Ocmulgee National Monument

This U.S. National Park was designed to protect the Indian mounds of the Southeastern Indians who burried their dead in lifted hills to pay respect to those who passed.  The mounds represent an isolated area where dead were placed with some valuables and covered with mounds of dirt.  By placing the dirt in pointed mounds above the dead it would point to the heavens, and some believe this represented ease of passage to the next life.



More information about Ocmulgee:
http://www.nps.gov/ocmu/historyculture/index.htm

Tree Hugger

http://www.earthday.org/

Environment Around Mercer Campus

A group of us traveled around Mercer's campus to gather pictures of trees, plants, rocks, and animals.  Here are the results of what we found.

Trees:

Cherry Blossom

Pine Tree

Christmas Tree

Crapemyrtle

Willow Tree

Soil Erosion:

Animals:

Bear

Dog

 

Squirrel

Bird

Cat

 Plants:

ROCKS!:

Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale Formation, located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, is one of the world's most celebrated fossil fields, and the best of its kind.  It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At 505 million years (Middle Cambrian) old it is one of the earliest fossil beds containing the imprints of soft-parts.

Tsunamis

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded.  The latest tsunami event in Japan, caused by an earthquake, caused an incredible amount of problems with the economy and power supplies.  With additional problems occuring with the largest nuclear reactors many people are found without power for over 3 weeks, and problems continue as nuclear waste is now being dumped into the Pacific Ocean from a breach of safety at the reactors.

Extremophiles

An extremophile is an organism that lives in an extreme environment, such as at the bottom of the hydrothermal vents or within the walls of a volcano.

Geology

Igneous:
Formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Igneous rock may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as plutonic rocks or on the surface as volcanic rocks.



Metamorphic:
 transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure (temperatures greater than 150 to 200°C and pressures of 1500 bars) causing profound physical and/or chemical change.



Sedimentary:
Formed by sedimentation of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles (detritus) to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution.