Misplaced Pages

#404595

46-492: The Ionia Volcano (also referred to as Burnt Bluff or Volcano Hill ) is a heat-producing bluff located east of Newcastle, Nebraska , although it has commonly been mistaken for an active volcano . The site was considered sacred by the Ponca and Arapaho Native American Tribes , and was documented by William Clark on the Lewis and Clark Expedition . The site was active throughout

92-519: A 4,250 m span can be found at a ridge sitting inside the Kermadec Trench . According to some sources, the highest cliff in the world, about 1,340 m high, is the east face of Great Trango in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan. This uses a fairly stringent notion of cliff, as the 1,340 m figure refers to a nearly vertical headwall of two stacked pillars; adding in a very steep approach brings

138-534: A central role in Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory : a species that behaves as a hydron donor in a reaction is known as the Brønsted acid, while the species accepting the hydron is known as the Brønsted base. In the generic acid–base reaction shown below, HA is the acid, while B (shown with a lone pair) is the base: The hydrated form of the hydrogen cation, the hydronium (hydroxonium) ion H 3 O (aq) ,

184-451: A cliff does not need to be exactly vertical, there can be ambiguity about whether a given slope is a cliff or not and also about how much of a certain slope to count as a cliff. For example, given a truly vertical rock wall above a very steep slope, one could count just the rock wall or the combination. Listings of cliffs are thus inherently uncertain. Some of the largest cliffs on Earth are found underwater. For example, an 8,000 m drop over

230-513: A crystalized substance which answers its description is on the face of the Bluff." Clark went on to describe the volcano as having a " sulfurous smell ". Other member of the expedition, including John Ordway , Patrick Gass , and Joseph Whitehouse, also documented the encounter. The party foraged for berries at the site before moving further westward. Throughout the early 1800s, French fur traders and explorers reported wildfires and dense smoke within

276-452: A less stringent definition, as the average slope of these cliffs at Kaulapapa is about 1.7, corresponding to an angle of 60 degrees, and Mitre Peak is similar. A more vertical drop into the sea can be found at Maujit Qaqarssuasia (also known as the ' Thumbnail ') which is situated in the Torssukátak fjord area at the very tip of South Greenland and drops 1,560 m near-vertically. Considering

322-399: A soil slope may obscure the talus . Many cliffs also feature tributary waterfalls or rock shelters . Sometimes a cliff peters out at the end of a ridge, with mushroom rocks or other types of rock columns remaining. Coastal erosion may lead to the formation of sea cliffs along a receding coastline. The British Ordnance Survey distinguishes between around most cliffs (continuous line along

368-619: A truly vertical drop, Mount Thor on Baffin Island in Arctic Canada is often considered the highest at 1370 m (4500 ft) high in total (the top 480 m (1600 ft) is overhanging), and is said to give it the longest vertical drop on Earth at 1,250 m (4,100 ft). However, other cliffs on Baffin Island, such as Polar Sun Spire in the Sam Ford Fjord , or others in remote areas of Greenland may be higher. The highest cliff in

414-528: A variety of plants and animals, whose preferences and needs are suited by the vertical geometry of this landform type. For example, a number of birds have decided affinities for choosing cliff locations for nesting, often driven by the defensibility of these locations as well as absence of certain predators. Humans have also inhabited cliff dwellings . The population of the rare Borderea chouardii , during 2012, existed only on two cliff habitats within western Europe. Hydron (chemistry) In chemistry ,

460-574: Is a key object of Arrhenius' definition of acid . Other hydrated forms, the Zundel cation H 5 O 2 , which is formed from a proton and two water molecules, and the Eigen cation H 9 O 4 , which is formed from a hydronium ion and three water molecules, are theorized to play an important role in the diffusion of protons though an aqueous solution according to the Grotthuss mechanism. Although

506-569: Is classified as a High Potential Historic Site by the United States National Park Service . The Ionia Volcano is a bluff formation largely made of Cretaceous age Carlile shale and clay . Much of the exposed shale is bleached grey or yellow, while freshly exposed shale is a dark, blue color. While many in the 1800s believed that the Ionia Volcano was an actual volcano, it does not have a magma chamber and its heat production

SECTION 10

#1732876193405

552-414: Is driven solely by chemical reactions. The bluff contains large quantities of gypsum within the lower parts of the shale and contains multiple fossil layers . Smectite clay is uniquely present in bluff but is more commonly acid weathered to bentonite and kaolinite . In particular, fossil samples of the ammonite , Subprionocyclus percarinatus , have been found in the clay at the Ionia Volcano. While

598-505: Is overhanging. This is commonly regarded as being the largest vertical drop on Earth [1] ot:leapyear at 1,250 m (4,100 ft). of Baffin Island , rises 4,300 ft above the flat frozen fjord, although the lower portion of the face breaks from the vertical wall with a series of ledges and buttresses. Other notable cliffs include: Above Sea Above Land Above Sea Above Land Submarine Above Sea Above Land Cliff landforms provide unique habitat niches to

644-495: Is retained by the clay in the Carlile shale, enabling it to readily react with iron sulfide. This reaction is exothermic and prone to forming a feedback loop , as ferric iron is capable of oxidizing more iron sulfide. Furthermore, the reaction will produce hydrons (H) as a byproduct, which will lower the surrounding soil pH to as low as 3–5 and attract acidophilic bacteria that can also oxidize iron sulfide. Periodic eruptions of

690-520: The Arapaho Tribe also believed the site to be sacred, stating that chiefs and medicine men would perform sacrificial ceremonies at the Ionia Volcano. The first western documentation of the volcano was supposedly made by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The expedition arrived at the Ionia Volcano on August 22, 1804, camped at the site for two days, and conversed with the local Native American tribes about

736-449: The Carlile shale , mainly in the form of marcasite , halotrichite , and jarosite . These minerals collectively give the soil a color composition ranging from dark yellow to blue. Jarosite, specifically, makes up approximately 20% of the Carlile shale's composition and is responsible for the characteristic yellow color of the shale. Jarosite will present as vertical infillings within cracks in

782-431: The hydron , informally called proton , is the cationic form of atomic hydrogen , represented with the symbol H . The general term "hydron", endorsed by IUPAC , encompasses cations of hydrogen regardless of isotope: thus it refers collectively to protons ( H ) for the protium isotope, deuterons ( H or D ) for the deuterium isotope, and tritons ( H or T ) for the tritium isotope. Unlike most other ions,

828-486: The 1800s until, in 1878, flooding by the Missouri River collapsed a large portion of the bluff and resulted in the abandonment of the nearby town of Ionia , its namesake. Erosion and subsequent flooding has since collapsed the rest of the bluff. The Ionia Volcano has "erupted" twice, once in 1879 and again in 1901, with the latter eruption preceding a period of dormancy. The Ionia Volcano was sporadically active throughout

874-449: The 1900s but this was largely confined to smoke and steam output. The heat generated by the bluff results from iron sulfide oxidation in carbonaceous shale when it is exposed to moisture and oxygen due to erosion . Modern analysis has called into question if the bluff was witnessed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition or if another burning bluff in Maskell, Nebraska was observed. The site

920-520: The Ionia Volcano erupted again. The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée sparked renewed interest in the Ionia Volcano, which had begun smoking again. One newspaper even called for the governor to send the National Guard to suppress the fires. In 1906, Erwin H. Barbour and George E. Condra, researchers from the University of Nebraska , published Geography of Nebraska and confirmed Nicollet's hypothesis that

966-568: The Ionia Volcano occurred as erosion exposed fresh Carlile shale and iron sulfide to water, causing violent exothermic reactions. Analysis of similar burning bluffs has shown that surface temperatures can exceed 700 °F (371 °C) and deep rock temperatures can reach over 3,000 °F (1,650 °C). The first known accounts of Ionia Volcano come from the Ponca Tribe , who believed the site to be sacred . In 1896, writer William Huse , in his book The History of Dixon County, Nebraska, claimed

SECTION 20

#1732876193405

1012-559: The Missouri River's 1804 channel, in which he found that the Lewis and Clark expedition had supposedly visited a site near the Ionia Volcano on August 22 but did not report it until August 24. The report concluded that the expedition had observed a separate burning bluff and the expedition was located on the opposite side of the Missouri river, relative to the Ionia Volcano. Jengo also claimed that burning bluffs were relatively commonplace along

1058-534: The Missouri river during the 1800s, but few are still active today, the result of most of them having been submerged by flooding. Cliff An escarpment (or scarp) is a type of cliff formed by the movement of a geologic fault , a landslide, or sometimes by rock slides or falling rocks which change the differential erosion of the rock layers. Most cliffs have some form of scree slope at their base. In arid areas or under high cliffs, they are generally exposed jumbles of fallen rock. In areas of higher moisture,

1104-433: The bluff in 1804 was approximately 200 ft (61 m) tall, the modern shale layers only protrude a few feet out of the ground (220 cm (7.2 ft) are exposed), making surveying difficult. This drop in height is due to erosion by the Missouri River, which has now buried 70% of the shale in sediment . The heat reaction within the bluff primarily occurs due to the high concentration of iron sulfide (FeS 2 ) in

1150-514: The bluff's religious significance. On August 24, 1804, Captain William Clark wrote: "We set out at the usual time and proceeded … to the Commencement of a blue clay bluff of 180 or 190 feet high on the L.S. Those Bluffs appear to have been latterly on fire, and at this time is too hot for a man to bear his hand in the earth at any depth, great appearance of Coal. An eminence quantity of cobalt or

1196-402: The bluff, resulting in activity ceasing altogether. In 1882, historian A. T. Andreas reported that the site received little interest following its collapse. On July 29, 1893, hunters began reporting that a fissure had reopened and the site had become active again. Around 1900, a reporter was caught building a fire on the Ionia Volcano in an attempt to show the volcano was still active. In 1901,

1242-515: The first geological heritage sites in the United States. In 2011, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation published a report on the Ionia Volcano. In this report, geologist John W. Jengo claimed that the burning bluff described in Clark's journal was not the Ionia Volcano, but rather, another burning bluff located near Maskell, Nebraska . This finding was made following a historic reconstruction of

1288-474: The glow of underground fires could be seen from a distance. The remains of the Ionia Volcano are located near Newcastle, Nebraska , close to the ghost town of Ionia and across from the Ionia Cemetery. A historical marker describing the "volcano" is also located in nearby Newcastle. The United States National Park Service considers the site a High Potential Historic Site, with the Ionia Volcano being one of

1334-521: The hydron consists only of a bare atomic nucleus . The negatively charged counterpart of the hydron is the hydride anion, H . Other things being equal, compounds that readily donate hydrons (Brønsted acids, see below) are generally polar, hydrophilic solutes and are often soluble in solvents with high relative static permittivity (dielectric constants). Examples include organic acids like acetic acid (CH 3 COOH) or methanesulfonic acid (CH 3 SO 3 H). However, large nonpolar portions of

1380-457: The hydron simply hydrogen ion is not recommended because hydrogen anions also exist. The term "hydron" was defined by IUPAC in 1988. Traditionally, the term "proton" was and is used in place of "hydron". The latter term is generally only used in the context where comparisons between the various isotopes of hydrogen is important (as in the kinetic isotope effect or hydrogen isotopic labeling ). Otherwise, referring to hydrons as protons

1426-414: The ion H 3 O (aq) is often shown in introductory textbooks to emphasize that the hydron is never present as an unsolvated species in aqueous solution, it is somewhat misleading, as it oversimplifies infamously complex speciation of the solvated proton in water; the notation H (aq) is often preferred, since it conveys aqueous solvation while remaining noncommittal with respect to

Ionia Volcano - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-580: The molecule may attenuate these properties. Thus, as a result of its alkyl chain, octanoic acid (C 7 H 15 COOH) is considerably less hydrophilic compared to acetic acid. The unsolvated hydron (a completely free or "naked" hydrogen atomic nucleus) does not exist in the condensed (liquid or solid) phase. As the surface Electric field strength is inverse to the radius, a tiny nucleus interacts thousands times stronger with nearby electrons than any partly ionized atom. Although superacids are sometimes said to owe their extraordinary hydron-donating power to

1518-460: The next along a network of hydrogen bonds through what is known as the Grotthuss mechanism . The hydron ion can incorporate an electron pair from a Lewis base into the molecule by adduction: Because of this capture of the Lewis base (L), the hydron ion has Lewis acidic character. In terms of Hard/Soft Acid Base (HSAB) theory , the bare hydron is an infinitely hard Lewis acid. The hydron plays

1564-403: The number of water molecules involved. Other isotopes of hydrogen are too unstable to be relevant in chemistry. The term "hydron" is recommended by IUPAC to be used instead of "proton" if no distinction is made between the isotopes proton, deuteron and triton, all found in naturally occurring isotope mixtures. The name "proton" refers to isotopically pure H . On the other hand, calling

1610-405: The oxidation of iron pyrite in carbonaceous shale, when exposed to water by erosion, was the chief cause of the heat. In 1940, following decades of dormancy, the Ionia Volcano began showing signs of activity, prompting fears of yet another eruption. This increased activity was limited to steam being given off from the site, believed to be the byproduct of limestone and water coming into contact, and

1656-549: The presence of "free hydrons", such a statement is misleading: even for a source of "free hydrons" like H 2 F , one of the superacidic cations present in the superacid fluoroantimonic acid (HF:SbF 5 ), detachment of a free H still comes at an enormous energetic penalty on the order of several hundred kcal/mol. This effectively rules out the possibility of the free hydron being present in solution. For this reason, in liquid strong acids, hydrons are believed to diffuse by sequential transfer from one molecule to

1702-401: The region. In 1832 and 1833, George Catlin , Carl Bogmer, and Jages Doppelheim all documented visiting the Ionia Volcano. In 1839, French explorer and geographer , J. N. Nicollet , traveled to the site and attempted to prove that the Ionia Volcano's heat was not volcanic in origin but rather the product of chemical reactions. Nicollet theorized that the decomposition of iron pyrite in water was

1748-479: The shale, crystalline formations, and as approximately 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter nodes. It also commonly forms crystals with gypsum in a ghost crystal pattern. Melanterite can also be found forming with blue, hair-like crystals extending through the clay layers. Halotrichite forms a white crust over the shale, but most of it has been weathered away. The iron sulfide reacts with oxygen and water , forming ferrous iron (Fe) and ferric iron (Fe). Water

1794-599: The solar system may be Verona Rupes , an approximately 20 km (12 mi) high fault scarp on Miranda , a moon of Uranus. The following is an incomplete list of cliffs of the world. Above Sea Above Land Several big granite faces in the Arctic region vie for the title of 'highest vertical drop on Earth', but reliable measurements are not always available. The possible contenders include (measurements are approximate): Mount Thor , Baffin Island , Canada; 1,370 m (4,500 ft) total; top 480 m (1600 ft)

1840-489: The source of the heat and fire. In 1874, John Harwood Pierce named the bluff "Ionia Volcano" in the Omaha Daily Bee . Pierce named the bluff after the nearby town of Ionia, established in 1856. During this period, the site became a local attraction for tourists and geologists. Pierce later described the encounter: "There, on a narrrow plateau about half way up the bluff, we saw and smelt the sulphurous vapor which indicated

1886-403: The spot we sought. On arriving at the plateau we saw several fissures in the clay, from which issued vapor so hot that the ground in the vicinity was too warm to rest the hand on comfortably. On listening, we could hear strange sounds under our feet, like the distant roar of a blast furnace." Pierce also stated that large fissures would form in the ground, radiating heat outward, and that the bluff

Ionia Volcano - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-425: The time being that the Ionia Volcano was an actual volcano with a magma chamber deep below the surface. These fears were compounded in 1877, after Nebraska experienced one of the strongest earthquakes in its recorded history; locals believed this was a sign of imminent eruption. In 1878, the Missouri River flooded, collapsing a large section of the Ionia Volcano. This also caused heavy damage to Ionia and resulted in

1978-524: The topper edge with projections down the face) and outcrops (continuous lines along lower edge). Cliff comes from the Old English word clif of essentially the same meaning, cognate with Dutch, Low German, and Old Norse klif 'cliff'. These may in turn all be from a Romance loanword into Primitive Germanic that has its origins in the Latin forms clivus / clevus ("slope" or "hillside"). Given that

2024-452: The total drop from the East Face precipice to the nearby Dunge Glacier to nearly 2,000 m. The location of the world's highest sea cliffs depends also on the definition of 'cliff' that is used. Guinness World Records states it is Kalaupapa, Hawaii , at 1,010 m high. Another contender is the north face of Mitre Peak , which drops 1,683 m to Milford Sound , New Zealand. These are subject to

2070-450: The town being abandoned. Soon after, in 1879, the Ionia Volcano erupted, then entered into a state of dormancy. The New York Times reported that the collapse was partially caused by the Ionia Volcano's chemical reaction heating the banks of the Missouri River, destabilizing it. They further postulated that the eruptions were caused by the mixing of the lime , bi-sulfate , iron and/or coal rock layers. A second flood in 1881 further damaged

2116-406: Was constructed largely of clay with gypsum formations and fossil layers. Joseph Brewer, a local businessman, had excavated a large fossil around this time that he later took on country-wide tours. In 1874, the redirection of the Missouri River left many residents of Ionia in fear that an eruption was likely to follow. This prompted renewed scientific interest in the site, with the predominant theory at

#404595