Month: September 2024

Into the Valley of Death

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Death Valley does not sound like the name of a place I would want to venture into and yet it’s a place I’ve come to treasure. Death Valley, in eastern California is advertised as the “hottest, driest, and lowest” of the National Parks. It sits in the Mojave Desert and is a valley with mountain ranges on all sides. For example, on the west side there is the Panamint Range and on the east side there is the Amargosa Range.

Death Valley is interesting – geologically – because it is affected by a lot of different tectonic “regimes”. It is dynamically situated at the confluence of the Eastern California Shear Zone (which is associated with the Pacific-North America plate boundary); the Sierra Nevada (large suite of intrusive igneous rock that was subsequently uplifted and tilted); and the Basin and Range (extensional tectonic province spanning western North America).

I last visited Death Valley earlier this year – my brother is living in California and he was taking his first geology class. His school was also offering a field trip to Death Valley over Spring Break and my brother was so interested in his introductory geology course that he decided to attend the field trip, and he invited me!

I drove for a very long time to get there from my home near Phoenix. Arriving after dark, the course participants were all cleaning up following dinner so I set up my tent at the campground and hung out with my brother for a bit before going to sleep.

The next day we decided to explore on our own due to the fact that there were some places we wanted to check out that the course instructors weren’t planning to visit. The weather was also not great – it was actually quite rainy so the “driest” National Park was actually pretty wet. The valley was even filled with water – forming the now ephemeral Lake Manly (a rare occurrence). This was a remnant of the atmospheric river that affected southern California in the early months of 2024.

We had quite the adventure, and saw a TON of lovely geology, which I hope to share more about with you in some subsequent posts. For now I’ll just talk about our first stop, which consisted of a visit to Badwater Basin (and Lake Manly which filled it).

It was my second time at Badwater Basin. The first time I visited was in early March 2020 shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was actually the last traveling I did prior to everything pretty much shutting down. I was working on a project in the Panamint Mountains that was fully remote so I wanted to visit in-person and get a better sense the geology. I went through Death Valley to get there and stopped at Badwater Basin along the way.

Badwater Basin is considered the lowest point in North America. Although, I met one geologist that argued against this – actually, a very important geologist – David Applegate, the incumbent director of the US Geological Survey. Anyway, the Basin reaches all the way down to 282 feet (85.5 meters) below mean sea level. It is a salt flat comprised mostly of sodium chloride (standard table salt) but also includes other evaporites (or sediments that form from evaporated solutions of water and dissolvable minerals).

The action of this hydration and evaporation of salts generates interesting polygonal geometries that are similar to cracks that form in a layer of dried out mud, for example. These cracks are very interesting in that their form (shape and size) are variable and dependent on things like the swell and shrink potential of the material (how much water it can hold), the rate of evaporation, and the temperature of evaporation.

Badwater Basin with salt polygons from March 2020.

Anyway, all of this makes for a very beautiful landscape when the ground is dried out. Of course, it wasn’t the second time I was there. The landscape was beautiful in a different way though – the flat, fairly still water reflected the surroundings like a foggy mirror. Simply surreal.

Lake Manly filling Badwater Basin, the water reflects the Panamint Range to the West.

Geology Mixtape

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I’m old enough to have some experience (mostly during my early teenage years) making actual mixtapes… and as wild as it seems to me, you may not even know what that means, so I will go ahead and explain just in case.

Basically music portability used to occur via cassette tapes that consist of a magnetic tape that serves as an analog means of recording and playing back audio. The tape is wound around one spool and as it is read by the playback device the tape is collected on a second spool. I remember sometimes the tape would get pulled out of the plastic (or metal sometimes) cover and I’d have to use my pointer finger or the eraser end of wooden pencil to wind the tape back in – fun stuff!

Anyway, I would enjoy recording my favorite songs from the radio onto my cassette tapes so I could play them back when I pleased. I also curated different songs for themed “mixtapes” which I could gift to my friends and loved ones to share songs that I thought went well together. We now have digital playlists (on Spotify or whatever service you prefer) – which is pretty much the modern-day equivalent.

This process of arranging things – or organizing items into categories for a general purpose is something I’ve learned I excel at – I’m currently job-hunting so I recently took this assessment where you can discover your top strengths. One of mine is the “Arranger” which is described to me as “You can organize, but your flexibility complements this ability. You like to determine how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.” I think this trait transfers well to the creative realm and I started building my very own geology-themed musical playlist and I wanted to share that here.

In my opinion, it does not suffice to have a collection of songs just about rocks or geology or similar topics. In building my playlist I was looking for a specific “vibe”. I have to reach somewhat to try and describe it. Perhaps soothing or lightly upbeat sounds with some melancholy undertones. Maybe subtle notes with post-rock influences. Preferably performed by indie artists.

My motivation for this is inherently personal, as any good playlist typically is. Through the aging process, I’ve noticed a transition to a more relaxed state of being, and I think my musical taste reflects that. I also feel *lightly* upbeat a lot of the time (but not too upbeat; maybe merely content) and sometimes sad but pensive – not in a bad way though.

Stephanie’s Geology Mixtape

Drift – Galimatias and Alina Baraz

I chose this song because of the title – Drift. Continental drift was a concept that the early geological pioneer Alfred Wegener used to describe the motion of continental masses over long periods of time. The concept of continental drift was pivotal in the early development of plate tectonics theory. The song is about a feeling of passivity – specifically in a romantic way – but, it can be interpreted to represent loss of control.

Go Outside – Cults

I interpret this song to be about being held back by a loved one who is unwilling to experience growth. But, it’s called “Go Outside” and geologists spend a lot of time outside. I also think a big part of my pursuit of geology in the first place involved “go[ing] outside” of my comfort zone.

Through Me (The Flood) – Hozier

A flood is obviously a natural event that geologists care a lot about. It occurs when the capacity of body of water is exceeded – it results in what is typically dry land being inundated by water. In modern society, floods can be damaging and catastrophic. Hozier wrote this song during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world was being flooded with grief and loss; but, he also remarks on the strength of individuals to make their way through it.

After The Earthquake – Alvvays

This song describes a couple in a post-catastrophe scenario – they were arguing when one of them was suddenly injured in a car crash, putting the disagreement on hold. I often relate to how different experiences and events mold one’s perspective on things, especially life’s trials.

Alaska – Maggie Rogers

Alaska is just a place geographically, but – although it’s maybe a stretch – Alaska happens to be very geologically active. I like the song and add it to the list because Maggie Rogers sings about her reawakening following a difficult breakup. It reminds me how you can feel stuck in a difficult situation but then later experience something that makes you feel free again and perhaps even better than before.

SUPERBLOOM – MisterWives

More of an environmental science (or botanical) phenomenon, a superbloom occurs when an unusually high number of desert wildflowers blossom simultaneously, usually after heavy rainfall. This song resonates with me for several reasons, but I will suffice it to say that I currently live in the desert of Arizona, and leading up to that involved a lot of challenging experiences.

Meteorite – Anna Of The North

A meteorite is basically a space rock that “hits the ground alright” (it rhymes so its a good way to remember the difference between a meteorite and something that enters the atmosphere but burns up or otherwise doesn’t make it to the ground). This song is about a seemingly small encounter that has a large impact (pun definitely intended). It reminds me of times when I intentionally made small, manageable changes that later led to bigger, more meaningful ones.

Superposition – Young The Giant

Superposition is a concept that students typically learn about in introductory geology as “in undeformed columns of rock, the oldest is at the bottom and the youngest is at the top”. Its a concept of relative dating – or figuring out how old things are by comparing them to each other. I call it the “pancake concept” because when you make pancakes, you usually end up with the first one on the bottom and they pile up until last one ends up on top. The song is described by the artist to signify how in a realm of endless possibilities, one (superposed) outcome occurs.

Lava – Still Woozy

Lava is molten rock that has reached the planet’s surface. The song is about what I call a “volcanic” love. The artist describes his loved one in a way that renders high energy and explosivity – like a volcano. I know I can be a little hot-headed occasionally, so I hope that at least one person finds that endearing.

Landslide – Fleetwood Mac

This one is a classic, indeed. It encapsulates the concept of sudden catastrophic change – how everything a person has built in their life up to a point can all come crashing down, like a landslide. I went through a significant and tumultuous transformation midway through my doctoral studies, and during my healing process, I heard this song, which holds extraordinary meaning for me.