Like Paula, But Geology

From Gorillas to Grizzlies

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Authored by Not Wanderlust’s head geologist: Evan Dismukes 


Quick Vocabulary

Basalt: a type of lava.

Pyroclastic flow: a superheated ash cloud that moves along the ground at high rates of speed.

Stratovolcano: a cone shaped volcano made up of ash, lava and pumice.

Lahar: a mud flow.

Accretionary wedge: the rock and sediment that gets scraped off the plate that is being subducted.
I know I’m currently behind in these posts, but we’ve been insanely busy since the last one. I’m finally being able to write this since I didn’t have any opportunities to do research in the past week (hopping from wifi hotspot to wifi hotspot in Canada doesn’t help). I’ll chose to blame all of this on the U.S. Border Patrol officers that we’ve dealt with over the past week. Everytime we enter Canada it’s a “Hello” and “Enjoy your stay,” but every time we return to the U.S. it’s “do you have written permission from your parents to operate this vehicle?” without even a “welcome home.”

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Bruh, Volcanoes

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Authored by Not Wanderlust’s head geologist: Evan Dismukes
I should have prefaced my previous post with this, but I didn’t and now it’s even more relevant the further north we get. All volcanic activity on the west coast is a result of the Pacific Continental Plate being subducted underneath the North American Plate. This interaction is also what causes the earthquakes that occur from Argentina all the way to Alaska. I know I mentioned the possibility for tsunamis before when I was talking about Lake Tahoe, but when you see tsunami evacuation routes along the coast, that doesn’t mean “let the surfers have the best wave of their lives” it genuinely means “I hope you brought your floaties.”

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More Geology and More Geolology

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Authored by Not Wanderlust’s head geologist: Evan Dismukes 
Yay Granite! I was finally able to stand on something that wasn’t just red sandstone. As we continued west, we drove through the heart of the Basin and Range province (a place I’d experienced during field camp), the SoCal coast (where I witnessed the oil production for myself) and north toward the rainforest. We have continued the tradition of rallying our Golf in places it shouldn’t be and witnessing the local “medicine” (of which doesn’t pertain to geology, so it’s not in this post).

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We’re Geology Rally Drivers Now

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Authored by Not Wanderlust’s head geologist: Evan Dismukes



This week involved a lot of the same geology. The monotony drove me to occasional boredom and left me with some disappointments. But the trip’s not about me, it’s about hardcore geolology (yes, that’s spelled correctly). So, we kept on keeping on to all the different areas if nothing else but to admire other people’s road warrior camper setups.

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