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Geo 102 Lab #1. Pacific Northwest Geologic Mystery. The Scientific Method. The basic process of the scientific method is as follows: Observe some phenomenon or object you cannot explain.
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Geo 102 Lab #1 Pacific Northwest Geologic Mystery
The Scientific Method The basic process of the scientific method is as follows: • Observe some phenomenon or object you cannot explain. • Invent a tentative description or explanation, called a hypothesis, that is consistent with what you have observed. • Use the hypothesis to make predictions about future observations and actions. • Test those predictions by experiments or further observations and modify the hypothesis in the light of your results. • Make additional predictions based on the revised hypothesis until there are no discrepancies between theory and experiment and/or observation.
Jökulhlaups • Glacial outburst floods, also known as jökulhlaups, occur very rapidly and can release huge amounts of water. In Iceland, many jökulhlaups are triggered by volcanic activity beneath glacial ice.
Erratic - A rock fragment carried by glacial ice, or by floating ice, deposited some distance from the outcrop from which it was derived… - Glossary of Geology
Glacial Erratics in the Willamette Valley McMinnville Erratic Icebergs near Vatnajokull, Iceland
The Palouse • Ancient loess deposits in eastern Washington derived from the Columbia River and glacial outwash, blown in during the last Ice Age. • The Palouse consists of rolling hills of very thick, fertile, soil. It known for its rich wheat production.
Loess • Silt, sand, and dust, which are blown by wind. The source of most of the loess in the Pacific Northwest is glacial material blown from the north during the last Ice Age
Scablands • An elevated area, underlain by flat-lying basalt flows, with a thin soil cover and sparse vegetation, and usually with deep dry channels scoured into the surface.
Map of Eastern Washington Dry Falls and Coulee City
Map of Spokane Area Rhythmites
Rhythmite • Succession of layers of sediment (silts, clays, etc.) deposited in rhythmic cycles. For example a sand layer followed by a silt layer followed by another sand layer. Varying amounts of time may separate layers.
Varve • A pair of thin sedimentary layers formed annually by seasonal climatic changes. Usually found in glacial lake deposits, varves consist of a coarse-grained, light-colored summer layer and a finer-grained, dark-colored winter layer. Varves, and the pollen they contain, are useful for interpreting recent climatic history.
Map of Eastern Washington Dry Falls and Coulee City
Map of Eastern Washington Dry Falls and Coulee City
Aerial View of Dry Falls Dry Falls
Labs are due two days after they are assigned by 5:00 p.m. TA Offices and Mailboxes
