I haz been to the black hills (warning: image heavy)

[Ibrahim]

as the title suggests, I went to the Black Hills over the weekend, as part of my GEOL 401 class (in fact, the field trip is the class). the trip was hosted by Dr. John "Riddler" Ridley, and my sedimentology professor, Dr. Sven Egenhoff (ignore the first name-he's German).

naturally, not wanting to miss the scenery, I took my camera with me. I'm a photography noob btw, so forgive me if the pictures suck

now for the pictures. I hope you fellows like them:

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This particular feature is in Wyoming IIRC, on the way to the black hills. One of the few interesting sites on the way, as much of the distance is flatish plains

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this IIRC is on the edge of the Black Hills, as we stopped to deliver the first round of presentations (I presented a lecture on the Black Hills and Religion). the Black Hills (from Lakota "Paha Sapa", with the same meaning), is named for its dark color when viewed from a distance. the color is from the trees. bear in mind the Human eye is not very sensitive to green, especially over large distances.

The Black Hills has been inhabited by the Native Americans for ~13,000 years, and naturally several legends and myths arose to explain this lush, high feature in the middle of the plains. Harney's Peak was believed by the Oglala to be the center of the Universe, while devil's tower was apparently believed to have been involved in the creation of the Pleiades. Oddly, the Lakota (Oglala included) are relatively recent arrivals, only being in the area for ~250 years, having originally lives in what is now Minnesota or Wisconsin

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Mammoth death trap in the Hills. this area was once a sinkhole, some 26,000 years ago. this sinhole was filled with warm water, which kept grass green year round in the area. Noob Bull Elepahants (and desperate idiots, like the fellow above), would be lured to this area by the grass (they grazed, unlike Loxodonta and Elephas), fall in, and be unable to get out, due to the steep sides of the hole. I leave the rest to your imagination.

this idiot up there is IIRC nicknamed Napoleon Bonaparte. he was ~47 years old Colombian Mammoth, so he's old for the Elephants in this pit (who are mostly teens and young adults-and always male). there are two species of Mammoth here: Colombian, and Woolly. the two are distinguished by the shape of their teeth, and partly by size (the former is bigger). other species, ranging from Short face bears to rats, were also found. the rock is yellow due to Limonite, an Iron Oxide IIRC, created in part by the interaction of the hematite(?) with the decay by-products of the Elephants' corpses.

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I'm not sure about this, but myself and my friends suspect this Rock is somehow related to National Treasure 2. the silhouette to the left is the Driver, a guy name Max. He's also a local of the area, and a grad student at CSU. He's from (get this), Custer, South Dakota. but he oddly enough thinks-rightly-that Custer was a Jerk.

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some scenery, I believe it is not far from Custer or Lead (pronounced "leed" btw)

I was not able to photograph Harney peak, since I forgot the camera on the 2nd day , and Mt.Rushmore was not on the itinerary.

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a Beautiful waterfall, towards the are of Lead. the area is geologically tied to the Williston basin, north of the Black Hills. it is one of many areas where I lost my dignity, by asking a single question: "are there any fossils found here?"

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on the third day, we went to the Badlands (not part of the Hills). I almost ***** my pants when I got there:

this particular badlands photo was taken in Badlands national park. it is mostly Eocene and Oligocene deposits. unless you have a permit, don't dig here plz. that's 25 years in Jail if you do. (Sven told me, but I already knew. Nate Murphy's story is still fresh in my mind).

Sven (the fellow in the red shirt), standing near an exposed section of the Badlands. well, to be Honest, he is almost entirely red . he's apparently also shocked (in fact, the whole party was), that I was doing very well in the heat, even though I have fair skin, and was wearing full, woolen clothes, and was fasting the whole time

I kinda looked like this in fact, only my tunic was Black (faded from a blue-black), and I had sky blue jeans instead of woolen jeans.

same age as the previous photo, same depositional environment, but 10-20 miles away. Back in the day, this was a plain, which witnessed massive and regular volcanic activity, burying the poor saps in Ash, where they are excavated). the Eruption, Felsic in nature, were part of the Laramid Orogeny, which helped create the Rockies. We contributed to the beauty of the area, by increasing the erosion that creating the scenery in the first place-mostly by kicking at, and running over, the surface

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

some more outcrops from the area, this time showing Paleosol (fossilized soil). this area is ~ 60 MA old, or around/slightly before the badlands above. this paleosol was created by one of the earliest rain-forests (which didn't exist prior to 65.5 MYA-so I was told).

those are some pictures. I won't upload all of them, since some are just embarrassing to my subjects (I'm not in any of my photos BTW), or I value them too much.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

The badlands park is awesome...I spent a day there a while back, I remember one trail that zig zagged back and forth entirely up hill which was great.

That does look like the rock the were on in national treasure 2.

[Major Robert Dump]

Black Hills is where I had to re-learn Land Navigation during OCS. After finding my way out of that one land nav has never been a problem

Say, did you happen to make the Bike Rally in Sturgis? I think it may have been last week.

[Ibrahim]

Black Hills is where I had to re-learn Land Navigation during OCS. After finding my way out of that one land nav has never been a problem

Say, did you happen to make the Bike Rally in Sturgis? I think it may have been last week.

nope, haven't been there. we arrived on Friday.

[A Nerd]

Thanks for posting the photos, they were lovely! I think you are a fine photographer! The one with Max in it, I thought, added some nice character! ;) I also feel bad for poor Napoleon! I would like to see more photos and hear more stories if you are able!

[rajpoot]

Black hills looks like a place I'd love to visit...great pics.

BTW, they just leave mammoth's bones lying there? I mean I thought that kind of stuff's supposed to go into museums of natural history.

[Ibrahim]

Black hills looks like a place I'd love to visit...great pics.

BTW, they just leave mammoth's bones lying there? I mean I thought that kind of stuff's supposed to go into museums of natural history.

yes, they do, though not always. whent he site was originally excavated, the landowner who sold the land stated in the provisions of the purchace, that the original fossils be left where they are (or at least housed in the general area), for study purposes. anything you see from outside is usually, though not always, replicas.

And in Paleontology, what you asked is never the case; its actually supposed to go to whichever party in the contract(s) and deal(s) the fossils should go. That usually means a museum or university, but often times, its housed in a special area, or left in situ, but protected.

In China, you can't even remove the fossils outside the country; all studies of fossils found in China, must be studied there (unless otherwise stated*), and the researchers must always have a Chinese Colleague.


*in this case, you can remove it, but you still need a Chinese associate, and you must, IIRC, return it to China. my friend Daniel should be able to explain this better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lczCw0HGHfE (he's ranting about a guy, but he mentions the law).

[Megas Methuselah]

You're a lucky man. It's a sacred place.

[tibilicus]

You're a lucky man. It's a sacred place.

Just a shame they had to be taken like the rest of the sacred land. I guess when the Native Americans lost the Black Hills, a strong part of the Lakota culture died too. Wonder if the thieves will ever allow this small bit of soil to fall back into the hands of its rightful owner.

[Ibrahim]

You're a lucky man. It's a sacred place.

I know. you remember the 105 million dollars the supreme court offered the Oglala for the hills? its now half a billion or so, and the Oglala will not touch it. but being there, I can at least get a feel of why the place is so sacred, and helps me appreciate the Tribe's living there and their plight.

[Motep]

ahhhh, gotta love the black hills....

[Megas Methuselah]

Just a shame they had to be taken like the rest of the sacred land. I guess when the Native Americans lost the Black Hills, a strong part of the Lakota culture died too. Wonder if the thieves will ever allow this small bit of soil to fall back into the hands of its rightful owner.

...? Ok.

I know. you remember the 105 million dollars the supreme court offered the Oglala for the hills? its now half a billion or so, and the Oglala will not touch it. but being there, I can at least get a feel of why the place is so sacred, and helps me appreciate the Tribe's living there and their plight.

I'm not the kind of person that puts great emphasis on travel and sight-seeing, but there are a few rare places I'd care to visit in the world. This includes the Black Hills. Beautiful, sacred lands. Wonderful site, I envy you. I truly do.