...and now for something completely different

[sstodvictory]

.....in my best Andy Rooney imitation.....Didja ever wonder what geology has to do with motorcycling....?

Why in the land of flattness are certain areas so scenic and such great rides; around Galena, Starved Rock, the awesome Illinois River valley, South of Pittsfield, the Southern tip around Shawnee National Forest?

Galena was missed by a bunch of glaciations, and so was never slathered with Till like most places. Starved rock was created by a local uplift then scoured out by a disastrous flood after a glacial lake broke thorough its dam. The Illinois River valley was broadened by the same event. The Starved Rock sandstone was deposited millions of years ago when the area was a coastal sea South of the present equator, before the uplift. Paloeozoic basement rock with lots of vertical releif is at the surface or under thin cover, South of Pittsfield and around Shawnee National Forest.

I don't know about you but I think this stuff is interesting. Finally an explaination of why South of Pittsfield is so different.

Steve

http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/nsdihome/browse/statewide/quat96b.gif
http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/fieldtrips_home.html
http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/NIF/illinois_geological_history.html

[Daffy]

Holy shit!, I thought I had something going on when I figured out that the reason the south side of the Rock River Valley is all sand and the North side is all clay was because of the glacial movement through the area(glaciers grinding up the rocks and making sand) but damn. Then last week somebody explained why we were in a Tornado valley. His explanation was due to the two mountain ranges and the combination of the cold dry arctic air and the warm wet gulf air having no choice of where to collide. So when is the San Madre?(sp) fault gonna give southern IL the next BIG ONE? Interesting facts Steve.

[daveltb]

Yes, Very interesting.