Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University
of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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After digging a compost pit for food waste, it soon became apparent that Morpho butterflies love pineapple. |
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Police stops are common. Mostly it's a serious crackdown on speeding but our rental vehicles got stopped for out of date temporary plates. A little mordida was also not out of the question. |
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On the way in to Playa Leona. Believe it or not, there was a serious reason to come here. One purpose of the course was to compare different approaches to conservation in Costa Rica. This is a private sanctuary that offers serious nature walks (canopy tours and the like) and conservation but supports it and attracts visitors with resort activities. |
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This is the publicly accessible beach. |
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Picking up survival essentials for a grueling day on the beach. |
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Jaime Kozloski and Kelly Hirsch |
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Saving the rain forest through miniature golf. |
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Waiting for the shuttle. |
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The central resort complex. Below: views on the way to the private beach at Playa Blanca. Playa Blanca is part of the Playa Leona complex but restricted access. |
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Signal flags for wave conditions. Below: The main resort center at Playa Blanca. |
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Vigorous research seminar in progress. |
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Looking north along the beach. |
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Looking south along the beach. |
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Looking west to the Nicoya Peninsula. |
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Our group plunged into their research. |
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Seminar on oceanography in progress. |
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Sign at the north end of the beach: Warning Don't cross when the tide is rising You run the risk of being trapped. |
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Ripple marks exposed by the retreating tide |
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A small spring emerging on the beach. Small sand boils were visible erupting under the water. |
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Same spot half an hour later after the tide had fallen still further. |
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At the north end of the beach is a rocky headland. The flat terrace at the base is a former wave-cut platform, recently uplifted. |
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The rocks here are Tertiary siltstones. Below: deep, joint-controlled slots cut the wave cut terrace at regular intervals and make rounding the point a lot harder than it looks from a distance. |
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A notch provides an easy path to the far side of the rocks. |
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Left and below: views on the far side of the headland. |
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Although there's no coral on the beach, beyond the point coral fragments were abundant. |
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Left: mineralized fractures erode more slowly than the
surrounding rock and stand out in relief. Below: the wave-cut platform on the far side of the point. |
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A mollusk-bored rock. Below: cacti on the cliffs. |
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From a distance, it looks like an easy walk around the point, but deep, joint-controlled slots like this occur every fifty yards or so. On both sides, some are dangerous enough to block progress. |
| Below: the tracks in the silt were made by snails and other bottom dwellers. | |
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Above: at high tide the sea cave and surf block the path (above), but when the tide goes down (left) it's an easy crossing. |
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Below: Former sea cliff and uplifted terrace. The prevailing wind twists the trees. |
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Above: fracture zones in the rocks. Left and below: mineralized fractures standing out in relief. |
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Left and below: breaking waves on the edge of the terrace. |
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This side view shows a nice cross section of the former sea cliff and elevated terrace. |
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Left and below: wave action swirls sand and pebbles around in crevices, eventually abrading potholes. |
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Slickensides on this slab indicate fault motion. |
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A colorful crab washed ashore. |
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Nearly horizontal layers (left) are cut by a wide shear zone (right two thirds of the picture). |
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End of the line. There doesn't seem to be any safe way to cross this slot regardless of the state of the tide. |
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Coatis are close relatives of raccoons and just as brazen moochers. Despite signs warning visitors not to feed them, people do, and so a pack patrols the seawall. The youngsters are tan and look at first glance like cats except for the long snout. |
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Does it get any more brazen than this? |
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Contorted bedding like this at the south end of the beach generally indicates submarine slumping of loose sediment. |
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Fugu, anyone? A puffer fish on the beach. Below: the contemporary wave-cut platform |
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Dark heavy minerals concentrated by wave action and backwash. |
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This pelican was a constant fixture. Here he dives and gets a fish. |
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Frigate bird. |
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Left and below: bougainvillea |
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Hibiscus |
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Bamboo |
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Coconut palm |
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♫ Wastin' away in
margaritaville... ♪ Below: twilight on the beach |
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Some people went to dinner in style. Samantha Olsen gets a ride from Greg Sheier, while Phil Hahn approves. |
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Dinner at a seafood buffet. |
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We were welcomed home by one of the locals. |
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Created 18 January 2008, Last Update 24 January 2008
Not an official UW Green Bay site