The sedimentary rocks of the Earth hold vast quantities of fossils. Hundreds of years of careful observations have shown that fossils are far from random in their distribution but rather they appear in the geological column in a distinct pattern or order referred to as fossil succession. How can we explain the observed distribution of fossils in the... Continue Reading →
This summer two of my sons and I took a hike through the Jurassic time period. Near Greybull, Wyoming is a long ridge called Sheep Mountain. Geologically speaking, Sheep Mountain is an anticline which is a type of folded bedrock that has an arch-like shape with its oldest rocks at its core. Because what are typically horizontal rock layers are here found tipped... Continue Reading →
Scattered across the upper surface of a hard layer of limestone in the badlands of the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming are the tell-tale signs of dinosaur activity: footprints. Over one thousand footprints have been identified here, most of them on one exposure of rock in a small gully in the Red Gulch region. On our family vacation this... Continue Reading →
On our way to the bighorn basin last month we stopped at Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. It was a beautiful cool morning and so we took the 1.3 mile hike around the base of the tower. From there we were able to watch several climbers scaling the sides. Unlike Mt. Rushmore which always leaves... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 