Karen's Garden

For this assignment I wanted to find some research related to the Sierra Nevada Mountains because it is such a large mountain range that I live right next to. I found a cool article about the formation of this specific mountain range. This was article written by Jennifer Chu from MIT, "Study: Parts of the Sierra Nevada formed in a “geologic instant,” more than twice as fast as previously thought." She discusses research done by scientists from MIT who took samples from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, they used geochronology to find the age of the area. They discovered that the process of plate tectonics and volcanic formations the mountain range was formed much faster than originally thought. They beleive that the age of the mountains is around 1.39 million years old, which is very fast in geological rates. Jennifer Chu says that it was, "More than twice as fast as expected for the region. The researchers attribute the rapid formation of land to a massive flare-up of magma.

Here are some recent earthquakes that happend right in my area next to Reno. As you can see there have been a few small earthquakes in my area. They aren't concerning to me because they were so small. They are isolated to a small set ouf mountains northwest of Reno, I wasn't surprised that there had been a few because of the mountain range. I do get nervous anticipating earthquakes where I live because this is an area high in seismic activity due to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. We have lived here for three years and I have never felt an earthquake, but you never know!

I live close to Lake Tahoe and it is a major body of water that changes every year. In the second picture, this is what it usually looks like when I go to the beach at Lake Tahoe. The waves are usually calm, come onto the beach shore at an angle creating a longshore drift. Some of the beaches are sand and some are mainly large boulders, so sediment is well sorted in some areas and poorly sorted in others. Lake Tahoe is the aftermath of a glacier which led to the erosion of the rocks. Some of the beaches have ripples in the sand from the waves. There is a lot of granite in the area. When you swim out in the water it can be pretty shallow far out, then drops off. As you drive around the lake, there are several bays that are carved out of the land. The first picture shows an island and a jetty of land that goes out into the water. Sometimes if there are high winds, the waves can be high energy and choppy and jetties like these help cut the waves.

Mrs. Gage gathered her 2nd grade students in a circle to have a discussion. In a circle seemed like a great way to talk to them about their science topic of the week. "Gather round!" Said Mrs. Gage. She continued, "Ok class today we are going to discuss some pretty cool water and ice features which may make you feel a little chilly!" The class chatted with excitement and slight confusion. "As we have been studying in class we have been learning all about water on the earth, how it flows, different bodies of water and erosion. Today I want to talk about caves ! Have any of you been to a CAVE before? "I have!" Shouted Amy. "What cave have you been to Amy?" Mrs. Gage asked. "I have been to the Mammoth Cave." "A CAVE is formed underground when acidic water dissolves limestone. This happens along joints plains. Does anyone know what those cool long creepy things hanging from the ceiling