Fourteen consecutive field seasons of scientific excavations of alluvial deposits of the lower Pomme de Terre Valley, southeastern Missouri, have provided a radiocarbondated (154 analyses) chronostratigraphic sequence in four terraces reflecting five major episodes of aggradation and degradation. Probably all of Wisconsinan time and the Holocene is represented. A sixth alluvial deposit is probably Illinoian and possibly older Pleistocene alluvium. Spring deposits within the terraces contain bone beds associated with peat lenses containing pollen, plant, and beetle remains, all of which have provided paleoecological data. The springs appear to have erupted initially, in response to either tectonic disturbance or hydrostatic pressure near the peak of a glacial maximum. Subsequent episodes may correlate with later maxima. Peat deposits correlate with interstadials on the bases of fauna, flora, and radiocarbon dating. Gravel deposits of spring conduits contain bones and plant remains that are considerably older than overlying peat deposits. Some of these older elements have been redeposited in younger spring deposits via spring action. Other evidence suggests that some animals may have fallen into springs and intruded older deposits. A developmental sequence for the origin of concentric spring deposits in alluvium is proposed. None of the six spring deposits excavated contained any associated archaeological remains older than 10,500 B.P., which marks the first appearance of artifacts in the stratigraphic record at Rodgers Shelter. Extinction of the Pleistocene big-game animals occurred sometime between then and 16,000 B.P. A major episode of degradation occurring between 10,500 and 13,000 B.P. probably coincides with similar episodes occurring approximately 12,000 B.P. on many if not most streams in the United States. With some exceptions, subsequent epicycles of cutting and filling appear to correlate generally over the same area.

Abstract Folk explanations of notable geological features, including fossils, are found around the world. Observations of fossil exposures (bones, footprints, etc.) led to place names for rivers, mountains, valleys, mounds, caves, springs, tracks, and other geological and palaeontological sites. Some names describe prehistoric remains and/or refer to traditional interpretations of fossils. This paper presents case studies of fossil-related place names in ancient and modern Europe and China, and Native American examples in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Evidence for the earliest known fossil-related place names comes from ancient Greco-Roman and Chinese literature. The earliest documented fossil-related place name in the New World was preserved in a written text by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. In many instances, fossil geonames are purely descriptive; in others, however, the mythology about a specific fossil locality survives along with the name: in still other cases the geomythology is suggested by recorded traditions about similar palaeontological phenomena. The antiquity and continuity of some fossil-related place names shows that people had observed and speculated about mineralized traces of extinct life forms long before modern scientific investigations. Traditional place names can reveal heretofore unknown geomyths as well as new geologically-important sites.

Abstract Military land managers are faced with questions of landscape stability and sustainability. Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was selected to test these concerns because it has been the site of engineering training for over 50 years. Prior to U.S. Army occupancy, the landscape was undergoing disequilibrium resulting from historic land use activities. An integrated approach was used to examine landscape changes using existing information and technologies to answer geomorphic inquiries of equilibrium and recovery. The lack of a long-term sediment record was supplemented by performing soil-loss modeling. Soil simulations were done using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to simulate the effect of changing land use and land cover on soil loss. The aerial photographic record offered a means to create land cover for RUSLE simulations. The sustainable or acceptable soil-loss rate is known as the soil loss tolerance. Simulation of soil loss using 1938, 1955, 1976, and 1997 aerial photographs identified "hot spots" where soil loss was greater than tolerance. The results show that past Army training activities caused more soil loss than did presettlement activities, but that estimated soil loss from current training is less than loss rates before military occupancy of the landscape. Current best management practices are leading to landscape restoration within accepted soil loss tolerance. This study supports the U.S. Army’s commitment to landscape stewardship, which is essential for land-use sustainability.