Geology 101

"There's a lot going on here!" His arms open wide to embrace the landscape.

Geology 101

"There's a lot going on here!"
His arms open wide to embrace
The landscape. Alluvial fans trim
The mountains like ruffles on a hem.
A glacial moraine thrusts out
its long mound of granite
scrubbed from a U-shaped valley.

Then he points to a nearby cliff.
"These sediments here show where
A river deposited debris in layers
Over millions of years."

He dives in closer and traces
Bands of sorted stones and sand
Over a ribbon of iron the color of rust.
"See how the strata bend?
Pressure causes that uplift."

His excitement grows
With orgasmic delight
As he names Precambrian fossils
Embedded in a streak of limestone.
"At one time, the ocean flooded
This whole state. Look, you can see
The waterline up on the hillside."

Turning around, he gasps.
"And that's volcanic activity over there.
You can see the layer of ash."

Students around him fidget
Hiding in their notepads.
Earth is just too static
For their time frame that measures
From the day they were born.
Ancient history is irrelevant
As they wade through freshman minutia.

"There's still volcanism going on here.
That's why steam always vents from the rocks."

When he finally notices their ennui,
He pulls himself to his full height
And suggests their next assignment.

"We might even test the waters
at the hot springs tonight."

Suddenly, he spots
a spark of interest
In one of the boys' eyes.

Photo by Stefan Gessert on Unsplash

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You can read more from Sue Cauhape on her page, “Ring Around the Basin”:

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