Geology Field Trip (1)
/The geology field trip associated with the university class I took this spring was cancelled because of weather, but the one that was a follow-up to a Missouri Master Naturalist lecture happened on a beautiful spring day in early May! We started out at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center…the longest hike of the trip with stops along the way to see examples of
(Chert nodules)
Sedimentation – erosion and deposition
Soil creep
Bluffs and rock fall
Spring
Sinkhole
River meandering
Most of my pictures were not about geology! I noticed the turtle and water plants in the sedimentation area. It is easier to take pictures of landscapes than geologic features. The hike was over boardwalk and forest trails. The only place the trail was muddy/wet/slippery was where the spring water ran over it. Overall, it was a great hike…and I was ready for lunch afterward. If I do the hike again on my own, I will take it a bit slower; I’ve learned that my knees get sore with a lot of walking on uneven surfaces.
The botanical highpoint of the day was wild ginger in bloom!
A jack-in-the-pulpit was a close second.
From a tree perspective, seeing a young sassafras and a black locust in bloom was great too.
Near the nature center – there are plantings of native wildflowers. They had a cage around the lady slipper orchid that was blooming.
More tomorrow on the rest of the Geology Field Trip…
