Lab #5: Creek Bed

It was really cool to see the creek bed at the Ocmulgee Memorial. The creek bed almost looked like a miniature Grand Canyon. It was quite pretty with the rock painted so many different colors by nature.  It was also really cool to see all the layers of soil development in the creek bed. It gave us a first hand view of exactly what is below our feet when we walk in nature. It was cool to get a better look at how nature works.

The creek bed is very similar to Providence Canyon, which is much larger, but still not as big as the Grand Canyon, though it has been called "Georgia's Little Grand Canyon." While the creek i saw was formed, I believe, from a river and erosion the Providence Canyon gullies were formed from poor farming practices back in the 1800s. The poor farming practices sure did create a piece of art. The poor farming practices actually caused erosion of the soft, multicolored soils.  What makes Providence Canyon different is that unlike the Grand Canyon, which was formed by being cut out by a river, is that is that it was sculpted of soil by runoff from farm fields.

Providence Canyon

Providence Canyon, how B E A utiful!

I really found Olcmulgee Memorial interesting because of all the history the place had. So much has happened in Macon, Indians, European Settlers, Civil War, etc, yet this place has been preserved through it all. Its really cool that nature has grown over and with all this history.

Olcmulgee Memorial, Indian Mounds

Videos about leaf litter decomposition

It was also cool to see how the decomposition of the leaves and even the trees is what creates nutrient rich soil. "Decomposition of leaf litter is a major source of nutrients in forest ecosystems. As leaves are broken down by insect and microbial decomposers, organically-bound nutrients are released as free ions to the soil solution which are then available for uptake by plants. In this exercise students will measure the rate of decomposition of leaf litter during winter, spring, and summer at contrasting sites using the litter bag technique."Resource

Leaf Litter to Soil!