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After we consider Ohio’s wealthy range of pure assets, most of our minds usually shift to ideas of timber, birds, bugs, fish, or flowers. In different phrases – dwelling issues. This week, nonetheless, is Earth Science Week in Ohio and the main target of this celebration is to assist residents uncover or additional examine the non-biological facets of our surroundings corresponding to rocks, minerals, soils, fossils, and landforms which may be discovered all through the state.
For a lot of kids, earth science gives a strategy to pique their exploration of the outside. I’d wager many studying this column had some type of a rock assortment throughout their youth. Rocks and minerals present a comparatively secure and motionless supply of leisure and whereas a guardian won’t admire a handful of soiled stones making their approach into the laundry, it certain beats the choice of getting an unknown bug or reptile inadvertently launched into the home. As soon as they’re positioned in a field or displayed, these geological wonders require no feeding or watering, no litterbox to be emptied, and solely a lightweight dusting for primary hygiene.
Earth science can also be not restricted by seasonal fluctuations. Spring wildflowers might solely be in bloom for a couple of weeks, however you possibly can discover geological formations or scour a stream financial institution for fossils and gem stones twelve months a yr. I discover myself doing this subconsciously anytime I’m spending time within the area for different causes and, because the rock-laden window ledge beside me as I kind this may attest, I hardly ever come again to the workplace with out some new little bit of quartz, sandstone, or fossilized reminder of Ohio’s prehistorical previous.
When speaking about Ohio’s native minerals and rocks, one of many first questions each scholar asks is that if they’ll go panning for gold or mine diamonds, emeralds, or different treasured gem stones of their backyards. Sadly, we aren’t in a hotspot for pure occurrences of those gaudier jewels, however Ohio is known for large deposits of extra utilitarian sedimentary rocks and minerals – remnants of the seas that after inundated this space tens of millions of years in the past.
Limestone makes up a big element of Ohio’s bedrock and was fashioned from the calcium-rich stays of historical marine life together with corals and brachiopods. Ohio is a number one provider of this stone which is used within the crushed type as driveway gravel and concrete or may be processed for such merchandise as agricultural lime, chalk, and even toothpaste.
The mineral halite, extra generally often known as salt, was left behind in large portions as prehistoric seas evaporated. A number of the largest rock salt mines in america may be present in Ohio. Most of those mines are positioned beneath Lake Erie. Sure, you learn the accurately. The entrances to the mines are positioned close to the shoreline, however the huge excavated tunnels and caverns lengthen for a number of miles northward and a number of other hundred ft beneath the waters of the Nice Lake. These mines place Ohio within the top-five states for annual salt manufacturing, though most of our salt is used for deicing roadways, in water softening programs, or for livestock dietary supplements.
Maybe Ohio’s most influential mineral product is one whose use has largely been misplaced to technological advances. Flint, which can also be Ohio’s official State Gemstone, was a significant useful resource as the primary human inhabitants moved into North America. This gem’s means to be labored into razor-sharp chopping instruments and projectile factors enabled our ancestors to hunt, pores and skin, and course of recreation in addition to create quite a few woodworking and stitching instruments. Flint collected from the famed Flint Ridge space in present-day Licking and Muskingum counties has been present in archaeological websites all through the continent and it’s estimated the commerce of Ohio flint supplied important economical boons for native Native American tribes.
I’m certain I will likely be celebrating Earth Science Week by including one other piece to my ever-growing window ledge assortment and would love to listen to tales of any uncommon or particular rocks readers have discovered through the years.
Tommy Springer is the wildlife and training specialist for the Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District. He may be reached at 740-653-8154 or at [email protected]
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