Tag Archives: Negev

A silent desert friend on the outcrops

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 2:09 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This exquisite snail is not a fossil, although students in the field often mistake it for one. (Melissa did not, I quickly add.) It is a terrestrial, air-breathing pulmonate snail called Sphincterochila boissieri. It is abundant in parts … 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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Wooster Geologists in Paleontological Heaven

Mark Wilson March 14, 2012 11:24 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–The above is an untouched view of an eroding marl of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol. I simply placed a one shekel coin in the scene for scale. This is why we love this place … Continue reading →

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Another dusty day of fieldwork in the makhtesh

Mark Wilson March 13, 2012 3:21 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–It was a little warmer today in Makhtesh Gadol, but the sun was still obscured by the dust blown across the southern Mediterranean from the Sahara Desert. I may have an innate tolerance for dust from my childhood … Continue reading →

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A dusty but successful start on field work in southern Israel

Mark Wilson March 12, 2012 3:09 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Melissa Torma, our friend Yoav Avni (Geological Survey of Israel), and I just ended a productive first day in the field. The two of them are shown above in classic paleontological poses. They are collecting fossils from Subunit … Continue reading →

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A gecko’s end

Mark Wilson May 31, 2011 11:32 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–What is Will examining so intently? There was drama on the outcrop this afternoon. We are used to seeing cute little geckos clinging to the rocks we study. As we skirted the edge of a limestone cliff, Will … Continue reading →

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Mishash, b’gosh

Mark Wilson May 29, 2011 1:55 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Will and I drove south, east and north to meet Dr. Yael Edelmen-Furstenburg of the Geological Survey of Israel. She gave us a most excellent tour of the Mishash (pronounced ME-shawsh) Formation (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) in the … Continue reading →

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Incidents of Travel in Southern Israel

Mark Wilson May 29, 2011 11:23 am
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A wall of Cretaceous ammonites

Mark Wilson May 28, 2011 3:11 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–On our way back from Eilat this afternoon, Will and I took a short hike to see the “Ammonite Wall” on the southern outside beds of Makhtesh Ramon. It is an impressive tilted array of large ammonites in … Continue reading →

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A rare late May rain in the Negev

Mark Wilson May 28, 2011 10:25 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–The only other time I’ve seen rain in southern Israel was with Elyssa Krivicich on our March 2008 trip. By May the rains are done in this part of the world. Nevertheless, it rained last night and then … Continue reading →

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