Print Friendly

Volume 3 No. 2 – August 1, 1930

All material courtesy of the National Park Service.These publications can also be found at http://npshistory.com/

Nature Notes is produced by the National Park Service. © 1930

Untitled Introduction

Recently, Dr. John C. Merriam, President of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, Dr. H. C. Bryant, Assistant to the Director of National Parks, E. C. Solinsky, Superintendent of Crater Lake National Park, and the writer were exploring the western portion of the Rim with a view to selecting sites for the erection of observation stations. In a previous year Dr. Merriam had seen a ledge of well glaciated rock in the vicinity of the Devil’s Backbone. Dr. Merriam pleased the members of the party very much by leading them to this interesting relic of the Great Ice Age.

The surface of the rock was clearly polished and striated by the great glacier that went down the slopes of the ancient Mount Mazama between what is now Llao Rock and Hilman Peak. This was probably the largest and longest glacier that Mt. Mazama ever had. Its path has been traced far down the Rogue River for many miles.

A deep layer of pumice and other explosive material covered all but a protruding ledge of what is probably an extensive glaciated surface. This shows that Mt. Mazama was not yet dead during the Pleistocene or Great Ice Age.

A fragment was found which could be moved by each of the party taking turns. This was later placed in the temporary museum. Its surface is beautifully polished by the ice sliding over it for many centuries. Running parallel there are several well defined grooves caused by rocks imbedded in the moving ice.

For several reasons Bobby is a very busy creature these days. First of all, she has five little ones to care for, also her winter quarters have been disturbed and a new supply of winter provisions must be stowed away.

Although she has been in the habit of coming to the Information Bureau for food, for several days after she first brought out her young, she pretended to be afraid and refused to be humored in any way. The reason for her pretended timidity was apparently to teach the baby squirrels the sense of fear. Even with the golden mantle squirrel, training is a factor in the process of self-preservation. Now that her babies are well along she is more friendly than ever. The young squirrels are shifting largely for themselves, although they have not begun to store food for the winter.

No flower of Crater Lake National Park elicits so many inquiries form observant tourists as the Pink Monkey Flower. It is one of the commonest flowers along the trail to the lake and along the streams of the Hudsonian Life Zone. Many times a day rangers and ranger naturalists alike are asked, “What is that bright pink flower about so high that blooms along the trail?” It is a pleasure to be able to say definitely that it is the Pink Monkey flower for there is no other pink flower “about so high” and “blooming along the trails and streamsides.”

There are those who prefer to know the flowers by their technical names, and by those the Pink Monkey Flower is known as Mimulus Lewissi.

From time to time reports have come to us of wolves being seen in various places of the park. Owing to the vagueness of the descriptions of the animals seen, and the uncertainty of the authenticity of their source, little credence has been placed in those rumors.

About the middle of June a report of a wolf came to us which could not be doubted. Dr. Wiggam, Curator of the Dudley Herbarium at Stanford University and Professor Poultney, Head of the Science Department at the Humboldt State Teacher’s College were closing field work in a meadow just above Park Headquarters, when a large timber wolf walked leisurely along the edge of the meadow carrying a marmot in his mouth. The observers had ample time to observe the wolf’s movement, and owing to their scientific training and experience, no doubt can be entertained but that the animal seen was really a wolf.

This may be regarded as the first authentic record of a wolf being seen in the park since the Educational Division began operation here in the season of 1926.