Mr. Damon's Photo Album

The French Alps, 1991

In the fall of 1991, I had the pleasure of going with the University of Paris on a field trip to the French Alps.  We dug up fossils and observed lots of sedimentary rock formations.

 

Click on photos for full-sized images. Click on photo's number for more complete details Photos copyright A. Damon
 

1991

hiking_group_alps.jpg (33000 bytes)

01 - Group photo
 

1991

hiking_alps.jpg (46270 bytes)

02 - The Vélodrome
 

1991

deciduous_evergreen_alps.jpg (67666 bytes)

03 - Deciduous evergreen
 

1991

rainbow_alps.jpg (20514 bytes)

 04 - Rainbow
 

1991

anticline_alps.jpg (58641 bytes)

05 - Anticline
 

1991

sedim_strata_alps.jpg (74692 bytes)

06 - Strata
 

1991

anticline_on_side.jpg (63701 bytes)

 07 - Anticline 2
 

1991

valley_vegetation.jpg (41873 bytes)

08 - Valley vegetation
 

1991

ammonite_fossil.jpg (57408 bytes)

09 -  Ammonite fossil
     
 

Additional Details:

  • 01 - These were the students and the professors from the program.
  • 02 - Me in front of the Vélodrome - a nickname based on the fact that the curved rocks look like a bicycle racing track.
  • 03 - This is a species of evergreen which changes color and loses its needles in the fall.
  • 04 - We were looking for rocks and fossils, but often got some extra surprises.
  • 05 - Usually anticlines (layers of rock bent in an "A" shape) are difficult to see because they are hidden under other rocks or vegetation.  This one has been beautifully exposed to show its shape.
  • 06 - The layers you can see are called strata.  You can get an idea of how big they are by the young man standing in the left of the photo.
  • 07 - Here's another anticline, but this one has been pushed over on its side.
  • 08 - The vegetation on each side of this valley is noticeably different.  Can you guess why?
  • 09 - This is a fossil of an organism which lived about 175 million years ago.  It's called an ammonite.  

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