Sunday, January 1, 2012

WOGE 326

I recognized the landscape in Felix Bossert's WOGE 325 as a tundra right away, but it took me a few days to find the time to search green patches in Canada, Alaska, and finally Siberia.  Then it took a little more time to brush up on tundra geology.

For the next edition I have selected an image that could be very tricky to find, so I would like to try something a little different.  For about the first 34 hours this edition will be unrestricted.  If it has not been solved by then, I will post a second image.  The second image will make a very good opportunity for someone new to win the game, so the Schott rule will apply from that point on.  As always, the first person to identify the location and tell something about the geology gets to choose the next WOGE.  If you have not played before, be sure to check out the rules and tips for new players that Felix graciously provides on his blog.  Here is the picture.  Ready. Set. Go!
As promised, here is the second picture.  This means that the Schott rule is in effect, starting at 3:07 UTC January 3.  Remember that you must include the geology of this location to be declared the winner.  Nothing very technical is needed, just a general description.



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5 comments:

  1. Christoph (http://www.paleoseismicity.org/)January 9, 2012 at 11:52:00 PM GMT

    It's the Olkhon (or Olchon) island in the middle one of the three Lake Baikal basins (Lake Baikal, N53°3'47", E106°56'7"). It's right in the Baikal Rift. With an altitude of 1276 m it is the highest island in the lake (and the largest with 720 km² - huge!). Close to its eastern shore we find the greatest depth of the lake with 1642 m below lake level. The reason for that great difference is the Morskij Fault running SW-NE, creating 45° cliffs in the east of Olkhon (nice to see if you switch on the terrain in GoogleMaps). The entire island is separated from the mainland by the NE trending Primorskij Fault - nice rifting area here. The Olkhon island block tilts to the NW. The island is made up of gneiss and granite with some softer limestones cropping out as well. A specialty is the occurrence of a salt water lake on an island in a fresh water lake, Lake Zharanur.

    Osipov and Khlystov (2010) have some information on the area and its behaviour during the LGM (http://ice.tsu.ru/files/paul/2010_Osipov__Khlystov_PPP_LGM_glaciers_meltwater.pdf).

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  2. MatthewJanuary 10, 2012 at 4:07:00 AM GMT

    Congratulations to Christoph!
    And thank you for the good summary of the geology of Olkhon island. I first found it fascinating that a "desert" could exist in the middle of the world's largest volume of fresh water. Then I discovered that the geology of Olkhon, and of Lake Baikal in general, is also very interesting.

    I had not expected this edition to survive more than a few minutes after I posted my second image. I hope that no one spent too much time searching. Now we will see what interesting spot Christoph has chosen for the next WOGE challenge.

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  3. Christoph (http://www.paleoseismicity.org/)January 10, 2012 at 7:23:00 AM GMT

    Thanks. Well, the second image made it really easy, although it felt like cheating. Just googled "INTAS 99-1669". Then I learned about the faults there and just loved the spot. Great!
    WoGE#327 will appear at http://www.paleoseismicity.org soon.

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  4. Felix BossertJanuary 10, 2012 at 1:00:00 PM GMT

    Very nice spot!

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  5. Christoph (http://www.paleoseismicity.org/)January 10, 2012 at 3:07:00 PM GMT

    WoGE #327 is now at http://www.paleoseismicity.org/blog/2012/01/10/where-on-googleearth-woge-327

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