Page 61 - visitorGuide

■ Intertidal Sand Bodies
These epoxy relief peels from the Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia,
preserve sedimentary structures from a modern-day intertidal zone.The Bay of
Fundy records the highest tidal ranges in the world.Trenches were dug across
a tidal bar in several places so that the patterns within the bar could be seen in
cross section. While each of these specimens tells its own story to a sedimen-
tologist, they are exhibited here primarily for their interesting textures.

Gifts from George deVries Klein, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

As you round the corner, you will see these specimens displayed on the walls above
the stairs.

■ Dinosaur Footprints
These specimens contain tracks made by dinosaurs walking in mud and sand
near ancient shores. Over time, the tracks were covered by more layers of
mud and sand and were buried deeply enough to be compressed and ce-
mented into rock before being uplifted and eroded to the surface again. The
larger slab contains tracks of several individuals.

The black numbers on the specimens were painted by Charles H. Hitchcock,
who collected these tracks in the Connecticut River Valley, Massachusetts, be-
fore 1840. Dinosaurs had not yet been identified, and Hitchcock believed that
these were the tracks of giant birds.

Permanent loan from the Pratt Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, through Gerald P. Brophy.

■ Lichen-Covered
Branches
Lichen-Covered
Lichens are any of numer- Branch
ous plants consisting of a fun-

gus, usually of the class Ascomy-

cetes, living in symbiotic relationship

with certain green or blue-green algae,

characteristically forming with a crustlike,

scaly, branching growth on rocks or tree trunks. Another

specimen is on the outside wall south of the front door.

The lime-green lichen is alive and requires occasional

watering to maintain its extremely slow growth.

Gift from S. Warren Hobbs, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado.

As you descend to the second floor–east wing, you will see the GSA Council Room 51
(p. 39) and additional specimens. Continuing downstairs to the first floor will return
you to the beginning of the tour.

THIRD FLOOR EXHIBITS