Author Archives: Mark Wilson

WOOSTER, OHIO–We were honored this week when Dr. Michael E. Mann, one of the world’s foremost climate-change experts and a leader in the efforts to educate the public about anthropogenic effects on the atmosphere, came to Wooster as part of … Continue reading →
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This small oyster is not in itself unusual. In fact, it is one of the most common fossils in the Jurassic of western Europe: Praeexogyra acuminata (Sowerby, 1816). It may be better known by its older name: Ostrea acuminata. Local … Continue reading →
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BRYN MAWR, PENNSYLVANIA–While visiting my friends and colleagues Katherine and Pedro Marenco at Bryn Mawr College, I visited the nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park. Everyone will remember, of course that this is the place outside Philadelphia that the Continental … Continue reading →
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The above is one of my favorite “fossils”, a commercially-available cast of the lower jawbone of Gigantopithecus blacki, a giant extinct ape. It was produced from an actual Pleistocene fossil found in a cave near Liucheng, Guangxi, in southern China. … Continue reading →
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA–We left the fine people at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx in the morning and drove in an all-too-irregular way through Las Vegas (sorry about that, other drivers!) to the spectacular Red Rocks National Conservation Area northwest … Continue reading →
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ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–This was our last full day of geological adventures in the Mojave Desert for 2013. The weather was even warmer than yesterday, with the temperature in Baker at 4:00 p.m. a delightful 94°F. We began in the usual way … Continue reading →
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ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–Today the Wooster Geologists explored the Mojave National Preserve. It is a beautiful, spacious, diverse place well maintained and protected by the National Park Service. Our first stop of the morning is shown above. We explored a lava tube … Continue reading →
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ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–The spectacular set of folds above are exposed in the lower parking lot of Calico Ghost Town near Barstow, California. This is a famous site that has been visited by hundreds of geologists, but there are still many mysteries … Continue reading →
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ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–Today Team Mojave studied the remains of ancient lake systems in the dry, dry desert. Early in the morning we drove west from Zzyzx to the Harvard Road exit off Interstate 15 and took a series of sandy roads … Continue reading →
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DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA–All geologists love Death Valley. No other place on Earth has such extraordinarily diverse geology combined with a modern infrastructure and a century of scientific study. The Wooster Geologists had a spectacular time in and around the valley … Continue reading →
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