PreCambrianProtoHuman

shychemist:

zebablah:

is this snake fucking serious 

like was that actually fucking necessary 

Stay classy reptiles, stay classy.

prehistoric-birds:

Harpagornis (“grappling hook bird”)

• Temporal range: Holocene
• Fossil location: South Island of New Zealand (subfossil remains)
• Known species: H. moorei

More famously known as Haast’s Eagle, Harpagornis was the largest eagle ever known to have lived. The female was considerably larger than the male, as is the case with most raptors, and is estimated to have weighed 22 to 33 pounds (10 to 15 kg). By way of comparison, the female Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja, one of the largest extant eagle species) typically weighs from 13 to 20 pounds (6 to 9 kg).

It’s a bit of a challenge to find art of Harpagornis that doesn’t depict it swooping down upon some hapless moa, and with good reason; large flightless birds made up the bulk of the raptor’s diet. Estimates place the bird’s attack speed at up to 50 mph (80 km/h), and its size and weight indicate a bodily striking force equivalent to a cinder block falling from the top of an eight-story building. In the absence of other large predators or scavengers, Harpagornis could have monopolized a single kill over a number of days.

When humans settled New Zealand around 1280 and began hunting the large flightless birds to extinction, they inadvertently deprived Harpagornis of its primary food source, which ultimately led to the great eagle’s demise as well. DNA analysis reveals that its closest extant relatives are the relatively tiny Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) and Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata).

(Info sources: x x) (Photo sources: x x) (Credit: Art by ~cheungchungtat)

(via shychemist)

unknownskywalker:

Pico de la Zarca by Horst Fischer

(via geologise)

ikenbot:

Martian Mineral Veins

Credit: HiRISE

The bright linear features cutting the bedrock in the center region of this image look like mineral veins.

Mineral veins are sheetlike bodies of minerals formed by water that flows through fractures. The setting of this image is the central uplift of a large (approximately 50-kilometer diameter) impact crater, where deep, ancient bedrock was uplifted about 5 kilometers and fractured.

Heat from the impact melted ice in the Martian crust, creating a hydrothermal system. This could have been a habitable environment.

A small mineral vein was recently discovered by the Opportunity rover at Endeavour Crater.

holykrampus:

Alaska. Braided drainage pattern near the junction of the Yukon River and Koyukuk River. The Koyukuk River (dark) joins the silt-laden Yukon River (lighter) at the right. August 24, 1941. Figure 35, U.S. Geological Survey

(click to enlarge for photograph details)

holykrampus:

Meanders and Ox Bow lakes – River Till near Wooler

liesegangpoisoning:

I cannot WAIT to hike The Subway in Zion next month…. like I seriously CANNOT FUCKING WAIT!!!! Gonna be a crazy hike but it’ll be worth it. 

harvestheart:

cave ~ 

earth womb