How I became addicted to Orogeny

Can a Mountain Be Older Than Bones?

Greetings My name Is Koraki AKA Damien Knight, and this is today’s Vlogmas post. Let’s dive in, shall we?  A little background about myself first. I studied geology and obtained my bachelor’s degree in geology in 2020. I have wanted to be a paleontologist since I can remember and have loved dinosaurs since I was three years old. It is safe to say that I was very much “addicted” to paleontology but not so much Orogeny.

What is orogeny? Oh, I am so glad you asked. An orogeny is, according to Merriam-Webster, the process of mountain formation especially by folding of the earth’s crust. In other words, an orogeny is a mountain building event. I could go into great detail about how mountains are formed, but the YouTube algorithm prefers shorter videos. I am already certain this one will be longer than I want it to be.

Many have seen the pictures of Mount Everest and the Himalayas. The Himalayas formed during the appropriately named Himalayan Orogeny. They are young virulent and TALL compared to mountains in America. Of course, they are! They formed between 45-50 Million years ago. These impressive mountains particularly, Mount Everest, played a role in my obsession with mountains. I longed to conquer my life in the same way legendary adventurers conquered its peak.

In contrast to the Himalayas, the Ancient Rocky Mountains started forming 285 million years ago. That said, those aren’t the Rockies of today. The modern Rockies started 75 million years ago during the Laramide Orogeny. Still older than the young Himalayas, but not as old as Bones. Speaking of…

I am sure you all have seen the memes about the Appalachia Mountains. Here I will show some of them now.

According to the memes, they are older than the rings of Saturn, older than the Atlantic, and of course the most terrifying and doubted claim, older than bones.

The Appalachian Mountains of the Appalachian orogeny is actually a tale of three orogenies, the Taconic, the Acadian, and the Allegheny. The Taconic being the first of the orogenies ended around 440 million years ago taking place throughout the Ordovician. The second Orogeny, the Acadian, occurred during the Devonian period about 416-359 million years ago. And the last Orogeny, The Alleghenian? That occurred during the Permian around 300–250 million years ago.

The current mountains are the eroded nubs of once tall, proud, and ancient giants. The Appalachian Mountains are OLD. There is no doubt about that. But are they older than bones? Can a mountain really be that old?

Well, let’s find out how old bone formation is. Thank goodness I studied biology because I wanted to be a paleontologist, but I digress. Originally, bone formation in sea creatures was thought to have only occurred after the Cambrian, then scientists discovered a fossil from the Ediacaran with a skeleton. That was back in 2012 (you know when the world was supposed to end).

This means bones are at least 550 million years old. The meme which falsely claims Morrill’s cave (I assume they meant this cave anyway) is also 550 million years old didn’t say marine, though. They said terrestrial. With that in mind, let’s look at when skeletons walked on land. If we assume TikTaalik was one of the first boned fish to leave the ocean, then we are looking at 375 million years ago.

When I initially saw the meme once more and replied on Facebook about it, I said 400 million years ago. Guess my recollection wasn’t too far off. While the cave cited in the meme certainly isn’t 550 million years old the Appalachian Mountains are very close being a stately 480-million-year-old grandfather of a mountain (approximately anyway) That my friends is older than Terrestrial bones and reason enough to be addicted to orogeny.

Well, that wraps up for today, thanks for being here and if you liked this video, don’t forget to hit the like button. Want more content like this? Sure, ya do. Hit the subscribe button and notification button to see more content like this. Thanks again.

Sources

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2007, February 9). Alleghenian orogeny. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Alleghenian-orogeny

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2016, February 2). Taconic orogeny. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Taconic-orogeny

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2018, March 14). Acadian orogeny. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Acadian-orogeny

Dykeman, W. (2020, October 29). Appalachian Mountains. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Appalachian-Mountains

Geology and Ecology of National Parks. (n.d.). Geology of rocky mountain national park. Geology of Rocky Mountain National Park | U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/geology-rocky-mountain-national-park#:~:text=During%20the%20Paleozoic%20era%20(544,raised%20the%20ancient%20Rocky%20Mountains.

Grimley, M. (2013, February 13). Spelunking the highlands: Owning the Caves. Appalachian Voices. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://appvoices.org/2013/02/13/spelunking-the-highlands-owning-the-caves/#:~:text=The%20site%20is%20also%20known,as%20a%20trek%2C%20was%20straightforward.

 Matchen, David “Appalachian Orogeny.” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia.

17September 2014. Web. 14 December 2022, from https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/246#:~:text=In%20geological%20terms%2C%20”orogeny,from%20Newfoundland%20to%20northern%20Alabama.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Orogeny definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orogeny

MinWage. (2021, February 21). Tumblr thread: Grasping the age of the Appalachians. Cheezburger. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://cheezburger.com/13583109/tumblr-thread-grasping-the-age-of-the-appalachians

R/whitepeopletwitter – they’re older than Saturn’s rings by nearly 400 million years. reddit. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.reddit.com/r/WhitePeopleTwitter/comments/xlfitw/theyre_older_than_saturns_rings_by_nearly_400/

Roy, A. B., & Purohit, R. (2018). Himalayan orogeny. Himalayan Orogeny – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/himalayan-orogeny

University of California – Riverside. (2012, March 8). Oldest organism with skeleton discovered in Australia. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 12, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120308120105.htm

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, December 6). Tiktaalik. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiktaalik

Summary of Tom Sawyer White Washing Scene

 

Instructions: Write a summary of the exchange between Tom and Ben. (BrainQuest Assignment)

 

Ben and Tom’s conversation is talking about a lot of things such as liking something such as work and making work fun. The story’s main idea is to join in something you can only do once.  Tom’s mouth may have watered for the apple but he did the thing he could only do once in a while. Even with Ben wanting him to come swimming. Tom still continued white washing and looking at his job on how good it is. Ben’s way of thinking it’s work but eventually wants to join in.

 

Teacher Commentary: Jayson you were suppose to do it in order. Also the main idea of the story was about the line between what is work and what is fun. 

Paul Revere’s Ride: Brain Quest Assignment

By Jayson Knapp

Assignment instructions translate Longfellow’s poem as a story.

On April 4^th 1775, Paul Revere rode to warn people that the British were coming. He did this by telling a friend,

“If the British march by land or sea from the town tonight hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch of the North Church tower as a signal light. One if by land, and two if by sea, and I on the opposite shore will be ready to ride and spread the alarm through every Middle sex village and farm for the country-folk to be and to arm.”

Now in 2018 we still hear and teach of it and its poem. It is an important time in history the revolutionary war.

Respect: A Biblical Essay Written 2003

By Damien Knight

 

“Hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye.” Matthew 7:5

Respect is understanding other people have rights. It is following the golden rule and protecting those rights.

 

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6: 31

This means to treat others how you wish to be treated. If you behave in a bossy manner do not be surprised that others assume you want to always be told what to do. Placing out disrespect into the universe may earn you the same. If you are respectful you show, no earn others respect.

“Do not judge and you will not be judged…  … forgive and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

 

Gossip and idle talk, “She is such and such a person,” these statements are judgement. They pay no heed to respect nor will the earn you respect. Reserve judgements and give forgiveness, this is the path of respect and happiness.

“You say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye.” Luke 6:42

 

For me to point out wrongs in others and ignore my own is disrespectful. It is hypocrisy and it does not lead to growth and light. It does not lead to earning respect. You have to respect others to be respected.

Grand Canyon Karst Seminar

By Damien Knight

Ben Tobin gave this seminar over the karst regions of the Grand Canyon. I arrived late to the seminar, but it was very interesting. When I entered Ben was talking about the morphology of the caves. They are following the fractures into the canyons itself. They mapped the caves from faults and fractures traced in the groundwater. To do that, they had to do dye traces of the different cave entrances.

Industrial Regulatory Term Asbestos and Minerals It Involves

By Damien Knight

Asbestos has become a common household name. Its hazards a concern blared across our TVs during lawsuit commercials. We all have heard of it, but what is it? Why was it mined? To understand asbestos, we first must define it. Here we will describe the minerals defined, talk about its use, mining, and health effects.

Paleontology: A New Way to Study Fossils

By Damien Knight

The traditional study of morphology in paleontology is changing with the use of X-ray and tomography technologies. X-ray Computer Tomography (CT) Scanners and other X-ray techniques are aiding our understanding of fossils in greater detail. Traditional paleontology required digging fossils from their matrix which destroyed the samples to study them. New technology can penetrate dense rocks with resolution in the microns.

Window into The Samurai Warrior: Class Assignment Outline

Student: Jayson Knapp
11/23/18
Instructor name: Mr. Knight

What was a Samurai?

1. Samurai the elite warrior group of Japan.
2. The time samurai were around was the Edo period in Japan when Tokyo was called Edo or feudal Japan.
3. A samurai wasn’t just a warrior group, but hey were also shoguns or a commander-in-chief in feudal Japan.

I am Thankful

By Cera Knapp

Author Photo

I am thankful for my family and friends. My friends are nice to me, so I am nice to them. My family is important to me. Each year I enjoy being with them on Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my pets. I love them so much! I am thankful for my tablet. The new technology is great. I am thankful for my bike. I will probably ride it all summer next year. Thanks Pop-pop for bringing my bike to me. I am thankful for my stuffies. I have a lot! I am thankful for the food. It is amazing.

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Journal 1: Thoughts on The Gap Year First Learning and Then College

 

Written in 2006 By Damien Knight

I remember my senior year. It was good but a tough year. The thought of college after was daunting. Unlike the girl in this essay I could not wait a year.

I am so glad I didn’t wait. I may not return next year because I am getting married. Then again, I might just come back. If it wasn’t for Western Kentucky University, I wouldn’t have had Aaron for my own.
Current thoughts on this old journal piece.

Do you ever like dig through your old things and find you owned one of those ridiculous pink locked journals? This might relate only to my female readers but, reading this made me feel like I stumbled on a teenage girl’s diary. To think I turned that in as a college writing assignment. OMG!

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