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Fun fact: I have a degree in geology. And although I don’t use it in a professional capacity anymore (and haven’t for a long time), it’s still—and always will be—my first love.
My area of specialty at university was fluvial geomorphology. The geomorphology bit referring essentially to the study of earth’s surficial processes and the fluvial bit referring to rivers, streams, etc. My honors thesis was about sediment transport in sand-bedded streams. And even thinking about right now still makes my heart flutter.
So, now that you’re fully aware of the depths of my nerd-dom, it won’t surprise you that this week’s theme is of special excitement for me. Sure, lots of things can be flowing. But given my predilection towards fluvial geomorphology, of course I’m going to share flowing river water.
Geology in action
Before I moved out west—where flowing water is obviously a bit harder to come by—I spent time stomping around the stream-laden gloriousness of the Smokies. So I have a shit-ton of Smokies river scenes in my image library. But this close-up is one of my favorites.
Most of my river scenes from the Smokies are of the quintessential variety—sinuous streams, elegantly winding their way through smooth boulders under a lush green canopy using a slightly long exposure time to give the water a soft, ethereal quality.
But water is powerful as fuck. And there’s a reason those boulders are rounded-water. The reason I like this close-up shot compared to a lot of my other wider “dreamy” river scenes is that it demonstrates water in action more so than those larger landscape shots.
It captures the work in action. Cascades—large or small— continually pummeling the rocks beneath it is what has shaped all of these boulders, little-by-little, over millions of years. How fucking cool is that?
Cheers, friends! If you see some groovy geology happening around you, let me know. I’d love to hear about it.
Bluesky Art Show
This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.
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