Thursday, November 5, 2009

Geology of Wyoming: Postcard Friendship Friday

Welcome to Postcard Friendship Friday, hosted by the lovely Marie at http://www.cpaphilblog.com/

"Geology - interpreting the past to provide for the future"

From the back of this postcard.
"This Geologic Map of Wyoming was reproduced from a part of Geological Highway map n. 5 (1972), Northern Rocky Mountain Region, published by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101. For a free publications list or for information on geologic and topographic map coverage of Wyoming, contact the Wyoming State Geological Survey at 307-766-2286."


Oh boy, now we are getting into complex geology. And some fantastic scenery.

The big red blob in the northwest corner of the state is Yellowstone National Park, worthy of many postcards and blog posts. South of there is Jackson Hole.


The large oval-ish brown blobs (one is under the "W" in Wyoming) are large blocks of continental crust that have been thrust upwards by plate tectonics, often bending the flat-lying surface rocks above them. The dark green and other colored rocks in the northeast corner are the WY part of South Dakota's Black Hills. Devil's Tower is also nearby. Cheyenne, the capital of WY is in the south east corner and Interstate 80 meanders across southern Wyoming.


Wyoming has many natural resources, including oil (in the aformentioned bent rocks), natural gas, coal, and uranium. A shot from NASA, showing the mountain ranges topped with snow (and portions of other states):


viridian

11 comments:

Postcardy said...

It is interesting to compare the NASA picture to the map.

Anonymous said...

Your posts always leave me wanting to know more. Maybe that's the point. I want to see the different rock formations and touch the rocks. Wyoming is particularly interesting.
Thanks!

Marie Reed said...

Ditto postcard paradise! I've been pouring over geology wiki pages lately and visited a sandstone quarry that's about 15 minutes from the house. What have you done to me?!!!! :)

Mary said...

I've never seen some a scientific postcard. Cool!

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

I'm starting to be able to piece these together in my mind now - progress!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous colors on that card! Really it looks like a piece of art. Thanks for sharing. :)

Tussy said...

Very informative!

Beautiful too.


My Bangkok Through My Eyes!
You Got A Posty

Beth Niquette said...

Wonderful postcard! I've been to Wyoming many times. Did you know the entire state fits into ONE phone book???

I love the air, the scenery and the people--and I love this postcard! Happy PFF!

Anonymous said...

veridian, I learn so much from your geology postcards! Thanks for sharing all your geological info! And thanks for commenting at my PFF post! :)

steviewren said...

Wyoming is on the short list of places I would love to visit! You've got me daydreaming about big skies and tall mountains.

Unknown said...

What an interesting card. I haven't seen one like it.

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