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The landscape in the higher elevations where we work during the last two weeks of camp presents excellent outcrops and rugged, but fascinating scenery and variable weather conditions.
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Views from the tops of the mountains are spectacular. These outcrops of carbonates present some interesting mapping problems as well as challenges in reaching them. Find the two students in the photo to estimate the scale of the outcrop.
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From the summit of Castellazzo, the view is spectacular and the cliff below is impressive.
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At lower elevations, the topography in the map areas presents some impressive cliffs whose outcrops and contacts are accessible by trails that epitomize the term "switchbacks".
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On weekends an holidays, tourists descend or rather ascend on our field mapping areas which are, for the most part, located in national parks or publicly owned forest preserves. We have been issued special permits to conduct geological field work in these areas.
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Excellent outcrops in the third mapping area reveal some of the structural complexities that make geology of the Dolomites so interesting. The stratigraphy here is not layer cake.
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The Sella massif is characterized by excellent exposures of carbonates that include complex facies relationships of megabreccias and deep marine units. Height of this outcrop is approximately 500 meters.
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Though not abundant, starfish are present in some units mapped in the final map project area.
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This exposure of mixed carbonates and fine siliciclastics typifies many of the outcrops in the area - they are relatively easy to access from at least one direction and nearly impossible from the other three directions. This requires the mapper to plan the day's traverses carefully.
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The reservoir that occupied this valley prior to October of 1963 was contained by the Vaiont Dam. The bare rock surface on the mountain side marks the location of a gigantic slide that fell into the lake and now fills the valley. The displaced waters rushed over the top of the dam, into the narrow gorge downstream, and devastated the town of Longarone. More than 2000 people were killed by this disaster. We plan to visit and to study this site and other sites in the Longarone-Zoldo area for two days in 1999.
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This the 265 meter-tall Vaiont Dam now. Note that the dam held despite the tremendous stress that the slide and huge volume of water and debris exerted against it during the 1963 disaster. Sediment of the slide is visible behind the dam.
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Alpine glacial geomorphology is especially well displayed throughout the area. This exposure of Permian volcanic rocks shows well-preserved glacial polish and grooves.
Kevin McRae, Jim Cook, Nicolo Doglioni (Pisa Univ geology major) , and Kim Saettler (1996 field camp students) check out the two dikes that cut the Permian Val Gardena Sandstone near Passo Rolle.
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