Geology 103 Field assignment
- 1. Van Sickle Bi State Park Jessica Paola Mendoza Nunez Geology 103 Prof. Mark Lawler Field assignment project Due June 21st, 2015
- 2. Content Location Steller's Jay Black bears Jeffrey Pine Evolution of the Jeffrey Pine Manzanita Evolution of the Manzanita Igneous Granite Metamorphic Rocks References Picture taken by author
- 3. Van Sickle Park is located in the middle of California and Nevada. It opened to the public in 2011. The park encompasses 575 acres inside the Nevada side and 150 acres on the California side. The park was donated by Jack Van Sickle in the hopes of honoring his grandfather Henry Van Sickle This park was formed by faulting around 3 million years ago and it is surrounded by both the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and the Carson Mountain Range. The highest peak in Van Sickle park is around 7,777 ft. *LOCATION*
- 4. STELLER'S JAY On my hike I saw this bird many times. The stellar Jay is closely related to the blue Jay. It is native to western North America. Another name for the Stellar Jay is" Long Crested Jay, Mountain Jay,Pine Jay The steller's Jay is one of two species in the genus Cyanocitta, and it belongs to the corvidae family The steller's Jay is actually very bold and aggressive, this birds flight is strong and steady Its length is 11.5 inches.
- 5. The scientific name of the American black bear is Ursus Americanus. Despite the name "black bears" they can actually be of different colors such as blonde, cinnamon, brown and black. Black bears are very common in the States of California and Nevada, there are no Grizzly bears left in these areas. Black bears can weigh around 200 pounds but some of the adult males can reach a weight of up to 500 pounds. It is estimated that there are up to 25,000 to 35,000 bears in California. And 200 to 300 in Nevada. (forestservice) Black bears are believed to have evolved from dog like animals. Bears are carnivores and are mammals. Bears come from the Ursidae family. (American bear) Black Bears
- 6. Jeffrey Pine The scientific name for Jeffrey pine is Pinus Jeffreyi. The Jeffrey Pine is mainly found in California, but also in some western parts of Nevada, Oregon and Baja California. It is a high altitude species and it can grow widely at 4,900-6,900 feet. It is closely related to the Ponderosa Pine; however, this tree is more stress tolerant than the Ponderosa. The Jeffrey Pine tree can grow at higher elevations and poorer soils, in colder or dryer climates. Its pinecones can be 12-24 cm long and they are dark purple when immature. Its leaves are needle like and from in bundles of three. (Jeffrey Pine, wiki)
- 7. Evolution of the Jeffrey Pine The Jeffrey Pine was discovered in 1852 in Shasta Valley, California by John Jeffrey. At first it was believed to be a sort of species of the Ponderosa Pine, but later was identified as having differences to the Ponderosa.(forestryabout) Although the tree was discovered in 1852, the actual history of it is a lot longer. The Jeffrey Pine tree seeds appeared around 400 million years ago which was during the Devonian Period. After the appearance of seed, we then had the appearance of the gymnosperms. With these first steps completed, the development of the Jeffrey Pine was now possible. (paleozoic era)
- 8. MANZANITA The name Manzanita is one of the many different types of species that come from the Arctostaphylos. These plants are characterized by having smooth orange or reddish bark. There are over 100 species of Manzanita. (manzanita,wiki) Picture taken by author
- 9. Evolution of the Manzanita The evolution of the Manzanita and every other plant, began with hybridization. It is believed that fossils ancestors of this plant occurred in the middle Miocene, with the appearance of modern species in the late tertiary. Another hypothesis to the evolution is that these plants appeared with the appearance of a cooler drier climate.(eoearth) (Image from Wikipedia)
- 10. Igneous Granite Pictures by author This type of rock sees to be very common in the South Lake Tahoe area, in fact, during my hike It was pretty much the only type of rock that I observed. Granite consist mostly of feldspar, quartz, mica and amphibole minerals. A general characteristic of granite is that is it almost always massive in size. (granite, wiki)
- 11. Metamorphic rock Pictures taken by author Metamorphic rocks are formed by the transformation of existing rock types> The original specie of rocks comes into contact with heat and pressure, by which the rock changes its appearance. Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth's crust. (metamorphic, wiki) There are two types of metamorphic rocks; which are the foliated metamorphic rocks and the non foliated. The foliated is the types of rocks that have molded because of heat and pressure. The non-foliated do not have a layered or banded apearance. (geology)