28 Jun Randol Thompson | University of Utah | Week two

Hello everyone! This week was a lot better than last week. After spending most of last week working on foundational tasks and getting everything set up, I was finally able to begin researching Telluride. It felt rewarding to move from preparation into actually analyzing the area. I also had the opportunity to explore more of the city, which was a lot of fun and helped me better understand the region that I am studying.

Most of my research this week involved looking at a variety of maps to get a general understanding of the soil around Telluride. I examined geological maps, topographic maps, and other resources to identify patterns and learn more about the area’s geology. Yakelin and I were even able to use the results from a specialized software program that is extremely difficult to get access to. I wasn’t able to use the software myself, but seeing the results was still really exciting because it allowed us to visualize the minerals present throughout the area. Being able to see the distribution of different minerals made the research much more interesting and gave me a better understanding of what we are looking for.One disappointing part of the week was that we were supposed to attend a hearing regarding mineral rights. Unfortunately, because of some complications with the car we were planning to take, we weren’t able to go in person. Instead, Yakelin and I found a livestream of the hearing online. We only ended up watching for about ten minutes because, unlike courtroom dramas such as Suits, real hearings move at a much slower pace. It turned out to be much less exciting than we had imagined.

overlay of mineralogy of Telluride

One of the more entertaining moments this week happened when Dr. Bryony brought her child into the lab for the day. Apparently, daycare was unavailable, and she joked that daycare is more ruthless than The Purge. It definitely brought some unexpected energy to the workplace and made for a memorable day.Another project I worked on this week involved mapping all of the possible tailings areas using Google Earth. In many cases, tailings can be identified by differences in soil color, along with their proximity to known mines. Looking at satellite imagery and comparing different locations was interesting because it helped me recognize patterns that I probably would not have noticed otherwise. One thing that surprised me was how many mines are located to the east of Telluride. I would have expected the mines to be distributed more evenly around the town in order to reduce transportation costs, so seeing them concentrated in one area made me curious about the geological and historical reasons behind their locations.

basic overview of results of analzying soil samples

machine we used to analyze soil samples

Perhaps the most fascinating part of the week came after analyzing several soil samples. Once I started processing the data, I was amazed by the sheer number of different minerals that appeared in a single sample. Even while using a relatively small mineral database, each sample contained hundreds of possible mineral matches. Seeing that amount of complexity in something as ordinary as soil really changed the way I think about it. Before this project, I never realized how incredibly diverse and chemically complex soil could be. It has given me a much greater appreciation for the amount of information hidden beneath the ground and how much work goes into understanding it.

Today I went hiking at the Farmington Creek Waterfall Trailhead. The hike was supposed to take around four hours, and I was excited to make it all the way to the waterfall. However, the trail had a lot of different forks, and at some point I accidentally left the main trail. Since I wasn’t completely sure which direction to go, I decided it would be safer to turn around and head back instead of trying to find the correct path. I figured it was better to save the hike for another day than risk getting more lost. Another reason I decided to head back was because it was already almost 1:00 p.m., and I still hadn’t eaten lunch. I was starting to get hungry, and I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the rest of the hike as much without stopping to eat. Even though I didn’t reach the waterfall, the hike was still worth it because I got to see a lot of interesting things along the way. One of the most surprising sights was several old, broken-down cars that had somehow ended up far up the trail. It made me wonder how they got there in the first place and what their story was.

One of the cars on the hike