This photograph (me, on the Saddle at Saddle Pass, writing and sketching) was taken on 3-24-10 by a fellow hiker, Reed Jackson, a park visitor from Toronto, who sent it to me by email. Thank you Reed!
Tags: Badlands National Park Badlands NPS Artist in Residence AIR South Dakota SD Cedar Pass Area Saddle Pass hiking trail overlook Brule Formation geology erosion sediments volcanic ash layers channel stone fossil fossiliferous sunset A Book Made of Soil sketching writing process
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Looks like a night-sky photograph. Each one of the "stars" is really a prairie dog burrow. I'm not sure why their burrow complex patterns are so visible from altitude, but I guess the visual signal pattern REALLY carries well! ; ) They bring up rocks and buried soils, creating low mounds, and crop the surrounding prairie to short grass, allowing themselves secure clearings where they can see predators that might otherwise pounce from tall grass. I've tried searching for other burrows and or landscar-marks, already knowing exactly where they are, and I generally can't see any hint of single marks, from sat or geo-eye photos. Too small to be distinguished.
I'm wondering if perhaps there is a slight UV enhancement factor in aerial imaging? I know that mammals like mice and chipmunks tend to urinate on well-traveled trails, for example, leaving their pathways marked with ultraviolet urine! Birds like hawks, which eat rodents, can actually see in the UV range of light, so they scan these trails to look for their next meal.
Tags: Badlands National Park Badlands NPS Artist in Residence AIR South Dakota SD prairie dog prairie dog town aerial photo A Book Made of Soil
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Tags: Badlands National Park Badlands NPS South Dakota SD Artist in Residence AIR Cedar Pass Area day30 Cedar Pass Brule Formation Chadron Formation geology erosion sediments clay limestone lens fossil fossiliferous sunset park housing spring onion fetid marigold flowers wildflowers
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Tags: Badlands National Park Badlands NPS South Dakota SD Artist in Residence AIR Cedar Pass Area day30 Cedar Pass Brule Formation Chadron Formation geology erosion sediments clay limestone lens fossil fossiliferous sunset park housing spring onion fetid marigold flowers wildflowers
© All Rights Reserved
Tags: Badlands National Park Badlands NPS South Dakota SD Artist in Residence AIR Cedar Pass Area day30 Cedar Pass Brule Formation Chadron Formation geology erosion sediments clay limestone lens fossil fossiliferous sunset park housing spring onion fetid marigold flowers wildflowers
© All Rights Reserved