I've been flying you all over glacial landscapes of Canada and Greenland the last couple of days, but for a brief change of pace, here's a bit of a geological mystery from the air. It's in North America, and if someone doesn't recognize it right away, and if no one tries to solve it, I'll toss in some clues later. There is an interesting story of geological assumptions and perceptions associated with this region. Have at it!
3 comments:
It looks like a small volcanic field. I would guess somewhere in the Snake River Plain, but I certainly don't recognize it.
My first impulse was a field of cinder cones, as well, but I'm not so sure upon looking at it more closely. Your description calls it a geological mystery, and that called to mind Mima Mounds. I took a quick look around Washington State, but didn't spot the locality immediately, though a more thorough search might yield better results.
I've thought about posting photos of geologic localities in a series mirroring "Where on (Google) Earth?" - this might be a good starting point for something like that.
You are definitely thinking like geologists, and are right, but in an incomplete way: most of the researchers around this area would have agreed with you right up to 1980. See the follow-up post!
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