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At least 901 records · Page 50Linked to original sources

Birds of the Baja California Peninsula: Status, distribution, and taxonomy

Birds of the Baja California Peninsula: Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy. By Richard A. Erickson and Steve N. G. Howell (Eds.). American Birding Association Monographs in Field Ornithology No. 3, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2001: 261 pp. ISBN: 1878788396. $39.95 (paper). This volume is a collection of eight papers and five appendices on the status and distribution of the birds of Baja California. In the preface, the editors lament the end of an era of "frontier" birding in Baja California brought on by the publication of this volume. While discoveries of new species are certain to decline with time, I suspect that interest in birding and ornithology in Baja California will be enhanced by the information contained in this book. Perhaps the "frontier" era that Erickson and Howell lament the end of is the unbirded, wide open spaces and the chance for making new discoveries.

Baja California Peninsula↗

Suggested readings in continuum mechanics and earthquake seismology

Rotational seismology is a newly emerging field of interest to scientists from widely differing disciplines. We compile here some suggested readings for those wishing to become familiar with disciplines relevant to rotational seismology and its engineering applications. These readings are not exhaustive but contain a number of basic references with occasional annotations. We concentrate on two areas: continuum mechanics and earthquake seismology. Continuum mechanics is the branch of mechanics that deals with the deformation and motion of materials, including various elasticity theories. Although classical elasticity works well for studying earthquakes in the far field, there are alternate elasticity theories that may be more appropriate for studying earthquakes in the near field. The readings in continuum mechanics are intended for seismologists and include (1) fundamental textbooks, (2) intermediate to advanced books, (3) heteromodular theories, and (4) Cosserat theory. A brief introduction to continuum mechanics for seismologists is included as an appendix. In addition, because we wish to attract workers in other disciplines to rotational seismology, we include a short list of suggested readings in earthquake seismology.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

Haunted Summerville: Ghostly lights or earthquake lights?

Among the colorful local lore in the Charleston, South Carolina, area, are a number of ghost stories, shared not only over campfires but also in published books. Among the most well-known of the stories is the tale of the Summerville Light. Local lore holds that a strange light sometimes seen in a remote area is a lantern carried by the ghost of a local woman who once waited hours for her husband, who turned out to have been decapitated earlier that day in a train accident (DePoppe, 2023). Extant sources suggest the ghost stories began to circulate in the 1950s to 1960s. So pervasive was the lore that (Old) Sheep Island Road became known among local residents as Light Road, with a local stretch of road known today as Old Light Road. Reviewing the location where the lights appear as well as the nature of accounts, I suggest that many if not all of the anecdotal observations can be most readily attributed to natural phenomena, including earthquake lights from earthquakes that were too small to be felt. Accounts of lights near Summerville cluster in proximity to the generally accepted epicenter of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake, where foreshocks to the 1886 mainshock were apparently concentrated, and within a few kilometers of three M3.5 – 4.4 earthquakes in 1959 and 1960.

South Carolina↗

Origin of the Bendigo saddle reefs with comments on the formation of ribbon quartz

"Several textural varieties of quartz, together with ore textures and structural relations, indicate that (1) open-space filling, (2) replacement, and (3) growth by accretion were active processes in the formation of saddle reefs and related quartz bodies of the Bendigo goldfield, Australia. The relative importance of each process varied with the type of quartz body. . . . Book structure, ribbon structure, and 'crinkly banding' probably resulted primarily from the replacement of previously sheared or foliated zones in wall rock; the individual leaves and ribbons are usually residues from the replacement process."

Economic Geology↗

Alteration and metallization in the Bagdad porphyry copper deposit, Arizona

The porphyritic to seriate-textured quartz monzonite host-rock at Bagdad was changed by hypogene alteration to a granular rock in which the plagioclase became albitic, orthoclase and quartz increased in amount, and hornblende and book-biotite were recrystallized to pale brown leafy biotite. Hypogene sulfides, pyrite and chalcopyrite, were added during the process of alteration, accompanied in part by sericite. Molybdenite is younger than the chalcopyrite. Locally, the host rock was altered to a quartz-orthoclase-sericite facies containing more quartz and orthoclase than is found in the main alteration facies. Chemical analyses indicate that alteration and mineralization of the host rock resulted in loss of iron, lime, and soda, and addition of sulfur, copper, and potash.Supergene changes include the formation of a chalcocite blanket in late Pliocene or early Pleistocene time. Chalcocite replaced chalcopyrite in preference to pyrite. The chalcocite blanket is truncated by the present erosion surface and its distribution can be recognized from the character of the iron oxide left in the leached cavities. Along some of the fractures and faults, supergene clay is present, consisting of kaolinite and a member of the saponite-montmorillonite group.

Arizona↗

Color of the tarsi and toes of the black rail

Examination of two fresh specimens of the Black Rail ( Laterallus jamaicensis ) has prompted us to call attention to the color of the tarsi and toes of this species, since our observations do not agree with published accounts. Audubon (Ornithological Biography, vol. IV; 361, 1838) and Friedmann (Birds of North and Middle America, U.S. Nat'l. Mus. Bull., 50: 154, 1941) state that the tarsi and toes are bright yellowish-green. Descriptions in other publications are similar. Prominent bird artists, including Fuertes, have depicted the color of these appendages as yellowish-green, yellow, or green; while Allan Brooks' illustration of this species (The Book of Birds, vol. I, National Geographic Society, p. 291, 1932) shows pink legs. An adult female specimen was collected by J. A. Hagar, C. S. Robbins, and R. E. Stewart near Elliott Island, Maryland, on 8 June 1958. A second adult Black Rail, presumed to be a female by its dull color and call, was caught alive by the authors in the same area on 17 June 1958, and is still held in captivity. The tarsi and toes of these two birds show no trace of yellow or green. They appear grayish, matching "Flint" (plate 56-1C) or "Gunmetal" (plate 48-2C) in Maerz and Paul's "A Dictionary of Color" (1930), and "blackish-brown" in the color charts provided with Palmer and Reilly's "A Concise Color Standard" (Am. Ornith. Union Handbook Fund, 1956). A grayed-off blackish-brown would seem to be an appropriate description.

The Auk↗

In memoriam: Harvey I. Fisher, 1916-1994

Harvey Irvin Fisher was born on 15 June 1916 in Edgar, Nebraska, and spent his youth near Blue Springs, Missouri. Following his A.A. from Kansas City in 1935, and B.S. from Kansas State University in 1937, he married Mildred Hoch; they had three sons. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1942. From 1942 through 1945, while at Berkeley, he was Technical Curator, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Biologist with the Crocker Radiation Laboratory, and Assistant Editor of The Condor . In 1944 he joined the AOU, became a Fellow in 1950, and was Editor of The Auk from 1948 to 1952 (to which he contributed numerous book reviews). He later became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the International Academy of Science.

The Auk↗

In memoriam: John Warren Aldrich, 1906-1995

John Aldrich was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on 23 February 1906, and went to the Providence public schools. He developed a broad interest in natural history at an early age, being stimulated by his mother, a kindergarten teacher, who introduced him to nature books. His interest was strengthened by Harold L. Madison, Director of the Park Museum in Providence, an Associate ( = member) of the AOU. As a high school student, John taught nature study at the Rhode Island Boy Scout Camp in summers. John was President of his class at Classical High School, and manager of the school's football team in his senior year. Also in that year, 1923, John published his first paper, a note in Bird-Lore on the occurrence of the Mockingbird in Rhode Island. That paper is a literary gem, showing that his skill in writing developed as early as his knowledge of birds. His early interest in football continued as well; he was a devoted fan of the Washington Redskins in his later years.

The Auk↗

Proceedings of the fourth biennial conference of research on the Colorado Plateau

The 13 chapters in this book were selected from the 75 research papers presented at the Fourth Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau. The theme of this meeting centered around research, inventory, and monitoring on lands over the Colorado Plateau, with a focus on the newly created BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The conference, held on 15-18 September 1997 in Flagstaff, Arizona, was hosted by the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center Colorado Plateau Field Station (CPFS) and Northern Arizona University.

Colorado↗

Elevations and Distances in the United States

The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the Geological Survey from students, teachers, writers, editors, publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs and other reference books, and people in many other fields of work. The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined from surveys and topographic maps of the Geological Survey or obtained from other sources. Some of this information, compiled from older maps, will be revised as new surveys are completed. For further information, write to the U. S. Geological Survey, 507 National Center.Reston,Virginia 22092.

General Information Product↗

Elevations and distances in the United States

The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the U.S. Geological Survey from students; teachers; writers; editors; publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference books; and people in many other fields of work. The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined from surveys and topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey or obtained from other sources. In most cases, the elevations were determined from surveys and from 1:24,000- and 1:25,000-scale, 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In Alaska, information was taken from 1:63,360-scale, 15-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In a few cases, data were obtained from older, 1:62,500-scale, 15-minute maps; these maps are being replaced with larger-scale 7.5-minute coverage. Further information about U.S. Geological Survey products can be obtained from: U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information Center, 507 National Center, Reston, VA 22092 or phone 703-860-6045.

General Information Product↗

Maps for America: cartographic products of the U.S. Geological Survey and others

"Maps for America" was originally published in 1979 as a Centennial Volume commemorating the Geological Survey's hundred years of service (1879-1979) in the earth sciences. It was an eminently fitting Centennial Year publication, for, since its establishment, the Geological Survey has continuously carried on an extensive program of mapping to provide knowledge of the topography, geology, hydrology, and natural resources of our Nation. This volume contains an organized presentation of information about the maps produced by the Geological Survey and other American organizations, public and private. Such maps are important tools for those in government and in private endeavors who are working to assure the wisest choices in managing the Nation's resources. They are particularly supportive of the Department of the Interior's role as the Nation's principal conservation agency. The second edition of "Maps for America" is intended primarily to replenish the dwindling supply of copies of the book, but it also contains a number of changes to correct or update the text and to provide more suitable illustrations in certain instances.

Report↗

National Atlas maps

The National Atlas of the United States of America was published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1970. Its 765 maps and charts are on 335 14- by 19-inch pages. Many of the maps span facing pages. It's worth a quick trip to the library just to leaf through all 335 pages of this book. Rapid scanning of its thematic maps yields rich insights to the geography of issues of continuing national interest. On most maps, the geographic patterns are still valid, though the data are not current. The atlas is out of print, but many of its maps can be purchased separately. Maps that span facing pages in the atlas are printed on one sheet. The maps dated after 1970 are either revisions of original atlas maps, or new maps published in atlas format. The titles of the separate maps are listed here.

Monograph↗

Publications of the Geological Survey, 1879-1961

This permanent catalog is a list of books and maps that were published between 1879 and 1961. It supplements another permanent catalog "Publications of the Geological Survey, 1962-1970."

Publications of the US Geological Survey↗

Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1971-1981

This catalog is a list of books and maps published between 1971 and 1981. It supplements the past permanent catalogs "Publications of the Geological Survey, 1879-1961" and "Publications of the Geological Survey, 1962-1970." It also lists those reports in the 1879-1961 and 1962-70 catalogs that are out of stock and NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Publications of the US Geological Survey↗