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From goofy to erudite, more than three dozen theories have attempted to explain the origins of grassy mounds that dot the prairies of Southwest Washington. The latest twist won't settle the debate, but it casts the mysterious hummocks in a different light. Laser light, that is.Scientis..."
From goofy to erudite, more than three dozen theories have attempted to explain the origins of grassy mounds that dot the prairies of Southwest Washington. The latest twist won't settle the debate, but it casts the mysterious hummocks in a different light. Laser light, that is.Scientists used airborne laser surveys to create topographic maps that reveal new details about the so-called Mima Mounds scattered across lowlands south of Olympia and Tacoma. The technique fires 23,000 pulses a second toward the ground, and erases signals that bounce back from vegetation and buildings. The result is an exceptionally crisp image accurate to a few inches or feet.The new maps clearly show that all of the mounds formed near the margins of retreating glaciers, supporting an idea first proposed nearly a century ago, said Robert Logan, chief of geological mapping for the Washington Department of Natural Resources.Logan and Timothy Walsh, who leads DNR's geologic-hazards section, tweaked the old theory to fit their new observations. They presented their work in Seattle last week at the 81st annual meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association. Fans of the gopher theory aren't buying it — but more about that later.Standing up to 6 feet tall and measuring 30 feet across, Washington's most famous mounds are at Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve near the town of Littlerock. But "pimpled prairies" cover about 10,000 acres and include tracts on Fort Lewis and near Yelm, Roy and Spanaway.The story the DNR scientists deciphered from the landscape began at the end of the last ice age, about 13,500 years ago, and features gushing meltwater, sun cups and erosion. There's even a hint the ice might have retreated at breakneck speed.As glacial lobes melted, Logan explained, dammed-up water occasionally burst free, gouging channels. The new maps show all of the mounded tracts are adjacent to outburst channels. The surging floodwaters would have carried gravel, which underlies the mounds. The topography also shows evidence that the meltwater pooled up, perhaps dammed by chunks of ice. Cold winds blowing off the glacier would have frozen the ponded water, Logan said.That's where the sun cups enter the picture. As anyone who's trekked across glaciers.
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Submitted by Alex Zelaya: In the world of history, thanks to Darwin"s theory of evolution, the accepted cradle of civilization is commonly cited by scholars as being the continent of Africa. The Middle East - notably, in the area of 5 rivers; the Tigris-Euphrates (in modern day Iraq), the Nile in Africa, the Indus in South Asia, and the Huang-He-Yangtze in China are also figured prominently in the development of humankind. We"re told modern civilization is but 10,000 years old, but if that"s the...Oldest skeleton in Americas found underwater ?
Deep inside an underwater cave in Mexico, archaeologists may have discovered the oldest human skeleton ever found in the Americas. Dubbed Eva de Naharon, or Eve of Naharon, the female skeleton has been dated at 13,600 years old. If that age is accurate, the skeleton—along with three others found in underwater caves along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula—could provide new clues to how the Americas were first populated. The remains have been excavated over the past four years near the ...This iPod user rocks
One of the most enduring aerial phenomena of recent times is the mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights or North Carolina. The lights have been reported for hundreds of years and have been investigated by the US Geological Survey."The Brown Mountain Lights are oneof the most famous of North Carolina legends. . They have been reported a dozen times in newspaper stories. They have been investigated at least twice by the U.S. G...Grand Canyon's Glass Walkway to Open In March
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Scientists believe Americans reached Europe over 500 years before Columbus reached America. The research is based on studies of the genetic past of an Icelandic family the results of which suggest that a woman from the Americas reached Iceland almost 1000 years ago. WhenChristopher Columbus paraded his newly discovered American Indians through the streets ofSpanish towns at the end of the 15th century, he was not in fact introducing the first native Americans to Europe, according to ne...Mystery of Devils Hole
A mysterious bottomless pit in the Pacific Northwest has been the subject of stories for decades.The mere existence of the hole is a matter of much controversy as nobody is sure where it even is. A Native American shaman called Red Elk is said to be one of the only people alive to have ever seen it, he claimed that the hole was "endless" and that strange things would happen whenever he went near it. More recently, Mel Watersspoke to Art Bell on Coast to Coast when he claimed to have c...China map lays claim to Americas
Submitted by Xsas: A map due to be unveiled in Beijing and London next week may lend weight to a theory a Chinese admiral discovered America before Christopher Columbus. The map, which shows North and South America, apparently states that it is a 1763 copy of another map made in 1418. If true, it could imply Chinese mariners discovered and mapped America decades before Columbus' 1492 arrival. The map, which is being dated to check it was made in 1763, faces a lot of scepticism from experts. ...
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From goofy to erudite, more than three dozen theories have attempted to explain the origins of grassy mounds that dot the prairies of Southwest Washington. The latest twist won't settle the debate, but it casts the mysterious hummocks in a different light. Laser light, that is.Scientists used airborne laser surveys to create topographic maps that reveal new details about the so-called Mima Mounds scattered across lowlands south of Olympia and Tacoma. The technique fires 23,000 pulses a second toward the ground, and erases signals that bounce back from vegetation and buildings. The result is an exceptionally crisp image accurate to a few inches or feet.The new maps clearly show that all of the mounds formed near the margins of retreating glaciers, supporting an idea first proposed nearly a century ago, said Robert Logan, chief of geological mapping for the Washington Department of Natural Resources.Logan and Timothy Walsh, who leads DNR's geologic-hazards section, tweaked the old theory to fit their new observations. They presented their work in Seattle last week at the 81st annual meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association. Fans of the gopher theory aren't buying it — but more about that later.Standing up to 6 feet tall and measuring 30 feet across, Washington's most famous mounds are at Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve near the town of Littlerock. But "pimpled prairies" cover about 10,000 acres and include tracts on Fort Lewis and near Yelm, Roy and Spanaway.The story the DNR scientists deciphered from the landscape began at the end of the last ice age, about 13,500 years ago, and features gushing meltwater, sun cups and erosion. There's even a hint the ice might have retreated at breakneck speed.As glacial lobes melted, Logan explained, dammed-up water occasionally burst free, gouging channels. The new maps show all of the mounded tracts are adjacent to outburst channels. The surging floodwaters would have carried gravel, which underlies the mounds. The topography also shows evidence that the meltwater pooled up, perhaps dammed by chunks of ice. Cold winds blowing off the glacier would have frozen the ponded water, Logan said.That's where the sun cups enter the picture. As anyone who's trekked across glaciers. 
10,000 year old structure found in Canadian lake
Oldest skeleton in Americas found underwater ?
This iPod user rocks
10,000-year-old camel bones found in Arizona
Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights
Grand Canyon's Glass Walkway to Open In March
Africans came with Columbus to New World
Mystery of Devils Hole
