Tracie ButlerGEL 103 J1 ML SU11

bull Overview of field trip and details of identifying subjects

bull Site location information

bull Area geologic history

bull Rock Types

bull Wildlife types

bull Flora types

bull Rock Types

bull Deciduous Tree types

bull References

bull Personal history of Bassi Falls

bull All example photos contained in this report were taken by me

Most were taken during my visit to Bassi Falls July 2011 or

during a previous trip There are a few taken a couple of years

ago (noted) None other unless otherwise noted in the

reference section

bull Map Images were produced using Google Earth

bull Rock Identification was done using USGS web search

bull Flora identification was done using the United States

Department of Agriculture

bull Tree identification was done using the Malheur Experiment

Station Oregon State University

bull Wildlife identification was done using All About Birds website

bull Our family has been coming to Bassi Falls for 3 years I

love going to Bassi Falls because I enjoy being outdoors

hiking soaking up the sun and spending time with my

family

bull We make the hike up to the falls at least three times a

year during the summer and fall months In all the times

wersquove visited this place Irsquove never really seen what was

all around me

bull I mean I saw the awesome forces that water has on

something as hard as granite how colorful and delicate

the flowers are that surround the flowing stream tasted

how sweet fresh water can be and marveled at the

beauty we centered ourselves within During this field

trip I discovered some truly amazing natural occurances

that are documented in the following I hope you enjoy

bull Located near the Crystal Basin Union Valley Resevoir

Bassi Falls CA North El Dorado County

bull Off Hwy 50 to Ice House Road

bull Elevation ~5600ft

bull Precipitation Range 20 to 80 inches occurs mostly as

snow above 6000ft

bull Coordinates

bull Latitude 38890458

bull Logitude -120325502

Google maps search Bassi Falls

One look at this picture and

you can see how powerful the

forces of water can be Over

the course of millions of years

the fall waters have made its

way through tiny cracks in

these boulders During the

winter freeze those cracks

expand and eventually break

off as seen in this picture

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

bull Overview of field trip and details of identifying subjects

bull Site location information

bull Area geologic history

bull Rock Types

bull Wildlife types

bull Flora types

bull Rock Types

bull Deciduous Tree types

bull References

bull Personal history of Bassi Falls

bull All example photos contained in this report were taken by me

Most were taken during my visit to Bassi Falls July 2011 or

during a previous trip There are a few taken a couple of years

ago (noted) None other unless otherwise noted in the

reference section

bull Map Images were produced using Google Earth

bull Rock Identification was done using USGS web search

bull Flora identification was done using the United States

Department of Agriculture

bull Tree identification was done using the Malheur Experiment

Station Oregon State University

bull Wildlife identification was done using All About Birds website

bull Our family has been coming to Bassi Falls for 3 years I

love going to Bassi Falls because I enjoy being outdoors

hiking soaking up the sun and spending time with my

family

bull We make the hike up to the falls at least three times a

year during the summer and fall months In all the times

wersquove visited this place Irsquove never really seen what was

all around me

bull I mean I saw the awesome forces that water has on

something as hard as granite how colorful and delicate

the flowers are that surround the flowing stream tasted

how sweet fresh water can be and marveled at the

beauty we centered ourselves within During this field

trip I discovered some truly amazing natural occurances

that are documented in the following I hope you enjoy

bull Located near the Crystal Basin Union Valley Resevoir

Bassi Falls CA North El Dorado County

bull Off Hwy 50 to Ice House Road

bull Elevation ~5600ft

bull Precipitation Range 20 to 80 inches occurs mostly as

snow above 6000ft

bull Coordinates

bull Latitude 38890458

bull Logitude -120325502

Google maps search Bassi Falls

One look at this picture and

you can see how powerful the

forces of water can be Over

the course of millions of years

the fall waters have made its

way through tiny cracks in

these boulders During the

winter freeze those cracks

expand and eventually break

off as seen in this picture

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

bull Personal history of Bassi Falls

bull All example photos contained in this report were taken by me

Most were taken during my visit to Bassi Falls July 2011 or

during a previous trip There are a few taken a couple of years

ago (noted) None other unless otherwise noted in the

reference section

bull Map Images were produced using Google Earth

bull Rock Identification was done using USGS web search

bull Flora identification was done using the United States

Department of Agriculture

bull Tree identification was done using the Malheur Experiment

Station Oregon State University

bull Wildlife identification was done using All About Birds website

bull Our family has been coming to Bassi Falls for 3 years I

love going to Bassi Falls because I enjoy being outdoors

hiking soaking up the sun and spending time with my

family

bull We make the hike up to the falls at least three times a

year during the summer and fall months In all the times

wersquove visited this place Irsquove never really seen what was

all around me

bull I mean I saw the awesome forces that water has on

something as hard as granite how colorful and delicate

the flowers are that surround the flowing stream tasted

how sweet fresh water can be and marveled at the

beauty we centered ourselves within During this field

trip I discovered some truly amazing natural occurances

that are documented in the following I hope you enjoy

bull Located near the Crystal Basin Union Valley Resevoir

Bassi Falls CA North El Dorado County

bull Off Hwy 50 to Ice House Road

bull Elevation ~5600ft

bull Precipitation Range 20 to 80 inches occurs mostly as

snow above 6000ft

bull Coordinates

bull Latitude 38890458

bull Logitude -120325502

Google maps search Bassi Falls

One look at this picture and

you can see how powerful the

forces of water can be Over

the course of millions of years

the fall waters have made its

way through tiny cracks in

these boulders During the

winter freeze those cracks

expand and eventually break

off as seen in this picture

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

bull Our family has been coming to Bassi Falls for 3 years I

love going to Bassi Falls because I enjoy being outdoors

hiking soaking up the sun and spending time with my

family

bull We make the hike up to the falls at least three times a

year during the summer and fall months In all the times

wersquove visited this place Irsquove never really seen what was

all around me

bull I mean I saw the awesome forces that water has on

something as hard as granite how colorful and delicate

the flowers are that surround the flowing stream tasted

how sweet fresh water can be and marveled at the

beauty we centered ourselves within During this field

trip I discovered some truly amazing natural occurances

that are documented in the following I hope you enjoy

bull Located near the Crystal Basin Union Valley Resevoir

Bassi Falls CA North El Dorado County

bull Off Hwy 50 to Ice House Road

bull Elevation ~5600ft

bull Precipitation Range 20 to 80 inches occurs mostly as

snow above 6000ft

bull Coordinates

bull Latitude 38890458

bull Logitude -120325502

Google maps search Bassi Falls

One look at this picture and

you can see how powerful the

forces of water can be Over

the course of millions of years

the fall waters have made its

way through tiny cracks in

these boulders During the

winter freeze those cracks

expand and eventually break

off as seen in this picture

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

bull Located near the Crystal Basin Union Valley Resevoir

Bassi Falls CA North El Dorado County

bull Off Hwy 50 to Ice House Road

bull Elevation ~5600ft

bull Precipitation Range 20 to 80 inches occurs mostly as

snow above 6000ft

bull Coordinates

bull Latitude 38890458

bull Logitude -120325502

Google maps search Bassi Falls

One look at this picture and

you can see how powerful the

forces of water can be Over

the course of millions of years

the fall waters have made its

way through tiny cracks in

these boulders During the

winter freeze those cracks

expand and eventually break

off as seen in this picture

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

One look at this picture and

you can see how powerful the

forces of water can be Over

the course of millions of years

the fall waters have made its

way through tiny cracks in

these boulders During the

winter freeze those cracks

expand and eventually break

off as seen in this picture

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

bull Bassi Falls is found in the El Dorado National forest which is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains The Sierra Nevada Mountains is a mountain range in California and Nevada between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province The Sierra Nevada mountain range runs 350 miles north-to-south and is approximately 70 miles across east-to-west Notable Sierra Nevada features include Lake Tahoe the largest alpine lake in North America Mount Whitney at 14494 feet the highest point in the contiguous United States and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite About 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period granite formed deep underground The range started to uplift four million years ago and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the rangeKnowles (nd)

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Bassi Falls is fed by

snow melt from Forni

Lake elev ~7900ft

(and another smaller

unlabeled lake below

McConnell Peak) via

Bassi Fork and drains

into Union Valley

Reservoir In this

picture the arrow

points to an area

against the stream

bed that shows

evidence of erosion as

indicated by round

smooth igneous rocks

as well as the

overburden on top of

the rocks from uphill

erosion

During the summer months Bassi Falls is a

continuous cascade over granite bedrock and

boulders National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (2001)

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Rocks have pours and fractures (voids) in

the surface and when moisture is

introduced (ie flowing waters from a fall

such as Bassi Falls) it tends to collect in

these voids In higher elevations such as

where Bassi Falls is located temperatures

drop during the night and cause the water in

the voids to freeze When the water freezes

it expands and presses against the crack

causing it to grow wider Eventually as this

process reoccurs repeatedly over time it

causes the rock to break off into smaller

chunks This type of mechanical weathering

is called ice wedging

In the picture to the right you will see an

example of this type of weathering and its

affects on this piece of granite

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

When a rock is broken

down by physical forces

such as water or wind it

changes the rock

physically but the

chemical structure

remains the same In

the picture to the right a

granite boulder has

been worn smooth by

friction from sand and

other rocks tumbling

and bumping against

them as they are carried

by the force of the

water This is called

abrasion

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Type Granite with a Quartzite intrusion

bull In this picture the intrusion runs through a bed of granite The orange coloring indicate staining Staining is caused by felsic minerals (iron rich) oxidizing in the granite

Pellant C amp Pellant H

(2002)

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Type Granite

bull It is evident that one side of the rock has a different texture than the other During the time this rock was being formed there is evidence that one side cooled much faster indicated by the fine grain texture The course side cooled at a much slower rate as indicated by the larger crystals With that said one side is a fine-grained granite leaving the opposite side a course grained granite

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Type Steller Blue Jay Cyanocitta stelleriTwo years ago I was fortunate enough to have a

female Steller Jay make her nest in the eaves of our

porch The pictures you see on the left are of this

Steller Jays which we named Stella nest

bull Native to North America the Steller jay was

first discovered on an Alaskan Island by

naturalist Georg Steller in 1741 The bird was

officially named by a scientist in 1788

bull Nesting facts - incubation of 16 days for a

clutch of 2-6 eggs Their eggs are usually

Bluish-green spotted dark brown purplish or

olive

bull Their diet consists of seeds insects berries

nuts small animals eggs and nestlings

bull Stellers are birds of coniferous and coniferous-

deciduous forests They are typically found in

elevations between 3000 and 10000 feet

bull Todays birds are a group of theropoddinosaurs

that evolved during the Mesozoic eraDunne Dobkin Ehlrich

Greene amp Davison (nd)

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Family Corvidae

Species Cyanocitta

stelleri

Common Stellers jay

I was unable to find the exact origin and

evolution of the Cyanocitta sterrleri in particular

however there is significant evidence that birds

evolved from theropod dinosaurs specifically

that birds are members of Maniraptora a group

of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and

oviraptorids among others Birds are

categorized as a biological class Aves The

earliest known species of class Aves is

Archaeopteryx lithographica from the Late

Jurassic period though Archaeopteryx is not

commonly considered to have been a true bird

Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur

clade Theropoda According to the current

consensus Aves and a sister group the order

Crocodilia together are the sole living members

of an unranked reptile clade the Archosauria

Phylogenetically Aves is usually defined as all

descendants of the most recent common

ancestor of a specific modern bird species and

either Archaeopteryx or some prehistoric

species closer to Neornithes If the latter

classification is used then the larger group is

termed Avialae

Padian K amp Chiappe LM 1997

Mountain Spiraea (Spiraea splendens) Also known

as Rose Meadowsweet Photo taken at Bassi Falls

alongside the stream

Spiraea splendens

Kingdom Plantae ndash Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta ndash Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta ndash Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta ndash Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida ndash Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Rosales

Family Rosaceae ndash Rose family

Genus Spiraea L ndash spirea

Species Spiraea splendens Baumann ex K Koch ndash rose meadowsweet

Variety Spiraea splendens Baumann ex K Koch var splendens ndashrose meadowsweet

Baumann ex K Koch var splendens

US Dept of Agriculture(nd)

The mountain Spiraea is an angiosperm or a flowering

plant Flowering plants also known as Angiospermae are

the most diverse group of land plants Angiosperms are

seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be

distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of

synapomorphies (derived characteristics) These

characteristics include flowers endosperm within the

seeds and the production of fruits that contain the seeds

The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from

gymnosperms around 245ndash202 million years ago and the

first flowering plants known to exist are from 140 million

years ago They diversified enormously during the Lower

Cretaceous and became widespread around 100 million

years ago but replaced conifers as the dominant trees only

around 60-100 million years ago ITIS Report (2011)

Pinus contorta

Common name Lodgepole Pine

Family Pine

Plant Type Tree

Short Description Medium length needles thin

bark small cones

Leaves needles in 2s

Native Yes

Shock Oregon State University (nd)

McLamb amp Hall (nd)

The earliest known modern tree is the

Archaeopteris a tree that looked similar to a

Christmas tree with buds reinforced branch

joints and wood similar to todays timber Its

branches and leaves resembled a fern

When the archaeopteris tree first appeared 370

million years ago it quickly covered most parts

of the Earth with its first forests and was the

dominant tree wherever the planet was

habitable During this time most of Earths land

masses were assembled south of the equator as

part of the supercontinent Pangaea which

eventually split into the even continents that

exist today

Over the past 370 million years countless new

tree species have evolved and eventually

became extinct - like the archaeopteris - as the

Earths land masses moved about climates

changed animal populations increased and of

course new species of plants evolved to take

the place of the extinct ones

bull Maps

bull Google EarthGoogle Maps Bassi Falls El Dorado County

bull The Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association Ed Mary Knowles ENFIA 14 July 2011 Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpwwwenfiainfoindexhtml

bull National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (200)

bull Pellant C amp Pellant H (2002) Rocks and Minerals (2ndnd ed pp 180-181) New York NY Dorling Kindersly Inc

bull Americas Volcanic Past - Sierra Nevadas USGS nd Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpwwwusgsgov

bull Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data Ed C W Jennings R G Strand and T H Rogers USGS 1977 Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httptinerusgsgovgeologystatesgmc-unitphpunit=CAgrMZ33B0

bull Stellers Jay Ed Pete Dunne D S Dobkin P R Ehlrich Erick Greene and William Davison Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Longevity Reco nd Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpwwwallaboutbirdsorgguidestellers_jaylifehistory

bull Natural Resource Conservation Source US Dept of Agriculture nd Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpplantsusdagovjavaprofilesymbol=SPSPS

bull Tree Plants by Scientific Name Ed Clinton C Shock Oregon State University nd Web 15 July 2011 Path httpwwwmalagaesoregonstateeduwildflowersplantlistphprestrict5Bplanttype5D-Tree

bull Spiraea splendens Baumann ex K Koch (2011 June 24) In Spiraea splendens Baumann ex K Koch Retrieved July 24 2011 from

bull httpwwwitisgovservletSingleRptSingleRptsearch_topic=TSNampsearch_value=505337

bull Padian K amp Chiappe LM (1997) Bird Origins In Currie PJ amp Padian K Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs San Diego Academic Press pp 41ndash96

bull McLamb E amp Hall D (nd) The Quiet Evolution of Trees In Earthworks amp Systems Retrieved July 24 2011 from httpecologycomfeaturesquietevolutiontreesquietevolutiontreeshtml

bull Maps

bull Google EarthGoogle Maps Bassi Falls El Dorado County

bull The Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association Ed Mary Knowles ENFIA 14 July 2011 Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpwwwenfiainfoindexhtml

bull National Geographic Topo Maps search Bassi Falls El Dorado County CA (200)

bull Pellant C amp Pellant H (2002) Rocks and Minerals (2ndnd ed pp 180-181) New York NY Dorling Kindersly Inc

bull Americas Volcanic Past - Sierra Nevadas USGS nd Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpwwwusgsgov

bull Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data Ed C W Jennings R G Strand and T H Rogers USGS 1977 Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httptinerusgsgovgeologystatesgmc-unitphpunit=CAgrMZ33B0

bull Stellers Jay Ed Pete Dunne D S Dobkin P R Ehlrich Erick Greene and William Davison Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Longevity Reco nd Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpwwwallaboutbirdsorgguidestellers_jaylifehistory

bull Natural Resource Conservation Source US Dept of Agriculture nd Web 15 July 2011

bull Path httpplantsusdagovjavaprofilesymbol=SPSPS

bull Tree Plants by Scientific Name Ed Clinton C Shock Oregon State University nd Web 15 July 2011 Path httpwwwmalagaesoregonstateeduwildflowersplantlistphprestrict5Bplanttype5D-Tree

bull Spiraea splendens Baumann ex K Koch (2011 June 24) In Spiraea splendens Baumann ex K Koch Retrieved July 24 2011 from

bull httpwwwitisgovservletSingleRptSingleRptsearch_topic=TSNampsearch_value=505337

bull Padian K amp Chiappe LM (1997) Bird Origins In Currie PJ amp Padian K Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs San Diego Academic Press pp 41ndash96

bull McLamb E amp Hall D (nd) The Quiet Evolution of Trees In Earthworks amp Systems Retrieved July 24 2011 from httpecologycomfeaturesquietevolutiontreesquietevolutiontreeshtml