The Kingdom of Sedimentary Rock

In May of 2014, an article I wrote about the Colorado Plateau appeared in the Society for Scientific Photography’s members’ magazine, which is published twice a year. The article contrasts the rather vertical and violent history of the Japanese Archipelago with the more horizontal and comparatively sedate history of the Colorado Plateau. The archipelago has a history of volcanoes that grew and collapsed and grew again, and mountain ranges that were uplifted through tectonic activity, and then cut by rivers. On the other hand, the Colorado Plateau has experienced mostly the deposition of sediments over nearly 2 billion years, with seas, river deltas, flood plains, and vast dune fields taking turns in providing different sedimentary deposits.

The article was conceived upon my return from Las Vegas in 2010 when I read through the books I had purchased about Zion and Bryce Canyons. During my brief stay, I had managed a few short trips to these places as well as Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Parks in Nevada. Pondering the very different geomorphology of Japan and the Colorado Plateau, I thought of how impossible it would be for such landscapes to have formed and developed in a tectonically active ocean archipelago. This I wanted to share with a Japanese audience.

The article was initially submitted to Nippon Kamera along with medium and large format film photographs. Six of the photos were published, but the article had to be trimmed down considerably. Still eager to share my whole story, I submitted it to the association of which I am a member. In the past, the magazine ran an article I wrote about alpine glaciers. So I was very pleased to see my latest work published as well.

Many thanks to Naoko Watanabe for checking over my Japanese and making it comprehensible and grammatically correct.

The Moler Load

The moler formation in Limfjorden in northern Denmark is a clay formation rich in diatoms that formed during the Eocene period. It is exposed along cliffs, particularly on the island of Mors, and in quarries on Mors. Volcanoes that were once located near the Faroe Islands erupted volcanic ash that fell into the sea, creating a suffocating layer that blocked out oxygen and buried the marine animals at the sea bottom. Fish, crabs, and many other smaller creatures can be found fossilized in the clay layers. Concretions known as cementsten (cement stone) can be spotted cropping out of cliffs such as at Hanklit. These concretions contain high concentrations of calcium and may have insect fossils. Many of the softer layers of clay in the moler are heavily bioturbated, disturbed by living organisms prior to the consolidation of the layers. Unfortunately, the burrowing creatures did not leave their fossils behind.

Most seabeds become uplifted due to the raising of the land by tectonic action. The molar formation, with its layers of clay and volcanic ash, can clearly be seen as intensely folded layers forming anticlines and synclines. Some of the most dramatic folds can be seen at the Skarrehage quarry. These folded sedimentary layers were not crumpled by tectonic activity but rather by the force of several glacial advances. Each glacial period saw ice sheets moving south from Norway and Sweden and as they ploughed south, they pushed and folded the soft seabed like a carpet.

The clay layers are quarried for their use as cat litter or making lightweight bricks; however, the quarry workers are on the lookout for rare fossils which are delivered to the museum across the road from the Skarrehage quarry. Fossil hunting is encouraged in Denmark and finds of minor consequence can be taken home. Unusual or rare finds should be turned in to the museum which offers some remuneration for the find. Both the Skarrehage and the Ejerslev quarries permit fossil hunters on weekends or in areas where the machines are not working.

For more information read the detailed and excellent article below:

ESNews

This site has photos and a map.

Fossil Location

And the Strahlen Foundation site has some good photos too.

Strahlen Foundation