This document provides a summary of Amber Bigotti's geology field assignment to Fall River Mills, California. It describes the geology and natural features of the area, including Mount Shasta, Mount Lassen, Ja-She Springs, Tule Lake, and the rocks and plants found in the region. Samples of basalt and sandstone rocks were collected, and wildlife spotted included the mountain lady's slipper plant, osprey bird, and rainbow trout fish. The document utilized various websites as references.
2. Table of Contents
-Method Explanation
-History and Geology of Fall River Mills
-Geology of Ja-She and Tule Lake
-Rocks Found in the Area
Basalt
Sandstone
-Plant Life and Animals
Mountain Lady’s Slipper
California Thistle
Osprey
Rainbow Trout
-Works Cited
3. Method
Early July I traveled to Fall River Mills California, a place were I
spent many of my summers while growing up.
All of the photos were taken in Fall River Mills and the
surrounding areas.
All of the plant life and wildlife I encountered are from the area
as well.
The rocks were collected around Ja-She springs, only a short
boat ride down Eastman Lake
4.
5. *Fall River Mills is located
in Shasta County with an
elevation between 3,200
and 3,400 feet
*Fall River Mills is
surrounded by the Sierra
Nevada and the Cascade
Mountain Ranges
*Both Mt. Lassen and Mt.
Shasta can be seen from
any location in the Fall
River Mills Valley
6. Mount Shasta
-Mt Shasta has an elevation of 14,179 feet
-Mt Shasta was created by four overlapping volcanic cones
-The South side is the only part of the mountain that contains glacier erosion
-593,000 years ago an eruption caused the formation of the west side of the
mountain
-between 300,000 and 360,000 years ago the north face of Shasta collapsed and
caused a huge landslide of volcanic debris
-the last eruption, which was only 100 years later, formed the summit that we see
today
7. Mount Lassen
-Mt Lassen has an elevation of 10,462 feet
-Mt Lassen was formed over the past 35 million years
-Lassen began to really take shape about 27,000 years ago and
only took a few years to reach its height
-the mountain was greatly changed by the erosion of glaciers
during the last ice age
-in 1914 Lassen became active after 27,000 years off no activity
-in May of 1915 there was a series of small eruptions followed by a
large explosion on May 22, 1915 which caused the large creator
that we can see today
-both of these mountains are considered the most active in the
area and the most likely to erupt in the near future
8. Ja-She Springs
-Ja-She springs is feed from Tule Lake located 50 miles away
the spring feeds out and created Eastman Lake and the
surrounding water ways, all known for their amazing fly fishing
-the main type of rock found between the Ja-She Springs and Tule
Lake is basalt
-the basalt is porous and allows the water to flow undisturbed
under the ground
-the water flows through lava chutes and emerges to form the
springs where the lava flow ended
10. Sandstone: found at McArthur Burney
Falls
Description:
Light in color (light brown with some
reddish brown color)
Fine grained
Contains some fracturing and layering
Identification:
I believe the rock is sandstone, it is a
clastic sedimentary rock. It is created
through the weathering of other rocks.
Sandstone mostly consists of quartz
and feldspar. It gets its reddish color
from the presence of iron.
11. Name: Mountain Lady’s Slipper
Scientific Name: Cypripedium
Montanum
Other Names: Large Lady’s
Slipper, White Lady’s
Slipper, Moccasin Flower
Description: A green leafy plant
which has at least one flower. The
blooms are maroonish with a
white pouch and resemble a
slipper.
Climate: Found in higher
elevations, in wooded areas with
only two hours of sunlight
exposure. They are found in dry to
moist areas.
Threat: Loss of natural habitat
Mountain Lady’s Slipper (trails, fire…), uprooting from
hikers, collection for medicinal
purposes, natural aging of the
forest
12. Evolution
The Mountain Lady’s Slipper
evolved very quickly and over
time contained less elaborate
flowers, although they are still
gorgeous. They have the ability
to live up to one hundred
years. They evolved from the
Parviflorum species and
closely resemble the
Cypripedium Parviflorum.
14. Name: Osprey Evolution
The osprey is believed
Scientific Name: Pandion to have started to
Haliaetus evolve early on and
managed to follow a
Common Names: Fish different evolutionary
Eagle, Lang Siput, Tiram path which lead feet
with two toes in the
Description: Large bird with rear and that contain
a white head and breast, the bumps that give them a
rest of the body is brownish. strong and non slick
They are one of the few grip. The osprey also
birds who have two toes in has nostrils which
the front and in the back. close when diving into
Their nostrils close when water and their
the bird dives after fish. extremely oily feathers
make them buoyant
and able to fly right
after a dive.
15.
16. Name: Rainbow Trout
Scientific Name:
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Other Names: Redband trout
Description: They contain
colors of red, green, blue, and
yellow with black specs along
their body. They have white
bellies and small fins. They
have a dorsal fin making them
part of the salmon family.
Climate: They prefer cold and
clear lakes and rivers of North
America west of the Rockies.