Structure

Complex cobble, Lincoln Park

Geology was my first major at the University of Washington, and although I eventually got bogged down in the chemistry and calculus, I loved the field trips. We rafted down NW rivers, hiked in the mountains and even chartered a plane for an educational - and spectacular - flight around Mt. Rainier.

My favorite course was one called Structural Geology, in which we used the patterns of rock to understand their history and formation. From a hand sample, we learned to use the patterns of intrusions, folds and colors to trace its story.  It was challenging, but fun.

Since then, I have been fascinated by rocks with complex stories to tell. It may be hard to see in this picture, but the middle of this rock (found this morning in Seattle) is a contact between two different kinds of rock, both with strong, but perpendicular linear elements. One half  is dark with layering along the rock's long axis - the other half is much lighter in color, and with layers at a 90 degree angle. Weird, huh?

Weird...and beautiful.  I don't know what to call it, or how it formed; I'll know more after I've polished it and can study it a bit more.