Flat Tops
Paleozoic Marine Fossils
(Perseides Meteor Shower)
Aug 10-11, 2002
Dotsero, Colorado - Confluence of the Eagle and Colorado Rivers
Coffee Pot Road - 15 miles to Deep Creek Gorge Overlook
The 3-D map above shows, quite well, why the place is called
"Flat Tops Wilderness Area". Our route from the green dot, "Coffee
Pot Road", 15 miles to the Deep Creek Gorge Overlook was a bit hair raising.
The dirt road was a series of "wash boards". And my stupey truck
likes to jump sideways when going over those bumps. You want heart-stopping?
How about hitting the wash board when approaching one of those "nothing
but sky" turns. Honestly, I thought we were going over. I see
"nothing but sky". I hit the brakes and get nothing but random jumping
in one direction then the other. CRIPES! Scared?! Yikes
yes.
But that was on the way down from the 10,000 foot elevation. The whole area at the top is at or above 10,000 feet and is relatively flat. At least there are no granite peaks justing up, so in that way it is flat. Some nice groves of unusually large aspen trees and beautiful lakes characterize this elevated environment. I'm not sure how it was formed, geologically speaking. The exposed rocks there are from very early in Earth's history of life. Nothing here is from later than the age of amphibians.
Deep Creek Gorge Overlook
400 Million Year Old SnailBut that was on the way down from the 10,000 foot elevation. The whole area at the top is at or above 10,000 feet and is relatively flat. At least there are no granite peaks justing up, so in that way it is flat. Some nice groves of unusually large aspen trees and beautiful lakes characterize this elevated environment. I'm not sure how it was formed, geologically speaking. The exposed rocks there are from very early in Earth's history of life. Nothing here is from later than the age of amphibians.
Deep Creek Gorge Overlook
This gorge seems to define the origins of the word "gorgeous"
doesn't it? It was just spectacular. The rocks exposed here cover
Precambrian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Devonian, and Mississipian ages. That
covers from the earliest life forms to early four legged land creatures.
No reptiles had yet evolved. Dinosaurs were still 200 million
years into the future!
I never even took a picture of the hundreds of brachiopods
(clams) that were strewn everywhere. We tried to find the rarer fossils.
This was the only snail like this that I saw there. Folks were
finding more of the laterally flattened snails; you know, like Princess Leia's
side hair buns.
Bryozoa - "Moss Animals"
Bryozoa - "Moss Animals"
Ah, another fossil that's not a
brachiopod. This bryozoa was a mosaic of tiny animals, living in a
fan-like structure. I might be able to clean this up with a weak acid
bath. The fossils found along the shores of Lake Michigan have
quite a few similar creatures, although they're from another age, the Silurian.
Apparently Bryozoans are still abundant in oceans of today, "over
125 species are known to grow on the bottoms of ships, causing drag and reducing
the efficiency and maneuverability of the fouled ships."
Long Dave on Flat Tops
Long Dave on Flat Tops
Here you can get a feel for the Flat Tops environment.
This meadow is at 10,000 feet and goes on for miles. Below, one
of the lakes atop the ancient limestone.
And with the evening our group anticipated the annual Perseides
Meteor Shower. We all gathered around the collection of telescopes
and binoculars for the pre-show entertainment. As the sliver of the
moon appeared, so did Venus. We strained our eyes to get a glimpse
of a fleeting Mercury. As the glow of dusk gave way to the stars, I
looked up to see the first blaze across the heavens. The thing ignited
and jetted across the sky directly above us. It left a trail and seemed
to be making an audible scream (that was probably me). With that, all
eyes gazed up in anticipation. As the faint moon set, the Milky Way
glowed with an astonishing intensity. Like dust, stars filled the darkness
until familiar constellations were lost in the splash.
Pretty soon my neck couldn't take the careening. I headed for my sleeping bag beneath the blanket of sparkles. Dave and I skipped setting up tents to just recline on lounge chairs. The comfort of it was too much and soon I had closed my eyes to the shower. I reasoned I could wake later and just glance up. Only later was a cold slap in the face. When I did wake, it was to unexpected chill. Instead of happily gazing at the late show, I hunkered down deep in my sleeping bag, frigid. I didn't come out of my burrow until the morning sun's rays finally lit upon me. Dave says he didn't sleep a wink ALL NIGHT!
Pretty soon my neck couldn't take the careening. I headed for my sleeping bag beneath the blanket of sparkles. Dave and I skipped setting up tents to just recline on lounge chairs. The comfort of it was too much and soon I had closed my eyes to the shower. I reasoned I could wake later and just glance up. Only later was a cold slap in the face. When I did wake, it was to unexpected chill. Instead of happily gazing at the late show, I hunkered down deep in my sleeping bag, frigid. I didn't come out of my burrow until the morning sun's rays finally lit upon me. Dave says he didn't sleep a wink ALL NIGHT!