Please join John Zancanella, retired BLM Archologist with paleontology experience, for a field trip focusing on the mega-fauna rub sites on basalt cliffs. Animals of all types have always faced the challenge of itching those hard to reach spots. Humans have it pretty good because we have hands with a wide range of motion and reach and have invented specialized tools such as long handled scrub brushes. Large, four legged mammals have a bigger challenge and rely on wallows, trees and large rocks including cliffs. While wallows and trees are ephemeral and rarely preserved, the evidence left on rocks in the form of smooth polished surfaces is long lasting and provide an insight into the size and lives of long extinct species. Other associated topics will be the Brothers Fault zone, Pliocene age basalt flows and Pleistocene-early Holocene age pluvial lakes. There will also be an opportunity to discuss and look at some evidence of human activities including use by pre-contact Native Americans and wagon roads used by Chinese miners on their way from southwestern Oregon and northern California to the newly discovered gold deposits in the Canyon City area in the early 1860's.
Hampton Station is about an hour southeast of Bend on U.S. Hwy 20. Our initial, 8:30 AM, meetup location for ride sharing or caravaning from Bend will be at the parking area just north of Barnes & Noble bookstore (2690 NE Hwy 20) in Bend. Alternate meet up locations are possible for those traveling from Prineville or from the east are possible upon request. The rub site is about 4 miles south of Hampton Station and the access is rough dirt roads with some rocks and ruts and lots of dust so only vehicles with good clearance and robust tires are recommended (AWD SUV's ok as long as they have good tires). We will be walking less than a mile over uneven ground and there is an optional side trip that requires minor scrambling over some rocks.
Please note that this event is limited to 15 participants and registration must be done via the registration button on the trip listing on the COGS website. Successful registration will be confirmed on the webpage by a light green box indicating registration was successful and by a confirmation email. If you don't get this email you should try the registration process again. Please contact Derek Loeb ( derekloeb@gmail.com ) with any questions.
Central Oregon Geoscience Society
Email: COGeoSoc@gmail.com P.O. Box 2154, Bend, Oregon 97709
