Creator

John Muir

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Transcription

36 gullies. descended one on N. [north] side, the rawest dirtiest dustiest most dangerous have seen here abouts. There is large quantities of fossil & scattered on this island especially on N [north] side. That on S. [south] side having been cleared off earlier & carried away by the 1st trib [tributary] gl [glacier] wh [which] being lower & melting earlier has allowed the soil of mor. [moraine] material to fall with its forests & be carried off. That on N [north] side is now being carried off or buried. The last of the main foundational ice is melting & at successive stages the mor [moraine] materials is reformed over & over again. & the fallen tree trunks decayed

37 or half decayed or in fair state of preservation is also unburied & buried again or floated off to the terminal or lateral mors [moraines] of the gl [glacier]. The marvel is that none are left alive The cause seems to be that there were no exposed resisting [fissured] bosses or crests for any tree to grow on. as the gl [glacier] at first swept over, then loaded all parts with soil Then the slopes as the level of the clasping gl [glacier] was lowered. Then the soil at first frozen perhaps, thawed as the ice lowered to the sheer sides Then giving way soil & forests fell. 3 small Menzies spruces found

Date Original

June 1890

Source

Original journal dimensions: 9 x 14.5 cm.

Resource Identifier

MuirReel27Journal08P36-37.tif

Publisher

Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

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Keywords

John Muir, journals, drawings, writings, travel, journaling, naturalist

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