Landforms & Legos at MCC

Dr. C is at Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park in Ireland. Torc waterfall is 20 meters high and cascades for 110 meters. It is a drain from a corrie lock, or tarn lake, carved into the mountainside by a cirque glacier.

The Drs. C are at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Originally used by fishermen, this bridge crosses over the caldera of a volcano.

Dr. C is visiting the Giant‘s Causeway in Ireland. Did you know??? The mythology is that the famous Irish giant Finn McCool built the pathway to do battle with his rival Benandonner, a Scottish giant. But McCool discovered that Benandonner was bigger than himself. Mrs. McCool derived an excellent plan! When Benandonner crossed the causeway and banged on the McCool’s door, Finn was dressed as a baby. Benandonner said, ”If that is the size of the baby, the father must be huge!” Then the Scottish giant returned home, breaking up the Causeway as he left.

Dr. C is exploring the badlands of the Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Did you know??? These rills on the clay hills transport rainwater that sometimes disappears below the surface of the slope causing piping that empties at the base of the hill. This is one of the landscape shaping erosional events in this harsh environment.

Hey everyone, Uncle Tom here for the last time this semester! Enjoy this image of your's truly relaxing in the sand during today's lab while the class attempted to construct their own sand dunes using nothing but kiddie pools, buckets of sand, and hair dryers. This past week, the class learned all about how sand dunes are formed by wind currents in desert environments. By the end of this lab, the class came to the conclusion that it's very difficult to replicate the sand dune process on a smaller scale, and also that it takes a significant amount of time for desert sand to be shaped into dunes.

Hi Lego friends, it is Roxy here for the final adventure check in. I am going to miss sharing my adventures with all of you, but today I found myself taking a nice little nap in these beautiful bright pink flowers that are growing and staring to bloom on this cactus because it is … SPRING!!!!! Spring is such a beautiful time in Arizona. It is when plants and flowers are to blossom and there are just so much colorful flowers everywhere!! I love it!! With that being said get up and outside to explore and enjoy the beautiful land that we live on!!

Today in class, we made sand dunes. Sand dunes are created when wind carries particles across the desert floor. The stronger the wind the farther the particles will travel. Eventually, these particles will build up and for sand dunes. Some of these sand dunes can measure up to 4,000 ft high (in LEGO feet).

Estavan found his way into some flowers on his morning hike this morning. Did you know there are over 400,000 types do flowers in the world today. (NOTE: Dr. C thinks the students may be tiring of this project at the end of the semester...).

Hello! Jimmy Jones here, writing something for the last time. One place that is an amazingly beautiful landform is Niagara Falls. This place is in New York State and it attracts many people around the globe because of its beauty. There are three major falls at Niagara called American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Canadian Falls. One cool fact is that the falls rarely freeze because of the massive amounts of water that never stops flowing. The water creates a mist of ice that causes ice formations along the banks of the falls and rivers. The only time that the falls were known to freeze over was in 1848. The Niagara Falls is full of surprises and I thought that would be something cool to share. Hopefully, one day I will get to visit this place.

Hey everyone, survivalist Steve back again this time with a more technical way to look at the world around us. This is a RASI, or a Rock Art Stability Index form used to assess the condition of rock art in order to better preserve it. It analyzes all aspects of the rock art, such as flaking, or human impact. This technique is important because it is an efficient way to protect rock art so many generations can enjoy it.

Chip was really looking forward to going to the lake. But as soon as she got there she noticed the lake was GONE. With the weather being hot and humid, and the fact there was very little water to begin with, Chip came to the conclusion the loss water is due to the climate of the area. The current weather caused the surface water to evaporate. Leaving mainly just the water within the soil. It may not have been a lake visit, but it still was a good outdoor experience.