Visit to the Dinosaur Ridge - Essay Example

On the 20th of September 2014, I visited the famous Denver Dinosaur Ridge for a practical activity that involved fossil examination, gold panning, mineral recognition, and dinosaur track printing. The place has experts and representatives from FODR geologists who help in the analyses of the geographical activities. For instance, the experts take students and visitors through the faulting, volcanic, and earthquake processes that took place in the area.

However, the geohazards occur in different ways due to the geological structure of the terrain and the localities of the features. This implies that the influence of the geohazards may vary in separate places depending on the geological composition in that area. The impacts of earth tremors on plain lands cause minimum risks compared to the ones on rugged terrains. For instance, earthquakes on barren lands might destroy properties, especially in congested areas.

According to the FODR experts, volcanic ash bends are the common influence of geohazard processes at the Denver Dinosaur Ridge. This is because of the dumping nature of the volcanic bends during eruptions as was evidenced by the Colorado disaster. The experts further indicated that the determination of the geohazard activities is undertaken by checking on the mineral zircon crystals. This model considers the date of the rocks and their nature that might contribute to the breaking. It emerged that the volcanic ash bends had taken place over 100 million years ago because of the nature of the rocks and the number of mineral zircon minerals found.

Geohazard activities may have also occurred at the Karst Hazards in recent years. The formation of the Karst Hazard occurs because of the sinkholes that damage the infrastructure. The sinkholes dissolve in the underlying limestone, exposing the infrastructure, such as roads or buildings, to the risk of collapsing or sinking underneath the earth’s surface. The damage can also emerge due to the intense removal of underground water that causes fissures on the surface.

Geohazards need prevention because they are harmful to humans and other living organisms, leading to widespread risks. However, scientists and geologists indicate that the geohazards have also contributed to the discovery of extinct creatures like the dinosaurs. Scientists use various methods to determine the time that the creatures or features occurred. The first technique is the use of the dating system that shows the area of existence of the phenomenon. Seismology is the other method used, which is a scientific way of exploring the earth. In this regard, it helps in offering explanations for the occurrence of natural features across the world.