Paparoa NP, South Island, NZ
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I made a brief jaunt last week (4-24-2025) to a portion of the Little Missouri National Grasslands in western McKenzie County, North Dakota that I had spent time exploring last year in the hope that the ponds and waterholes were still sufficiently wet to attract the birds in similar numbers to what I found last year. This spring has been dryer than usual, though, and the snowcover disappeared quickly, followed only by relatively brief rains. Some of the ponds at which I shot last year have already diminished to half their size, in fact. The waterfowl and marsh birds are returning but I'll have to shift to the larger bodies of water, it would appear. All was not lost, for the vistas were still beautiful with just the first hints of returning green.
This week, the first trees have begun to unfurl their leaves and I saw a plains garter snake today while working in our yard at work, putting to rest for a brief few months another brutal winter.
Layers of sedimentary rocks like stacks of pancakes
Rock salt (sedimentary halitite) from the Silurian of Ohio, USA.
Rock salt is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms by the evaporation of water (usually seawater) and the precipitation of dissolved minerals. Chemical sedimentary rocks that form by the evaporation of water are called evaporites. Rock salt & rock gypsum are the two most common evaporites.
Rock salt is composed of the mineral halite (NaCl - sodium chloride). It ranges in color from clearish to grayish to orangish-brown, but sometimes has other colors, such as blue. It has a strongly salty taste, is often coarsely-crystalline, and is relatively soft (H = 2.5).
Rock salt is also known as halitite, which refers to sedimentary evaporite deposits composed of halite (NaCl). "Halitite" has also been used in the geologic literature to refer specifically to rock salt that's been contact metamorphosed by igneous intrusions.
Stratigraphy: Salina Group, Cayugan Series, ~mid-Upper Silurian
Locality: subsurface salt mine in northeastern Ohio, USA
Rock salt (sedimentary halitite) from the Silurian of Ohio, USA.
Rock salt is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms by the evaporation of water (usually seawater) and the precipitation of dissolved minerals. Chemical sedimentary rocks that form by the evaporation of water are called evaporites. Rock salt & rock gypsum are the two most common evaporites.
Rock salt is composed of the mineral halite (NaCl - sodium chloride). It ranges in color from clearish to grayish to orangish-brown, but sometimes has other colors, such as blue. It has a strongly salty taste, is often coarsely-crystalline, and is relatively soft (H = 2.5).
Rock salt is also known as halitite, which refers to sedimentary evaporite deposits composed of halite (NaCl). "Halitite" has also been used in the geologic literature to refer specifically to rock salt that's been contact metamorphosed by igneous intrusions.
Stratigraphy: Salina Group, Cayugan Series, ~mid-Upper Silurian
Locality: subsurface salt mine in northeastern Ohio, USA
Balanced rock on a pedestal/base, March afternoon, Colorado.
Below is an explanation of how a center of gravity develops, then a large rock can balance on a "pedestal" over time. A large rock, such as a sedimentary rock, that erodes less than other types of rock, such as shale and mudstone, may remain in place. It then settles in as balanced on a surface beneath it.
"Large sedimentary rocks can appear to balance in rock formations due to differential erosion, where softer layers erode away, leaving behind more resistant layers that can support the larger rocks." - Source: AI
Late March Afternoon, Spring, Colorado
While flying over, the vastness of this Arctic island archipelago can be overwhelming and its landscapes ethereal. This colossal amount of locked ice and snow in Svalbard's icecaps and glaciers are a significant water reservoir, with its size influencing regional climate patterns and sea levels. Documenting and photographing the landscape from above offers insights into glacial mechanics, climate history, and arctic ecology.
