New Mexico on EARTH Magazine

Turkey DNA reveals Mesa Verde denizens moved to New Mexico

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:34:24 -0500

The Mesa Verde region of southern Colorado was home to as many as 30,000 Puebloans through the middle of the 13th century, until severe drought drove them south into New Mexico, ending the cliff dwellers’ reign. In a new study, researchers have charted this mass migration using mitochondrial DNA from a novel source: turkey bones from the domesticated birds kept by Puebloans in both Mesa Verde and northern New Mexico.

Benchmarks: July 4, 1054: "Birth" of the Crab Nebula

Tue, 01 Sep 2015 09:47:44 -0400

The Crab Nebula is all that remains of a massive star that exploded nearly a thousand years ago. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Gehrz (University of Minnesota).

This ground-based image of the entire Crab Nebula shows not only the collapsed core of the exploded star in the center, called the Crab Pulsar, but also the remnants of the star that were ejected into space — the green, yellow and red filaments at the edges of the nebula. Credit: Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen (Arizona State University) and NASA.

On July 4, 1054, Chinese and Japanese astronomers observed a new, iridescent yellow point of light in the constellation Taurus. This “guest star,” said to be as bright as the moon, failed to disappear with the rising sun — for a month, it shone both night and day. Even after fading during daytime, it remained in the night sky for nearly two years, by some accounts. Historians and scientists think that this event was likely the supernova that created the Crab Nebula, one of the most spectacular and rare astronomical features in the known universe.

A tantalizing treasure

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 14:32:50 -0500

Mesa Verde, the ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings.Credit: ©Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Some of Fenn's treasure includes a bracelet made of beads collected from Mesa Verde, the ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings, where this necklace was also found. Credit: National Park Service.

The contents of Forrest Fenn’s chest are not completely known, but Fenn has listed enough of the treasure to make the hunt truly tantalizing: 20 troy pounds of gold coins, gold nuggets the size of a man’s fist, pre-Columbian Incan and Mayan animal figures, a 17th-century Spanish gold-and-emerald ring, a bracelet with more than 250 rubies, diamonds and Ceylon sapphires, and two hand-carved Chinese jade masks.

On the trail of treasure in the Rocky Mountains

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 13:50:15 -0500

“Where warm waters halt… where warm waters halt… where warm waters halt.” For two summers, I’ve been exploring the Rocky Mountains with those words on my mind. Why those four words in particular? Because I believe they lead to a modern-day treasure chest.

Witnessing geology in action: A rockfall in the garden of the gods

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 09:09:45 -0500

A rock formation in the Garden of the Gods, N.M., before a rockfall. Mary Caperton Morton

The rock formation in the Garden of the Gods, N.M., after the rockfall. A white scar on the fin marks the site of the erosion. Mary Caperton Morton

The rockfall left a smattering of bright white rock all over the ground. Mary Caperton Morton

Mary Caperton Morton

Editor's Note: Traditionally, EARTH has published a "highlights" or "year in review" issue at the end of the year. This year, we decided to try a new approach: We asked our staff and some frequent contributors to write a short commentary on something that grabbed their attention in 2013. We gave everyone carte blanche. What follows is a collection of extremely varied, often very personal insights into how the planet impacted each individual. You can find some online this month, but for the full grouping, you'll have to buy the issue here or subscribe.

Santa Fe impact crater discovery: A series of fortunate events

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Tim McElvain stands with the Santa Fe impact structure shatter cones along Highway 475. Annika Wallendahl

Along the Chamisa Trail, a popular hiking destination about a 15-minute drive northeast of Santa Fe, Tim McElvain found the first Santa Fe shatter cones in 2003. Annika Wallendahl

One of the definitive shatter cones revealed by a rockslide on Highway 475. Annika Wallendahl

Tim McElvain spent countless hours over close to a decade poring over the evidence of the Santa Fe impact. Annika Wallendahl

In the ancient pink and orange hills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Thornton “Tim” McElvain, a retired petroleum geologist, leads me over a concrete highway barrier to a towering granite road cut. McElvain steps onto a rock pile and points to a meter-long block of granite, the freshest offering to fall from the rock face. One side of the block tapers roughly to the shape of a cone, with grooves coming together to form a point.