Tag Archives: Mojave Desert

Death Valley Days

Mark Wilson March 10, 2013 11:30 pm

DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA–All geologists love Death Valley. No other place on Earth has such extraordinarily diverse geology combined with a modern infrastructure and a century of scientific study. The Wooster Geologists had a spectacular time in and around the valley … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologists return to the Mojave Desert

Mark Wilson March 9, 2013 9:31 pm

ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–It is officially now a Wooster Geology tradition: every other year we take a Spring Break field trip with students, faculty and staff. So far all of our trips have been to the Mojave Desert, for reasons that will … Continue reading →

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Negev and Mojave Desert ecological analogues

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 11:48 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–One reason why I like working in the Negev is that it was already familiar when I first visited in 2003. I grew up in the Mojave Desert of southern California, which is very similar to the Negev … Continue reading →

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The Mojave Desert Field Trip and Wikipedia (again)

Mark Wilson March 22, 2011 2:02 am

WOOSTER, OHIO–As with last year’s Mojave Desert field trip, this spring we also generated public domain images for Wikipedia. It is such a privilege and pleasure to take trips like this that we at least want to share some images … Continue reading →

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A few of the Mojave wildflowers

Mark Wilson March 19, 2011 3:53 pm

Several people have asked what kind of wildflowers we saw this spring on our departmental field trip in the Mojave Desert. They were gorgeous and diverse — more than last year in variety and abundance, but far below the carpets … Continue reading →

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An outpost of Wooster in the Mojave celebrates today’s basketball victory!

Mark Wilson March 18, 2011 10:50 pm

(Guest post from Lindsey Bowman.) After an afternoon of rewarding trilobite collecting, nothing was more welcome than the news this afternoon from Salem, Virginia. Our basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division III finals after defeating Williams College by two … Continue reading →

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The last stop of the field trip: Date shakes!

Mark Wilson March 18, 2011 9:33 pm

ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–Apparently visiting China Ranch and having the famous date shakes is a tradition on at least a few other geology field trips. We were introduced to it by Matt James at Sonoma State, and today we met students and … Continue reading →

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Trilobites! Now it’s a field trip.

Mark Wilson March 18, 2011 8:41 pm

Just kidding about the trilobite requirement for a true field trip, but we must acknowledge a certain charm that comes only from these spiny little beasts. Thanks to my buddy Matthew James, we were directed to an especially fossiliferous set … Continue reading →

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A favorite stop: the Resting Spring tuff exposure

Mark Wilson March 18, 2011 8:27 pm

ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–We’ve visited this roadside outcrop on California Highway 178 in the Resting Spring Range on each of our field trips to the Mojave Desert. Meagen Pollock may explain more about this fascinating outcrop later in the blog, but for … Continue reading →

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A little vignette of desert ecology

Mark Wilson March 18, 2011 9:12 am

ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–While exploring the Amboy Crater lava fields on Wednesday, we noticed these small and very active “yellow” beetles. With a little research we discovered they are Desert Spider Beetles (Cysteodemus armatus) that feed on the nectar from a variety … Continue reading →

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