Ocmulgee National Monument Background

This past Tuesday, 10/23/12, our Environmental Science class went to Ocmulgee National Mounds. We walked through the woods, examining trees and shrubbery as we walked. We went off the trail and examined a riverbed and its layering of soils. With a Munsell Soil Color book, classifying the the color of the soils of the riverbed. On the way back we stopped by the Great Temple Mound and went inside and listened to the history lesson. Once we exited, our weekly lab task was given to us. We are to dig deeper into the background of the historical land we were on. Below is the outside view of the Great Temple Mound, where ceremonial meetings were held.

Great Temple Mound

This national park has evidence of 17000 years of continuous human habitation. This site was occupied during the Paleoindian, Archaic and Woodland phases. It once was home to the South Appalachian Mississippians, a group of Native Americans, in which they prospered. This land is located on the Macon Plateau at the Fall Line where the United States built Fort Benjamin Hawkins in 1806. This place was a site of trade and prospered due to its location. During the decline of the Mississippian culture, a group of people, named the Lamar, inhibited and thrived in the area. Structural sites and artifacts are found from this Lamar phase. During the year of 1540, Hernando de Soto's expedition led him through the area. While searching for precious metals his army wiped out most of the Native Americans and who survived had to combat Eurasian diseases believed to be brought by the pigs de Soto and his men brought with them. In the late 18th century, the Muscogee Indians inhabited the area. This was the last time of real independence for the Native American culture in this area. Many battles were fought for this territory that was eventually seized by the United States. 

Lamar Mound

**Images Courtesy of Google Images

**Information Courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Not just dirt but SOIL!!!!

The following diagram is a soil diagram chart. This chart is used to determine the nature of the dirt. Dirt, as it is so elegantly referred to, is a composition of three components: clay, silt and sand. As shown by the diagram, given your percentages of the three components of your dirt sample, you can classify your sample. For percent clay, you read horizontally to your right. For percent silt, you read Southwest of your number. Finally, for your percentage of sand, you will read Northwest of your percentage. 

The following diagram is Munsell Soil Color chart. It is named after the Professor Albert H. Munsell and was adopted by USDA, United States Department of Agriculture. It bases its system on chroma, value and hue of a sample. Value represents the shade of white to black the color seems. Hue represents the general color, of the spectrum, the sample. Chroma is the shade and mixture level of the hue and value levels. 

This diagram below depicts the 12 soil orders of the world. The 12 soil orders of the world are alfisol, andisol, ardisol, entisol, gelisol, histisol, inceptisol, mollisol, oxisol, spodosol, ultisol and vertisol. The following chart is difficult to see, however, you can search the web for this poster or use a search engine to find out about any specific soil type. The predominant soil type for the state of Georgia is ultisol with large sites of alfisol and inceptisol.

*Pictures Courtesy of Google Images

*Information Courtesy of Wikipedia.org, http://www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/soils/mlra136.html, http://www.mo15.nrcs.usda.gov/news/state_soils/ga_ss.html

Rocks, rocks, rocks and NO rocks

The above rock is obsidian. It is an igneous rock that is formed from the cooling of magma/lava. It is found where ever there has been rhyolitic volcanoes. You can find it in the Western United States, predominantly. Yellowstone National Park has a mountainside containing the rock. Its chemical composition is 70-75% SiO2 and contains MgO and Fe3O4. It is used for surgical scalpels due to its smoothness, however, it is not recognized by FDA for this purpose.

This rock happens to be slate, a metamorphic rock. It is formed from the combination of rocks being compressed with low heat and pressure. Large deposits, and the slate industry, are found in Spain, Wales and in the United States in Pennsylvania. It is composed of quartz and either muscovite or illite primarily. One can also find biotite, chlorite, hematite and pyrite as well. It is used in the construction business for roofing, flooring and for monument and head stone pieces.

The rock shown above is sandstone. It is a sedimentary rock formed by the layering of sediments being exposed to pressure from weight above pressing down. Sandstone is often found in deserts and dried-up bodies of water. Large deposits can be found in the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Desert. It is composed quartz and/or feldspar, mostly. This is because they are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. This does not limit them to being the only type of sandstone though. 

This mineral is zoisite. It's chemical composition is Ca2Al3(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH). It can be found in metamorphic and pegmatitic rock. It is brittle, yet has a hardness greater than 6. It is found in Kenya, Norway, Pakistan and in the United States in Washington. It was formerly called saualpite.

*Pictures Courtesy of Google Images

*Information Courtesy of Wikipedia.org