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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Rough day in the Brandes household. We had a Velociraptor get into the house, but Darwin saw it and fought it off valiantly!! 🦖🤣

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Definitely a remote place, Jurassic National Monument south of Price, Utah is a fabulous park that preserves numerous Allosaurus and Stegosaurus bones from the Morrison Formation in the Cleveland Lloyd Quarry. A little out of the way, but well worth the trip.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

After an awful climb (1200 ft in 1.5 miles) to the entrance, we were treated to the fabulous Timpanogos Cave outside American Fork, Utah. One of the features are the spectacular helictites that seem to defy gravity, as well as the "Heart of the Mountain". Fabulous cave, once you make the climb!

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Visited the very interesting Cascade Falls today near Cedar Breaks NP. The N Fork of the Virgin River originates in Navajo Lake, but flows about a mile underground through a limestone cave formed by ancient lava flows, emerging at the falls. A great view of Zion NP to the south as well.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Great day to visit the St George Dinosaur Discovery Site in SW Utah. Tracks from numerous dinos are displayed as they were found in the Moenave Formation, including where a dinosaur went swimming and left imprints in the mud. Fabulous museum to visit on a 107 degree day. 🦖

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Managed to get some beautiful Mountain Bluebird photos outside Creede, CO a few days ago...

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Near Redmond, Utah is quite the sight! During the Jurassic period, the Sundance Sea covered this part of Utah and the Arapien Shale, which includes layers of salt, was deposited. The buoyant salt then rose to the surface as diapirs. The salt is mined and sold as Redmond Real Salt®.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

What a beautiful morning to look at rocks! These are Honeycomb Rock volcanic tuffs from the Pine Park Caldera that erupted 11.9 Ma on the UT/NV border. When the sun is out, these bright white tuffs are blinding, so pack your shades and enjoy the area.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

For Earth Day, let's visit a unique location. This is The Lace Curtain near Delta, Utah. Volcanic tuff from Pahvant Butte interacted with storm waves from Lake Bonneville that eroded the tuff unevenly to create intricate patterns that resemble dripping candle wax. Bit of a drive, but well worth it.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

A new visitor to the feeders today; this Rose-breasted Grosbeak is on his migration from Central/South America to the northern US and Canada. This guy seems to love our safflower seeds.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

More from Utah! These rocks are part of the Cambrian Wheeler Shale, famous for its fossils that closely match what is found in the Burgess Shale in Canada, including many forms of trilobites. Nearby is the famous "U-Dig Fossils" quarry where the public can dig their own Cambrian treasures.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

@hmoluseyi.bsky.social Great commentary on the Artemis launch today, Doctor! 💯👍

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

About 30 million years ago, a large stratovolcano erupted in what is now central Utah near Eureka. Eventually, it collapsed, creating a huge caldera. Later magmatic intrusions formed dikes that cooled, contracted, and formed the columnar joints we see today at Paul Bunyan's Woodpile.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

At Buffalo Point on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake are strange mounds reaching for the sky. These are living stromatolites, composed of some of Earth's oldest lifeforms, cyanobacteria. The lake's briny environment prevents organisms from grazing or burrowing into them, so they flourish here.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

A wild Darwin in his native setting....

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Rozel Point at the north end of the Great Salt Lake is one of the more unusual geology sites in Utah. Miocene organic-rich lake sediments generated oil that follows fractures and pools in a basalt (yes, basalt!) reservoir rock. The oil then leaks to the surface as a sticky tar. Definitely weird!

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Fantasy Canyon south of Vernal, UT is chock full of whimsical patterns. Sandstones and mudstones of the Uinta Formation, the result of ancient river channel and floodplain sediments deposited during the Eocene, have eroded into these odd shapes and patterns which are extremely fragile.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Nine Mile Canyon NE of Price, UT is often called "the world's longest art gallery" for its many petroglyphs created by the Fremont Culture approximately 1,200 years ago. The main walls are the Great Hunt and Owl Panel; definitely worth the drive.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Next stop, the large concretions at Buried Forest in Utah. Originally thought to be the ends of large trees, they were the cross sections of extremely large concretions in the Mancos Shale formed along the Cretaceous Interior Seaway 90 million years ago.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Welcome to Utahraptor State Park, Utah's newest state park. Preserved within the park is the Dalton Wells Quarry where many species of dinosaurs were found, including Utahraptor, in the Yellow Cat member of the Cedar Mountain formation. The climb to the quarry is quite intense, but well worth it.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

First up, not geology, but still interesting. Newspaper Rock near Canyonlands NP is a fascinating look at life on the Plateau. Created by several groups that inhabited the region, the petroglyphs are amazingly preserved and highly detailed.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

So yes, a trip to Utah for fieldwork. But first, a stay at the historic El Rancho in Gallup NM where many movie stars of the day. Got to overnight in the Lee Remick room, who happens to be one of my favorite actresses of the time.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Ok folks, get ready for numerous geo photos once I'm back from my current assignment! 😁

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Reposted by Paul Brandes

Harold Tobin @haroldtobin.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

15 years ago right about this time of day, the Tohoku-oki earthquake was unleashed, with as much as 100 meters of fault slip documented at the Japan Trench. The resulting tsunami rocked Japan and the world, claiming ~18,000 lives. It was one of only 5 M9 quakes ever recorded. ⚒️

March 11, 2011 tsunami washing ashore on the Sendai coastal plain, sweeping into a coastal village. I visited this spot a few months later in August, 2011.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Our loud guy (Red Bellied Woodpecker) came for a visit today...

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

First time visit this year for the Cedar Waxwings. About 25 in the back tree, but wouldn't come down to the feeders. Nikon D600, Sigma 150-600mm crop to 900mm, f8, 1/500, ISO400, +1.7 exp.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Sometimes I forget I have a bluesky account and should really post more geology here... 😊

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Our friend the Eastern Bluebird came for a visit to the feeders yesterday.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Ok, I've seen a lot of Kongsberg silvers, but these are just silly... 🤣

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Just a saguaro cactus outside Tucson today...

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Even through a fence, this Black-Throated Magpie-Jay's blue colours show up brilliantly. He was too busy eating something off the branch to notice me, or he just didn't care. Nikon D850, Nikon 28-300mm Lens, 168mm dx crop, f11, ISO1600, 1/80 sec., +2.0 exp.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

One of the more numerous birds at the Sonoran Desert Museum, Cactus Wrens can be seen (and heard) throughout the park. They love to pearch on ocatillo branches to view their surroundings. Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600mm S Lens, 405mm, f7.1, ISO400, 1/1250 sec., +0.3 exp.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

A new bird for me, this beautiful Hooded Oriole was feeding on the ground at the Sonoran Desert Museum. Was certainly not scared of people walking nearby... Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600mm S Lens, 410mm, f8, ISO400, 1/30 sec., +0.3 exp.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Beautiful day at the Sonoran Desert Museum outside Tucson, Arizona with many birds out, including this Curved Billed Thrasher eyeing us from a cholla cactus. Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600mm S Lens, 900mm dx crop, f8, ISO400, 1/1600 sec.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Salt River Canyon in central Arizona is a fascinating area to examine precambrian geology. Rock as old as 1.8 Ga preserve the Yavapai/Mazatzal terrains as they were being accreted onto the North American continent. Also seen are rocks of the Apache Group and disease dikes dated to 1.1 Ga.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

The Goldfinches have now returned.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

A new visitor to the feeders, this female Eastern Bluebird treated itself to our fruit/worm suet cylinder. There were two, but one flew off before I could get pics.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Not the best photo, but our "yellowbutt" (aka, Yellow Rumped Warbler) has been a frequent visitor to the feeders in SE Texas this winter.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

NW of Houston, TX. Too many lights to see much, but definite aurora to the north.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Gonna be an odd GSA Connects with no federal geoscience agencies here...

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

After years of writing and traveling the state for photos, the 3rd edition of the Roadside Geology of Texas has arrived! If you're attending GSA Connects in San Antonio, stop by the GSA Bookstore, the Mountain Press booth, or just find me to learn more.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Smoke has definitely settled in. This was yesterday over the Brockway Mountains in Upper Michigan. 😒

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Always nice seeing your book in a major bookseller's store! Still hard to believe I wrote that!! 😊

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Finally made the trip to Kelleys Island, Ohio to see the HUGE glacial grooves left by the mile thick ice that once covered this region of North America. Closer examination of the grooves, however, suggest water flowing under the ice may have also played a role.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Hanging Rock near Lagro, Indiana on the Wabash River is a great example of a rarely exposed Silurian-aged pinnacle reef. These reefs are an important source of petroleum in the Michigan Basin around the Gaylord, Michigan area of the Lower Peninsula.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

The Loggerhead Shrike, also known as the "butcher bird" because of its habit of skewering its kill on barbed wire or small twigs, as seen on Antelope Island, Utah. Right after this photo, it flew off. Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600mm S Lens, 900mm dx crop, f11, ISO400, 1/800 sec, +0.3 exp.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

The Western Meadowlark on Antelope Island, Utah. A little shy at first, he finally starting singing after a few minutes. Nikon D850, Sigma 150-600mm S Lens, 660mm with dx crop, f11, ISO400, 1/640 sec, +0.3 exp.

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Paul Brandes @captpaulgeo.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

The Bonneville Salt Flats just east of Wendover, NV. The remnants of Lake Bonneville, you can definitely see why it gets its name "flats"!! 😁

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