Geology 111 BYU-Idaho

Upon walking outside the break room where I work, I found this beauty: What initially seems to simply be a dirty table is really small amounts of sediment deposited by snow onto the table which has then melted and settled at the bottom of this small puddle. This silt gathered in snow fall is likely from multiple locations. As water gathers in clouds before falling in the form of rain or snow, dust and other particles gather and weigh down the H2O as it tumbles to this table each winter. I work in downtown Salt Lake City, where there is plenty of exhaust and dust in the air from close by refineries and construction zones. I'm sure the sediments kicked up by this wind also contributed to this dirty puddle. Because of this mix of sediments, and their size it is difficult to determine their shape (whether rounded or sharp). These well sorted sediments, if compacted, would most likely create a Frankenstein type sedimentary rock if cemented, due to the different elements conta...

*Do I feel that my understanding of this assignment is silly? (yes). Will I still do it? (yes). Drip, who was just a drop in the ocean (or at least used to be) was sad to leave the big blue Pacific. Evaporating into the air, he collects as moisture in clouds with particles of dirt, dust, smoke, and lots of other materials. From the clear, blue, warm waters of Hawaii his cloud took him, all the way to Alaska, over high mountain ranges with snow capped peaks. Luckily for Drip, he dropped into a lush green meadow where the zone of saturation was close to the surface of the ground. Although part of Drip was sucked up by the roots of a pine tree, drip was happy to give a drop to help someone along his way. Down through the unsaturated zone he went, getting help along the way from other drops, until he reached the water table, where he was again surrounded by water. Just as Drip got comfortable, he again started to move.  He stops suddenly however, as he encounters an aquitard ,...

In September of 2015, flash flooding in the city of Hildale and Zion National Park, Utah killed 18 people, becoming the most devastating weather disaster in the history of the state. The debris flow was triggered by multiple rain falls in a short period of time, which, according to geologists, was one of the main issues that caused the extreme flow that swept away multiple vehicles. The saturated ground and loose materials that make up the geological surface of southern Utah are prime ingredients for what media calls a "landslide" which carries everything and anything in its path as rivers overflow their capacity and natural waterways are followed by the debris flow as pictured below: In Zion National Park, water eroded sandstone canyons are home to tourists each year that wish to view natures beauty. The canyons become deadly in just seconds however when rain falls and there is no escape. As almost 90% of Zion National Park is wilderness, it's almost impossible to c...

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is located almost directly in the middle of the African and South American Continents. Depending on the location along the plate boundary, the African and South American plates meet at a zig-zag pattern of both divergent and transform boundaries. Upon closer examination, , it's plain to see the defined ridges characteristic of slowly spreading ridge centers. There seem to be high mountains, and low valleys, differing in certain areas by over thousands of feet, literally straight down in certain areas! I conclude that this is a slowing expanding rift area ridge with the youngest materials near the center with valleys and mountains formed from a transform plate boundary and the pushing up of magma from under the Lithosphere.

If I've used the earthquake file from USGS correctly, I am definitely surprised at the amount of earthquakes (though small) that have occurred close to home for me. Although I'm not extremely close to any of the marks for earthquakes that have happened in the last 30 days, it's slightly disturbing to see that within 5-7 hours of my front door earthquakes are happening. Living close to Yellowstone, and along offshoots of the Rocky Mountain range, I should not be so surprised. Noting the large quantity comparatively of tremors surrounding the Yellowstone region and caldera is a clear sign of its tectonic and the lithosphere's activity there. We'll just have to see if God calls our family somewhere other than the rocky mountains before Yellowstone decides to blow!

The age of the earth according to science, and the age of the earth according to certain religious sects is indeed in conflict. Although it has not always been true personally, this conflict is resolved in my case. It is a topic in which I would like to spend hours researching and discussing, but I have chosen a few main points of truth to shed light on my viewpoint below, though I don't claim to do this topic justice in fullness in any way. Within the LDS faith, prominent voices, including those of Prophets, Seers, and Revelators such as Brigham Young, and expert Mormon scientists such as Henry Eyring support truth circumscribed in one great whole, that religion and science actually do not contradict each other when doctrine is truly understood. This is compared to a conflicting viewpoint of some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those of millions of Christians worldwide that take the biblical timeline to be literal and final in meaning. A s...