting to air drop supplies at his camp on the Malaspina Glacier.")
(1999 traverse AAJ 2000 p 219 - c498469.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/2000/220_canada_aaj2000.pdf)
my photos arranged by subject, e.g. mountains - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections
conditions on Cook - www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Cook-Boundary-Peak-...
"a massive and complex peak with many challenging ridges...a spectacular steep north face with a large hanging glacier giving it the appearance of a half eaten heavily frosted wedding cake" - A Climber's Guide to the St. Elias Mountains, Volume 1, by Richard Holmes
Considerable loss of ice in last 4 decades - see 2nd note from left on image
1st ascent, 6/29-8/12 1953 - publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195403200/...
(difficult trip out - "On August 3rd we began the 60-mile journey to the ocean. Rain, fog, and poor visibility made the trip a most uncomfortable one. When we reached the beach on August 9th we didn’t have a piece of dry clothing among us. The preceding six days had been too much for even waterproof articles. To add to our misery, a cache of food left on the beach was stolen, apparently by fishermen. We were reduced to a diet of wild peas for three days. On August 12th we were picked up by Merriman. Dr. Robert Sharp, geologist studying the Malaspina Glacier, had spotted us earlier that day while attempting to air drop supplies at his camp on the Malaspina Glacier.")
(1999 traverse AAJ 2000 p 219 - c498469.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/2000/220_canada_aaj2000.pdf)
"Named in 1874 by . H. Dall, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), for Captain James Cook, 1728-79, English navigator and explorer who was responsible for considerable exploration of the Alaska coast as far north as Icy Cape, near latitude 70." - edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/13...
publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196803600/... -
"In 1874 W. H. Dali and Marcus Baker of the U. S. Coast Survey named Mounts Cook and Vancouver from the sea, but somehow the names and elevations must have gotten scrambled, as they mapped Cook’s approximate elevation on Vancouver and Vancouver’s approximate elevation on Cook, and surely they had intended the higher mountain to bear Cook’s name, for he was the more famous of the two British navigators. At any rate, the names stuck where they first appeared on the maps and the elevations were soon applied to the right mountains. At the time of the Klondike gold rush the need was seen to determine the Alaska-Canada boundary more precisely, as the old Russian-British Treaty of 1825 had merely said for this section, "the chain of mountains which follow, at a very small distance, the winding of the coast.” The crests and interior of the Saint Elias Mountains were quite unknown around 1900 and "a very small distance” was taken to be within 10 marine leagues, so it was decided to connect prominent peaks no more than 34½ miles from the sea to form the boundary between the head of Portland Canal and the 141st meridian. Mount Vancouver was used as Boundary Peak 181, but the surveyors went in no further than the sea in this area, hence they used the south-southeast summit rather than the higher one hidden behind it."
aka Boundary Peak 182
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boundary_Peaks_of_the_Alask...
www.famousfix.com/list/international-mountains-of-north-a...
my lichen photos by genus - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections/7215762439...
my photos arranged by subject, e.g. mountains - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections
In August 2016, the mobile El Premio Mayor won the Taco Truck Throwdown to beat out 22 other taco trucks in both the judges’ and people’s choice competitions at the annual Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. The event, which drew a record-breaking crowd of nearly 17,000 people.
The Food Network star and foodie Alton Brown went there to enjoyed Fresno’s Best tacos and put El Premio Mayor on the National Map as the place for fantastic tacos.
El Premio Mayor's owner Belén Ramírez, owns two El Premio Mayor brick-and-mortar restaurants and one food truck. She first started the business nearly 20 years ago.
Tags #RigsRocks #ElPremioMayor #TacoTruckThrowdown #Tacos #AnnualEvent #YearSeven #TacoTruck2016Winner #2016TacoTruckThrowdownWinner #2016Winner #BelénRamírez #ChukchansiPark #Downtown #Fresno #FoodNetwork #AltonBrown #NationalMap #SteakTacos #CarnitasTacos #MmmGood #Food #Summer #IAteThis #FoodPorn #Delicious #Relevant #Munchies #ICanEatFiveWithNoProblem #IfYouEat20YouGetAPrize #TacoTuesday #CarneAsada #CarneAsadaTacos
In August 2016, the mobile El Premio Mayor won the Taco Truck Throwdown to beat out 22 other taco trucks in both the judges’ and people’s choice competitions at the annual Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. The event, which drew a record-breaking crowd of nearly 17,000 people.
The Food Network star and foodie Alton Brown went to El Premio Mayor and enjoyed Fresno’s Best tacos and put El Premio Mayor on the National Map as the place for fantastic tacos.
El Premio Mayor's owner Belén Ramírez, owns two El Premio Mayor brick-and-mortar restaurants and one food truck. She first started the business nearly 20 years ago.
Tags Tags #RigsRocks #ElPremioMayor #TacoTruckThrowdown #Tacos #AnnualEvent #YearSeven #TacoTruck2016Winner #2016TacoTruckThrowdownWinner #2016Winner #BelénRamírez #ChukchansiPark #Downtown #Fresno #FoodNetwork #AltonBrown #NationalMap #SteakTacos #CarnitasTacos #MmmGood #Food #Summer #IAteThis FoodPorn #Delicious #Relevant #Munchies #ICanEatFiveWithNoProblem #IfYouEat20YouGetAPrize #TacoTuesday
view south across Seward Glacier to Mt Cook (4,196m/13,766')
follow curving pattern on surface of Seward Glacier to where it flows out toward the Malaspina Glacier
similar appearance to Mt Vancouver, but see both in this view - www.flickr.com/photos/wanderflechten/36811551480/in/photo...
"Named in 1874 by . H. Dall, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), for Captain James Cook, 1728-79, English navigator and explorer who was responsible for considerable exploration of the Alaska coast as far north as Icy Cape, near latitude 70." - edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/13...
publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196803600/... -
"In 1874 W. H. Dali and Marcus Baker of the U. S. Coast Survey named Mounts Cook and Vancouver from the sea, but somehow the names and elevations must have gotten scrambled, as they mapped Cook’s approximate elevation on Vancouver and Vancouver’s approximate elevation on Cook, and surely they had intended the higher mountain to bear Cook’s name, for he was the more famous of the two British navigators. At any rate, the names stuck where they first appeared on the maps and the elevations were soon applied to the right mountains. At the time of the Klondike gold rush the need was seen to determine the Alaska-Canada boundary more precisely, as the old Russian-British Treaty of 1825 had merely said for this section, "the chain of mountains which follow, at a very small distance, the winding of the coast.” The crests and interior of the Saint Elias Mountains were quite unknown around 1900 and "a very small distance” was taken to be within 10 marine leagues, so it was decided to connect prominent peaks no more than 34½ miles from the sea to form the boundary between the head of Portland Canal and the 141st meridian. Mount Vancouver was used as Boundary Peak 181, but the surveyors went in no further than the sea in this area, hence they used the south-southeast summit rather than the higher one hidden behind it."
aka Boundary Peak 182
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boundary_Peaks_of_the_Alask...
www.famousfix.com/list/international-mountains-of-north-a...
"a massive and complex peak with many challenging ridges...a spectacular steep north face with a large hanging glacier giving it the appearance of a half eaten heavily frosted wedding cake" - A Climber's Guide to the St. Elias Mountains, Volume 1, by Richard Holmes
1st ascent, 6/29-8/12 1953 - publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195403200/...
(difficult trip out - "On August 3rd we began the 60-mile journey to the ocean. Rain, fog, and poor visibility made the trip a most uncomfortable one. When we reached the beach on August 9th we didn’t have a piece of dry clothing among us. The preceding six days had been too much for even waterproof articles. To add to our misery, a cache of food left on the beach was stolen, apparently by fishermen. We were reduced to a diet of wild peas for three days. On August 12th we were picked up by Merriman. Dr. Robert Sharp, geologist studying the Malaspina Glacier, had spotted us earlier that day while attempting to air drop supplies at his camp on the Malaspina Glacier.")
(1999 traverse AAJ 2000 p 219 - c498469.r69.cf2.rackcdn.com/2000/220_canada_aaj2000.pdf)
my photos arranged by subject - www.flickr.com/photos/29750062@N06/collections
For the creation of this photo-map montage I am indebted to the United States Geological Survey's online and free-public-access National Map.
The image at top, with those lovely Cumulus humilis clouds drifting overhead, faces southeastward. The map at lower left indicates where it was taken. The best way to appreciate both the topographic and lidar maps at bottom is by clicking or double-clicking on the frame to magnify it.
Welcome not only to the Holocene town of Morton, but also to the land of the Pleistocene River Warren and the Paleoarchean Minnesota River Valley Terrane!
If you find the scenic potential of this locale distinctly underwhelming, that's understandable. You're just looking at a low rise of bedrock. The fact that it's a topographic high sitting on the floor of the Minnesota River Valley isn't all that apparent until you look at the lidar map. It may be a subtle feature even there, but nonetheless it's of tremendous geologic importance. I call it an erosional knob, a small hill of unusually resistant rock that was exposed and sculpted by one of North America's great late-Pleistocene floods.
The flood, known as River Warren, drained Lake Agassiz. That huge accumulation of proglacial meltwater in what is now Canada had an area more than five times that of modern Lake Superior, and when about 13.5 ky ago it rose to the point it overtopped a moraine well upstream of here, at Browns Valley, Minnesota, it came surging down this broad channel with unimaginable force.
Now that the flood has receded, see if you can spot, amid the ample vegetative cover, some exposures of the Morton Gneiss. This low hill, now preserved for both its geologic and biologic significance as the Morton Outcrops Scientific and Natural Area, was previously the site of small quarries where the 3.52-Ga-old migmatite that is the hero of this series was first extracted for commercial use. These quarries can be spotted on the lidar map as small, dark areas. (Quarries can often be distinguished from natural depressions on overhead imagery by their sharp-edged, rectangular outlines that reflect the fact they have straight-sided headwalls.)
One of the ways we know that River Warren overtopped the erosional knob is that it has naturally formed pothole features that were carved by grinding stones driven by the flood's swirling waters. These holes are too small to show up on the lidar, but I can attest to the fact they're a very popular attraction for field-trip groups.
But with all due respect to the significance of the Quaternary-period geology of this region, the most amazing story here is that of the MRVT—the Minnesota River Valley Terrane.
Here I have to note the utter lack of imagination of geologists who named this chunk of crust. Their label is just too humdrum. I know from direct experience that a good sense of compelling language is not the strong suit of Earth scientists in this part of the world. Still, even their arid souls could have cooked up some storybook moniker—"Ancientia," perhaps, or "Bygoneland," "The Province of Deep Time," or "The Realm of Mystic Enchantment."
Well, I admit that the last of these is over the top, but certainly this place deserves some poetic content. For we don't even know where this early example of continental crust came from originally. All we can say about it is that it contains wonderfully old rocks dating back to the Paleoarchean era, and that it collided with the Superior Craton about 2.68 Ga during the aptly named Minnesotan Orogeny. And it's been part of Laurentia and North America ever since.
The photos that follow in this series will show some of this knob's outcrops at closer range. But in the meantime I do need to make one thing clear. While both the MRVT and the Morton Gneiss itself are achingly old, and while apparently the latter is the oldest rock type used architecturally or monumentally anywhere in the world, the very oldest continental crust is found in western Australia. There, in the Jack Hills, zircon crystals have been collected that suggest continental crust had formed by a staggering 4.4 Ga ago. And there are also older rocks in northwestern Canada—specifically the Acasta Gneiss (4.03 Ga).
I just asked a certain search engine that will remain nameless what rock type is the oldest found in North America. Its AI function, which I've learned to trust as much as I trust politicians and used-car salesmen, told me with utter confidence that the Morton Gneiss is the most ancient. Alas, while our favorite migmatite was once in serious contention for that honor, other even more venerable units have been discovered, with the Acasta being the oldest found so far.
To see the other photos and descriptions in this set, visit my Magnificent Morton Gneiss album.
Here's the Live Map. NOTE: the URL for the map is no longer valid, but I'm leaving it there because it's probably repairable by someone with enough motivation.
Out of frustration with the irregular updates on inciweb, I looked for something better.
"Best" is always open to argument, but here's why:
1) It automatically uses current data.
2) It combines the perimeter data and MODIS hot spots.
3) You can move and zoom.
4) You can change the base map.
5) I have added some landmarks that Groveland/PML people will find useful.
I based this on www.mappingsupport.com/p/fires/2013_rim_fire_map.html. I just tweaked the URL to remove some features and add extra labels.
Map by Geographia Maps. This is excerpted from Geographia's map of the Indian subcontinent (listed as India on the cover) - and was updated to reflect new, post-partition boundaries: it includes Afghanistan, Pakistan East and West, Burma, Nepal, Ceylon/Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. Kashmir was shown as a separate nation, while the Buddhist kingdom and protectorate of Sikkim is shown as part of India. Tibet and Sinkiang are shown as independent as well.
My final photo showing geological aspects of the great baymouth bar known as Minnesota Point. We're still on the grounds of the Park Point recreational facility. And we're facing northward, toward Lake Superior.
In the snowier parts of the US, fire hydrants are now equipped with little red flags mounted on tall, flexible staffs. They may partly be there to help firemen locate the hydrants after a blizzard. But, as I understand it, they're primarily intended to keep snow plows from running over buried hydrants and inadvertently causing wintertime geysers and ice cascades.
Having seen snow-plow drivers on my own home turf wreak a lot of damage on human infrastructure, I can believe it. Here, however, the flag appears to be missing and the white-and-Dayglo-yellow staff seems to serve another purpose.
Behind this hydrant stands the crest of one of the crescentic dunes mentioned in this series' Part 2 and Part 3. The bare patch in its middle is what park planners call a desire line. That's an informal path created not by designers but by visitors who, like whitetail deer, forge their own preferred shortcuts through existing vegetation. (Note the nice assortment of footprints in the sand above the hydrant.)
On either side of the desire line, the trees and shrubs are still doing a good job of keeping windborne sand particles from migrating shoreward (toward the camera). You can easily see how the plants' stems and foliage act as baffles and slow the air speed to the point the grains drop to the surface again.
But that bare patch created by the trampling of countless feet marching their way toward the beach has given the wind just the opportunity its needs. Unencumbered by any barrier, the sand has come spilling over the crest like a wave of invading Marines. And the invasion has been successful: now there's a broad, tonguelike fan of sand on the lee side of the dune ridge.
These tongues of pure, bright-tinted sand can be spotted both on Google Earth aerial view and USGS National Map lidar imagery. In this spot, the migrating sand threatens to completely bury the main portion of the hydrant, which I suspect has to be dug out periodically.
In the two preceding parts of this series (see the links above) I speculated on what the prevailing wind direction on Minnesota Point must be, and on whether the crescentic dunes that cover it are parabolic or barchan. Given all this abundant sand transport away from the lake, from northeast to the southwest, it appears that northeasterly onshore breezes play a more important role in this locale than the regional westerly winds.
And that rather supports my barchan hypothesis. Still, nature is both subtle and complex, and other unheeded factors may also be involved.
To see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit
my Integrative Natural History of Minnesota's North Shore album.
Topographical map of the Chicagoland region created with QGIS.
Scale: 1:75,000 scale at 96 dpi
Projection: NAD83 / Illinois East (ftUS) (EPSG:3435)
Rendering: QGIS
Data sources:
1) The National Map (nationalmap.gov/viewer.html): National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) water, National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) land use, contours, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) place names
2) US Census Bureau (www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger.html): roads and highways, political boundaries
3) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (www-cta.ornl.gov/transnet/RailRoads.html): railroads
4) City of Chicago GIS (data.cityofchicago.org/): Metra stations
Lidar-derived image of ancient channels on the Sabine River floodplain east of Carthage, Texas, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Okay, back to reality . . . I’m checking out some useful resources for using the Map collection! Here are guides describing the types of maps in the collection and ways to use them in my research, and indexes to the maps that will point me to the specific location of the map I need for my research.
Lidar-derived image of the intermittent channels of the Quinn River in the Black Rock Desert Wilderness of Nevada, USA. The Quinn River drains an enclosed basin which includes the site of the annual Burning Man event.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Colorado River between Smithville and La Grange, Texas, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
The confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River where the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky come together.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the White River floodplain west of Jacksonport, Mississippi.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
According to the Geographic Names Information System, there are forty-seven creeks named "Cedar Creek" in Oklahoma, and that is too many, and most should be renamed.
And here is one of the Cedar Creeks, and it might be the prettiest of the forty-seven, but it's the only one I've seen, so I don't know, but it's certainly pretty, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the prettiest.
-----------------------
In the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Comanche County, Oklahoma, on February 16th, 2023, Cedar Creek as viewed off the Cedar Planting Trail.
Cedar Creek flows to Medicine Creek, which flows to East Cache Creek, which joins West Cache Creek to form Cache Creek, which flows to the Red River, which historically flowed to the Mississippi River, but now flows to the Atchafalaya River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
-----------------------
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Cedar Creek (2228469)
• Comanche (county) (2001638)
• Wichita Mountains (1109804)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• boulders (300011671)
• riverine landscapes (300435110)
• rivers (300008707)
• wildlife refuges (300008181)
• winter (300133101)
Wikidata items:
• 16 February 2023 (Q69306711)
• 2022-23 North American winter (Q114585888)
• Atchafalaya River drainage basin (Q117282797)
• Cedar Creek (Q56507388)
• Central and Southern mixed grasslands (Q5062062)
• Central Great Plains (Q14710395)
• coarse woody debris (Q1413705)
• February 16 (Q2342)
• February 2023 (Q61312937)
• Lawton, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area (Q6505064)
• Little Arkansas Treaty (Q6648935)
• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (Q6671518)
• marcescence (Q2358003)
• Medicine Lodge Treaty (Q1566313)
• plant litter (Q2512035)
• Red River drainage basin (Q117283017)
• riparian forest (Q11177275)
• Southwestern Oklahoma (Q7571438)
• Treaty with the Comanche and Kiowa, 1865 (Q116841115)
• Treaty with the Kiowa and Comanche, 1867 (Q116842059)
• Western Oklahoma (Q7988126)
• Wichita Mountains (Q3305333)
• Wichita Mountains ecoregion (Q116840211)
• Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (Q743584)
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Rivers—Oklahoma (sh85114373)
• Wildlife refuges—Oklahoma (sh85146756)
The confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River where the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky come together.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of fractal tidal channels in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Florida, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Marias River in Toole County, Montana, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the White River floodplain west of Jacksonport, Mississippi.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Pearl River northwest of Morgantown, Mississippi, USA
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar image of the Yampa River flowing through Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado, USA. The confluence with the Green River can be seen in the northwest corner of the image.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
This is on the promontory behind the rock house. "U.S.M.M. No. 1" means "United States Mineral Monument," which the USGS defines as follows:
This is a monumented reference for one or more mineral surveys or for an isolated special survey. The monument is established during surveys of the irregular boundaries of mining claims when no public land corners have been established in the vicinity. When the public land surveys are subsequently extended to the area, the mineral monument is tied to a regular section corner. This type of monument may also be used in any situation where no corner of an existing survey is available to provide a satisfactory con-
nection for an isolated special survey. In most cases a the monument does not fall on a public land line.
From USGS Part 3: Attribute Coding, Standards for Digital Line Graphs (DLG-3)
Lidar-derived image of the intermittent channels of the Quinn River in the Black Rock Desert Wilderness of Nevada, USA. The Quinn River drains an enclosed basin which includes the site of the annual Burning Man event.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the intermittent channels of the Quinn River in the Black Rock Desert Wilderness of Nevada, USA. The Quinn River drains an enclosed basin which includes the site of the annual Burning Man event.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Madison River near West Yellowstone, Montana, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of meandering Pelican Creek shortly before it flows into Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the meandering Bear River on the border of Wyoming and Utah, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Colorado River between Smithville and La Grange, Texas, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
(Updated August 15, 2024)
We're still on the great baymouth bar known as Minnesota Point, on the grounds of the Park Point recreational facility. And we're facing northward, toward Lake Superior.
To follow along with what I'm about to say here, it's best to review what I covered in Part 2 of this series. If you haven't looked at it already, I suggest that you do.
In that description, I noted that Minnesota Point has a spine of crescentic dunes. The true shapes and disposition of these aeolian (wind-generated) landforms can only be clearly comprehended using lidar imagery—such as that available on the USGS National Map. And as I also mentioned, crescentic dunes come in two different varieties. Which is the dominant form on this baymouth bar? I'm not completely sure, but here's my thinking so far.
- In the barchan type, the snout faces into the prevailing breeze; the horns point downwind. Barchans mostly form in places where the wind direction is quite unvarying, where there's little or no vegetation, and where the supply of sand is adequate but not abundant. And they often coalesce into long ridges.
- With the contrasting parabolic type, it's the snout that faces downwind and the horns up. Parabolics characteristically form in places with a lot of sand—but sand that's already well fixed by vegetation. Eventually, however, the wind succeeds in excavating blowouts wherever it can. The result is scooped-out central sections and vegetated ridges (the horns) on the sides.
So what it all boils down to on Minnesota Point are these questions:
- What is the prevailing wind direction? In this part of the world, it's predominantly westerly, or from the west and heading eastward. But often along coastlines, local onshore winds (those moving from the water to the land) are also powerful shapers of dunes and beach ridges.
So who's the boss here? The dunes are oriented on a northeast-southwest axis. This seems to be nicely aligned with onshore air flow. On the other hand, the westerly regional prevailing winds would actually have to be southwesterly to fit the dune directions. And when sand does migrate where plant roots are lacking, it moves southwestward, apparently pushed that way by the lake breezes. Such areas of sand migration can be seen at Park Point on Google Earth.
- Did these crescentic dunes form before the vegetation covered them, or after? Those portions of Minnesota Point not altered by urban and residential construction are in modern times mantled with plant growth. But it's possible the dunes did form rather quickly, before substantial plant colonization. And the fact that they do coalesce into a linear beach ridge that extends for several mi / km is very, very barchan-ish.
Accordingly, I'm going with the barchan hypothesis, at least for now. If anyone out there can confirm or obliterate it, please do. Or if you have any other insights that would help at all, let me know.
- - - - -
And now it's time to focus on this particular photo. It shows a small section of one of those crescentic dunes—whatever type it really is. Its crest is about 20 ft (6.1 m) above mean lake level, and 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m) above the spot I took this photo. And it is indeed home to quite a diverse array of woody and herbaceous plant species.
Of course, the most conspicuous members of this hardy plant community are the trees: what seem to be a mixture of Red and Eastern White Pines (Pinus resinosa and P. strobus) and white-barked Paper Birches (Betula papyrifera). The last-named are just beginning to leaf out. Spring comes slowly in these northern parts.
Also beginning to emerge are the light-green stems of what I gather is that great hero of shoreline stabilization, Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata, also called American Beach Grass).
As it so happens, in terms of its native distribution Minnesota Point is this species' westernmost outpost. It has the amazing ability to grow in pure sand, thanks to its mutualistic relationship with root-dwelling fungi. This mycorrhizal association is found in many other plant species, too, but in this case it allows the grass to obtain nutrients in a resource-starved soil environment.
Because Marram spreads by aggressive rhizomes— stems growing horizontally underground—it creates clonal colonies that -perform the crucial job of anchoring otherwise active dunes in place.
To see the other photos and descriptions of this series, visit
my Integrative Natural History of Minnesota's North Shore album.
Lidar-derived image of the Marias River in Toole County, Montana, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
There are forty-seven creeks named "Cedar Creek" in Oklahoma (according to the Geographic Names Information System), and that is too many, and most should be renamed.
Unfortunately if it were left to the people of Oklahoma to rename them, they'd all be named in honor of Donald Trump!
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In the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Comanche County, Oklahoma, on February 16th, 2023, Cedar Creek as viewed off the Cedar Planting Trail.
Cedar Creek flows to Medicine Creek, which flows to East Cache Creek, which joins West Cache Creek to form Cache Creek, which flows to the Red River, which historically flowed to the Mississippi River, but now flows to the Atchafalaya River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
-----------------------
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Cedar Creek (2228469)
• Comanche (county) (2001638)
• Wichita Mountains (1109804)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• boulders (300011671)
• riverine landscapes (300435110)
• rivers (300008707)
• wildlife refuges (300008181)
• winter (300133101)
Wikidata items:
• 16 February 2023 (Q69306711)
• 2022-23 North American winter (Q114585888)
• Atchafalaya River drainage basin (Q117282797)
• Cedar Creek (Q56507388)
• Central and Southern mixed grasslands (Q5062062)
• Central Great Plains (Q14710395)
• coarse woody debris (Q1413705)
• February 16 (Q2342)
• February 2023 (Q61312937)
• Lawton, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area (Q6505064)
• Little Arkansas Treaty (Q6648935)
• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (Q6671518)
• Medicine Lodge Treaty (Q1566313)
• plant litter (Q2512035)
• Red River drainage basin (Q117283017)
• riparian forest (Q11177275)
• Southwestern Oklahoma (Q7571438)
• Treaty with the Comanche and Kiowa, 1865 (Q116841115)
• Treaty with the Kiowa and Comanche, 1867 (Q116842059)
• Western Oklahoma (Q7988126)
• Wichita Mountains (Q3305333)
• Wichita Mountains ecoregion (Q116840211)
• Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (Q743584)
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Rivers—Oklahoma (sh85114373)
• Wildlife refuges—Oklahoma (sh85146756)
Lidar-derived image of huge river bends on the Ohio River near Evansville, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of huge river bends on the Ohio River near Evansville, Indiana and Henderson, Kentucky.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar image of the Yampa River flowing through Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado, USA. The confluence with the Green River can be seen in the upper corner of the image.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the North Fork Payette River south of McCall, Idaho.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge Louisiana.
Data from The National Map: apps.nationalmap.gov/downloader/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the iconic bends in the North Fork Shenandoah River in Virginia.
Data from the USGS Lidar Explorer: apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Pearl River northwest of Morgantown, Mississippi, USA
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the North Fork Payette River south of McCall, Idaho.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the Brazos River in Young County, Texas.
Data from the USGS Lidar Explorer: apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
There are thirty-six creeks in Oklahoma named "Turkey Creek" (according to the Geographic Names Information System) and I think it would be fine to rename some of them. There is not a word shortage!
Sheesh there are 480 creeks in the U.S. named "Turkey Creek." I like turkeys but I'm getting bored.
-----------------------
In the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Comanche County, Oklahoma, on February 16th, 2023, Turkey Creek as viewed from the north side of Oklahoma State Highway 49.
Turkey Creek flows to West Cache Creek, which joins East Cache Creek to form Cache Creek, which flows to the Red River, which historically flowed to the Mississippi River, but now flows to the Atchafalaya River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
-----------------------
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Comanche (county) (2001638)
• Turkey Creek (2732728)
• Wichita Mountains (1109804)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• closed (300404666)
• fences (site elements) (300005044)
• grasslands (300008874)
• light brown (300127503)
• mountains (300008795)
• riverine landscapes (300435110)
• rivers (300008707)
• signs (declatory or advertising artifacts) (300123013)
• streams (300008699)
• trees (300132410)
• wildlife refuges (300008181)
• winter (300133101)
Wikidata items:
• 16 February 2023 (Q69306711)
• 2022-23 North American winter (Q114585888)
• Atchafalaya River drainage basin (Q117282797)
• Central and Southern mixed grasslands (Q5062062)
• Central Great Plains (Q14710395)
• closed to the public (Q55570340)
• February 16 (Q2342)
• February 2023 (Q61312937)
• Lawton, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area (Q6505064)
• Little Arkansas Treaty (Q6648935)
• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (Q6671518)
• Medicine Lodge Treaty (Q1566313)
• Oklahoma State Highway 49 (Q2172389)
• Red River drainage basin (Q117283017)
• Southwestern Oklahoma (Q7571438)
• Treaty with the Comanche and Kiowa, 1865 (Q116841115)
• Treaty with the Kiowa and Comanche, 1867 (Q116842059)
• Turkey Creek (Q117307957)
• Western Oklahoma (Q7988126)
• Wichita Mountains (Q3305333)
• Wichita Mountains ecoregion (Q116840211)
• Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (Q743584)
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Dead trees (sh98006031)
• Grasslands—Oklahoma (sh86003285)
• Mountains—Oklahoma (sh85087921)
• Rivers—Oklahoma (sh85114373)
• Wildlife refuges—Oklahoma (sh85146756)
• Wire fencing (sh85147062)
Lidar-derived image of the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the White River floodplain west of Jacksonport, Mississippi.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of ancient channels on the Sabine River floodplain east of Carthage, Texas, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com
Lidar-derived image of the meandering Bear River on the border of Wyoming and Utah, USA.
Data from USGS 3DEP Lidar Explorer:
apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/
This image is provided for non-commercial use only. If you have questions please contact me at my website, dancoecarto.com