Evidence for a Prehistoric Petroglyph Trail Map in the Sierra Nevada

1988 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willis A. Gortner
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Map Interpretation ◽  
American River ◽  
North Fork

A single petroglyph site in the North-Central Sierra Nevada in the upper watershed of the North Fork of the American River has a unique glyph with meandering and connecting wavy lines that are now proposed as trail maps. A tracing of this glyph was made from a photograph, and this was then placed with the same compass alignment on a topographic map showing all petrographic sites along the North Fork watershed. The ability to superimpose and accurately orient the glyph tracing over a map of these petroglyph sites, and the presence of petroglyphs on seventy-seven individual rock outcroppings mostly within 50 m of the presumed trails, support the trail map interpretation of this rock carving. It is suggested that a hunt shaman may have incised this glyph for ritualistic use.

scholarly journals Intercomparison of Meteorological Forcing Data from Empirical and Mesoscale Model Sources in the North Fork American River Basin in Northern Sierra Nevada, California*

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E. Wayand ◽  
Alan F. Hamlet ◽  
Mimi Hughes ◽  
Shara I. Feld ◽  
Jessica D. Lundquist
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Meteorological Forcing ◽  
The North ◽  
Single Station ◽  
American River ◽  
North Fork

Abstract The data required to drive distributed hydrological models are significantly limited within mountainous terrain because of a scarcity of observations. This study evaluated three common configurations of forcing data: 1) one low-elevation station, combined with empirical techniques; 2) gridded output from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF); and 3) a combination of the two. Each configuration was evaluated within the heavily instrumented North Fork American River basin in California during October–June 2000–10. Simulations of streamflow and snowpack using the Distributed Hydrology Soil and Vegetation Model (DHSVM) highlighted precipitation and radiation as variables whose sources resulted in significant differences. The best source of precipitation data varied between years. On average, the WRF performed as well as the single station distributed using the Parameter Regression on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM). The average percent biases in simulated streamflow were 3% and 1%, for configurations 1 and 2, respectively, even though precipitation compared directly with gauge measurements was biased high by 6% and 17%, suggesting that gauge undercatch may explain part of the bias. Simulations of snowpack using empirically estimated longwave irradiance resulted in melt rates lower than those observed at high-elevation sites, while at lower elevations the same forcing caused significant midwinter melt that was not observed. These results highlight the complexity of how forcing data sources impact hydrology over different areas (high- versus low-elevation snow) and different time periods. Overall, results support the use of output from the WRF model over empirical techniques in regions with limited station data.

scholarly journals Belle Fourche River-Cheyenne River Drainage Divide Area in the Wyoming Powder River Basin Analyzed by Topographic Map Interpretation Methods, USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Eric Clausen
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Powder River Basin ◽  
Normal Science ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
River Drainage ◽  
The North ◽  
Map Interpretation ◽  
New Research ◽  
Cheyenne River

The dearth of scientific literature in which specific erosional landform origins are determined is an example of what Thomas Kuhn considered a scientific crisis. Scientific crises arise when scientists following their discipline’s established paradigm’s rules, or doing what Kuhn calls normal science, cannot explain observed evidence. Scientific crises are resolved in one of three ways. Normal science may eventually explain the evidence and normal science returns, the unsolved problems may be identified and labeled and left for future scientists to solve, or a new paradigm may emerge with an ensuing battle over its acceptance. To succeed any new paradigm must demonstrate its ability to explain the previously unexplained evidence and also open up new research opportunities. During the 20th century’s first half regional geomorphologists abiding by their discipline’s paradigm rules unsuccessfully tried to explain origins of numerous erosional landforms, such as drainage divides and erosional escarpments. Their failures eventually caused the regional geomorphology discipline, at least that part of the discipline concerned with determining specific erosional landform origins, to almost completely disappear. A new and fundamentally different geomorphology paradigm that requires massive southeast-oriented continental ice sheet melt-water floods to have flowed across the Powder River Basin has the ability to explain specific erosional landform origins and is demonstrated here by using detailed topographic map evidence to show how large southeast-oriented floods eroded the Powder River Basin’s Belle Fourche River-Cheyenne River drainage divide segment, eroded through valleys now crossing that drainage divide segment, eroded the Powder River Basin’s Belle Fourche River valley, established Belle Fourche and Cheyenne River Powder River Basin tributary valley orientations, and eroded the north-facing Pine Ridge Escarpment. The success of this and other similar new paradigm demonstrations suggest many if not all specific erosional landform origins can be determined.

Mycorrhizae of Abies concolor in California

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 1345-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel F. Alvarez ◽  
Fields W. Cobb Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Abies Concolor ◽  
North Central ◽  
Chemical Reagents ◽  
The North ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Cenococcum Graniforme

Nine different types of mycorrhizae were observed on naturally occurring white fir seedlings in the north central Sierra Nevada, including one formed by the ubiquitous Cenococcum graniforme. The macro- and micro-scopic characteristics and reactions to different chemical reagents are described for five types. Possible mycorrhizal fungi of white fir are listed. Nursery-grown seedlings examined were ectomycorrhizal; intracellular penetration was not observed. None of the naturally occurring mycorrhizal types were found on nursery seedlings.

Bear Paw Petroglyphs and the Prehistoric Martis Complex

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
Willis A. Gortner
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Frequent Use

People of the Martis Complex occupied lands adjoining the north-central Sierra Nevada from approximately 2000 B.C. to 500 A.D. They left their rock art on 100 or more rock outcroppings. The appearance of glyphs clearly resembling a bear paw or bear track at several dozen petroglyph sites suggested that this symbol in the north-central Sierra Nevada might be unique to the Martis people. A review of the occurrence of bear paw glyphs at ninety nine recorded sites in Nevada and 265 petroglyph sites in California showed that none of these glyphs appeared at the 293 sites more than 90 km from Martis territory. By contrast, 133 bear paw glyphs were recorded at twenty-nine sites in or near Martis territory. The frequent use of the bear paw symbol in the Martis rock art suggests that it may be a ritualistic symbol related to a bear cult, bear clan, or a family or clan totem in the culture of these prehistoric people.

Geochronology of the southern margin of the Bighorn Batholith, Wyoming

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Malone ◽  
David Malone ◽  
Jennifer Gifford ◽  
John Craddock ◽  
Jeanette Arkle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
The Body ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Crystalline Core ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Bighorn Mountains

The Bighorn Mountains in north-central Wyoming reveal one of the largest exposures of 2800 Ma to 3000 Ma rocks in Laurentia. The northern part of the crystalline core is composed of the composite Bighorn batholith, whereas the central and southern areas of the range expose older gneiss complexes as well as minor supracrustal rocks. We provide new high-resolution LA-ICPMS U-Pb data on zircons sampled from eleven samples of tonalite, granodiorite, mylonite, and migmatite from the southern margin of the Bighorn batholith in the headwaters of the north fork of Paint Rock Creek. These rocks range from strongly foliated to massive and are difficult to subdivide into mappable units in the field because of their lithologic and structural similarities. Several cross-cutting mylonite zones (<10-meter-wide) that trend ~N70°E-N80E and dip steeply are present in the study area. Three distinct age populations are evident: ~2930-2940 Ma, 2905-2915 Ma, and 2880-2890 Ma. Several samples contain xenocrystic zircons >3000 Ma, ranging to 3500 Ma, which indicates assimilation of older crust. Each of the three age populations reported here are older than the previously reported age of ~2850 Ma age for the northern Bighorn Batholith but within the 2890 Ma, 2940 Ma, and 2950 Ma age groupings previously reported for the southern gneiss terrane. Three conclusions can be drawn from these data. First, the Bighorn batholith, at least along the southern margin, contains phases at least 80 million years older than the northern phase of the body, and emplacement was protracted and occurred over a ~100 Ma period. Second, episodes of both intrusion and shearing took place in this area as the various phases of the Bighorn batholith were emplaced. Finally, the existence of inherited zircons within the Bighorn batholith in the age range of ~3.0 Ga to 3.5 Ga indicates that the Bighorn batholith intruded through older crust. This older crust is perhaps a northern extension of Sacawee block in the northern Granite Mountains of central Wyoming, which may underlie the Bighorn Mountains.

Projectile Point Typology and Chronology in the North Central Sierra Nevada

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-183
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
The North ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
American River ◽  
Point Types

Despite years of concerted research, no well substantiated projectile point chronology for the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada has been established. Several reasons for this have been identified, including a lack of datable contexts, stratigraphic mixing, and excessive morphological variability resulting from material constraints and regular tool resharpening. Existing projectile point typologies, while accommodating the full range of morphological variation, have proven cumbersome due to large numbers of distinct types and sub-types. Further, chronological control has relied on inferences drawn from other regions, with little local support for inferred point sequences. To address these problems, the following study employs a large assemblage of projectile points from three stratified archaeological sites in the American River watershed. Projectile points are segregated using two common measurements—neck width and proximal shoulder angle. The newly defined types are then compared to regional stratigraphic patterns, revealing a consistent sequence of dart and arrow point types spanning the middle through late Holocene.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document