GeoJournal Series 

Introduction

    Hello everyone and welcome to the new GeoJournal series that I created for my Introduction of Geology GEOL109 class. My name is Karen Blanchard and I am from Reno, Nevada. I have lived here for only three years with my husband and three small children. We bought our first home here at the beginning of Covid, and what an experience it has been. Our 1/4 acre backyard was completely empty and unfinished, so it has been fun for me to learn about the soil, rocks, minerals, and climate that I have to work with. I am taking this class as a natural science requirement for my bachelor's in Professional Studies, Human Resources, and Hospitality and Tourism Management. I thought this class would teach me a lot about the earth and give me some insight into my own landscaping projects. I would also love to learn ways that I can help preserve the natural geology around me so that future generations can also appreciate them.





I grew up in McMinnville, Oregon where it is beautiful and green. I have always loved the outdoors and learning about God's beautiful earth. My dad collected rocks when I was growing up so that piqued my interest in geology. Now as an adult my husband collects rocks and we have several in our home and yard that he has collected. Where I live in Reno, there are so many rock variations as we border the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. We love to visit Lake Tahoe and the famous Virginia City where we see my favorite red rock. As we have dug around in our yard we have found so many different types of rocks and a LOT of them. I have been trying to recycle them by utilizing them in aspects of our landscape. I love the rocks and the natural beauty that they bring to my spaces.




Since we have lived here I haven't seen many natural geological hazardous occurrences such as earthquakes. We mainly see a forest fire season. We have hiked to beautiful waterfalls that carve out the mountain stone, and driven through so many beautiful mountain ranges. We love this western cowboy laid-back vibes of Reno Nevada and the natural beauty that amazes us every day. 

A huge rock of granite that I dug up in my backyard.




Beautiful scenery in my neighborhood.


Creating rock features using rocks found in my backyard.



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