Thank you all for a wonderful tour. We had a great team of organizers, mind blowing landscapes and soils, and a beautiful spirit of community.
We are going to put in another order of T-shirts, so if you regret not getting one. You can purchase one here. Please fill out the google form to tell me the size and cut you want. (click on the red words)
Payment must be in by Sept 12 to get a shirt.
Join Us on the OSSS Summer Tour 2017 – In the Presence of Human History
- Aug 24th 6:00pm Wine and Cheese Fundraiser for OSU Soil Judgers 7:00 pm Public Talk by Scott Thomas
- Aug 25th Rimrock Draw Rockshelter exploration and some sodic/saline soils
- Aug 26th Skull Creek Dunes exploration and some serious duripans
More details on other event tabs
The main tour is August 25th and 26th 2017 around Harney Co, OR. We are lucky to have Scott Thomas and JD Lancaster help us understand their discoveries. We will be exploring the archaeological evidence of a very early human habitation south of Burns and just to the west. We will discuss the soil as a keeper of history, discuss what the soil characteristics can tell us about the past climate, geological events, the biota occupying the land, and the way it all impacted our human history.
In order to reach out to more people there will be a public talk by Scott Thomas, Burns District Archaeologist, with wine and cheese fundraiser on Thursday Aug 24th 7:00pm at Burns Chamber of Commerce
Tour Highlights
At the Rimrock Draw Rock Shelter
One of oldest known sites of human habitation in N. American!
Giant pit! 100 ft long, 13 feet deep
Pit crossing an ancient streambed
See Pleistocene warming and drying
Cooking hearths date as far back as 10,000 ya
Volcanic tephra from St. Helens 15,800 ya
Biogeochemical analyses through time
At Skull Creek Dunes
Dunes ammumlating since late Pleistocene
Ancient Lake Bed
7000 years of exposed sediment
Soil development exposed in dune face
Archaeological artifacts can still be found
Registration includes, food for Friday Lunch – Saturday Dinner
Group transportation options to Burns, and van transport for tour attendees
Expert guides on the archaeology and soils of the area
Campsite fees for Friday and Saturday nights
Go to the Event registration tab, register by Aug 1 for your chance to purchase a T shirt.
New OSSS logo on front corner, sweet commemorative design on back.
