Tag Archives: Negev

Seeing the archaeological site of Shivta through a geologist’s eyes

Mark Wilson April 12, 2014 12:30 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–The tradition we’ve built over the years on our Israel expeditions is to travel to interesting places on Saturdays to take a break from work. Yes, it appears geologists never really stop geologizing, but then that’s not really … Continue reading →

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Cretaceous fieldwork around Mitzpe Ramon

Mark Wilson April 11, 2014 12:32 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Yoav and I worked on the outskirts of his hometown. This was a field trip that began in his garden and then we wandered into the hills behind his house, eventually circling this little city to return … Continue reading →

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So this is where capers come from

Mark Wilson April 11, 2014 3:44 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Early Wednesday morning Yoav had a special mission to perform before we began our fieldwork. He had been asked by a botanist to get a sample of a new species of plant endemic to Makhtesh Ramon. The botanist … Continue reading →

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Field trip to the lesser known makhteshim at Har ‘Arif

Mark Wilson April 10, 2014 12:57 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–We’ve talked a lot about makhteshim in this blog, with so much of our geological work located in Hamakhtesh Hagadol and Makhtesh Ramon. A makhtesh is essentially a breached anticline, usually with a single drainage running from it. … Continue reading →

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A mission in the Cretaceous of southern Israel

Mark Wilson April 9, 2014 1:50 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Yoav and I set out to solve a mapping dilemma concerning the boundaries of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) En Yorqe’am Formation in the Negev and, eventually, the Judean Desert to the north. It involved a bumpy ride … Continue reading →

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Cretaceous echinoderms are today’s stars

Mark Wilson April 8, 2014 11:32 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–There’s a joke in the title, in case you didn’t notice! I was on my own for my second day of fieldwork in southern Israel. I revisited yesterday’s outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) Zichor Formation, taking more … Continue reading →

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A Triassic afternoon in southern Israel

Mark Wilson April 8, 2014 10:36 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This afternoon I walked through the spectacular Middle Triassic sections in Wadi Gevanim on the southern side of the Makhtesh Ramon structure. I will be on a fantastic trip this Thursday to a little-visited Triassic section farther south, … Continue reading →

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A Wooster Geologist is finally warm enough

Mark Wilson April 7, 2014 11:58 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–When I left Wooster on Saturday morning it was 34°F and overcast. It was sunny and an astonishing 84°F when I arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon. That additional 50 degrees felt very good indeed after a … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An infected crinoid from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

Mark Wilson July 28, 2013 1:00 am

This weathered beauty is a stem fragment of the articulate crinoid Apiocrinites negevensis from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of the Negev, southern Israel. The regular divisions you see making up the stem are the columnals, which look a … Continue reading →

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An ancient Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine city in the northern Negev

Mark Wilson July 12, 2013 12:58 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Our final stop of the final day: Mamshit. Above you see some of the ruins of this city east of Dimona and a short distance west of the descent into the Dead Sea Rift Valley. The highest structure … Continue reading →

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