Most Recent Program Information
February 2025 Program
-Our program was a wonderful virtual trip to NW USA presented by Marcia Morris, who traveled there for almost a month.She first explained the geology of the areas, then showed her personal video composed of beautiful photos of the terrain, plants and animals. Each was labeled with the common name and scientific name. She started in WI, then went through MN, ND, MT, ID, OR, WA, NV and UT with a side plane trip to AK. She drove over 3000 miles. Wow!!
Marcia started her trip at Grandad Bluff, WI. She visited the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and was impressed with the sand, silt and mudstone that compose the badlands in ND. The Ice Age rerouted the Missouri and Little Missouri rivers to the Ohio River from the Hudson Bay. In Benewah county Idaho she saw columnar joints of previous lava flows.
In WA, she observed Mt. Rainier (14,410') that was covered with snow and has its own weather. Beardtongue and Indian paintbrush were blooming. Mt. St. Helens WA, was fog-enclosed, but she drove around the base and saw where the top blew off in 1980. She also visited some lava tubes near there.
She visited with her brother in Olympia and took some neat photos of Puget Sound and some Harbor Seals. Marcia saw some familiar birds on her travels - Cedar Waxwing, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, American Robin & Black-capped Chickadee.
From WA, she flew to Fairbanks, AK and took a train to Mt. Denali (20,310') which is a pluton that formed from tectonic uplift. She was interested to see part of the unique 6 million acres of permafrost. Caribou and Dall Sheep were grazing by the train. Grizzly bears and squirrels were in the area, as well as many types of moth.
Upon her return to the continental states, Marcia crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge over the Columbia River. (built 1966 as the longest truss bridge in North America). She traveled south on Route 101, part of the Volcanic Scenic Byway. Several of the waterfalls she had hoped to visit were closed due to wildfires in the surrounding areas.
Crater Lake is the deepest alpine lake in the US and was formed from the collapse of Mt. Monzama around 8000 years ago. This mountain formed about 400,000 years ago due to the subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate under North America. The uplift formed the many volcanic mountains of the Cascade Range.
As she traveled through the Siuslaw National Forest, she saw gulls, loons and mallards. The shoreline of the Umpqua River had evidence of previous fires. Diamond Lake was surrounded by larch, firs, hemlock and pines, with some giant redwoods. She finally saw some falls in southern OR - Mill Creek, Plaikni Falls, & Pearsony Falls.
Marcia explored the Klamath Basin which connects OR and CA by its river and by Lake Tule. She walked the bird trail and got lots of great photos of many varieties. As she viewed the Lava Beds National Park, she experienced a surreal feeling. Acres of cooled lava surrounded her. Over thousands of years lichens and mosses break down the rock to soil, so grasses and even trees eventually grow in the open spaces.
She got to see Mt. Shasta from Schonchin Butte. Again, many burnt tree skeletons covered the landscape. Merrill and Skull ice caves have provided water for animals for many years.
Marcia found the very remote Glass Mountain by Medicine Lake only by her keen observance of a tiny brown sign on a dirt road. She followed grand piles of lava and enjoyed a spectacular view from the top.
She made her way into NV and spent time with another brother in Reno. She viewed the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe and saw Pyramid Lake. The Virginia Range in NV is composed of 36 peaks including the highest Mt. Davidson (7364'). This area was influenced by glaciers during the Ice Age.
One of the last mountains she saw in NV was Pilot Peak (10,719') which was so prominent it was used by earlier settlers as a landmark.
Traveling into UT, the salt flats were at a high temperature of 103 degrees. UT also provided a few mountain scenes - Silver Island Range and the volcanic plug of Tetzlaff Peak and a final view of Cedar Mountains. Weber Canyon UT gave Marcia a final glimpse of her amazing trip.
(She said the best part of her journey was spending time with friends and family.)
THANK YOU, MARCIA FOR SHARING THIS EDUCATIONAL AND OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION!!
If you missed our meeting, or would like to see the video again, Marcia's link on YouTube is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0PxdIDBMaY
