Shiver Region

This is an example of the trimlines on the
side of Shiver Mountain,
This also shows what blue glacier ice looks like 

Shiver Mountain. on the right side is the cirque,
next to it the horn , with the cols located to the left.
 Shiver mountain is located
between shiver city and Shiver Snowfield 

The shiver Region is located in the northeast corner of the Mushroom Kingdom; it is home to the Bumptys. Because of how cold and snowy it is the Bumptys will travel to Poshley Heights to warm up. Located by Shiver Mountain are several forms created by glaciers; cirque (bowl shaped form), horns (pyramid forms) created by cirque erosion, and cols, which is also created by cirque erosion on two sides, this creates a glacial basin. These are all types of erosional forms. Trimlines are also along the mountains side; trimlines are created from weathering and avalanche chutes.

This is how a U-shaped valley is formed.
The parts of the glacier is also labeled 

This is a Bumpty,
the local inhabitant of
 the Shiver Region 

    Starborn valley is a U-shaped valley, this is created when water gets into fishers in mountains and then over time freezes and expands which causes the rocks to beak apart and the valley to be formed.

 Shiver Snowfield is what links all of the parts of the shiver region together. It is composed of blue glacier ice. Blue glacial ice is created from snow metamorphosis which is the gradual change in density, from alpine firn to polar firn and then finally to the blue glacial ice that is located there now. There is also sever bergshrunds in the snowfield, these are large crevasse separating the moving ice from the unmoving snow.

Mario in Shiver Snowfield with the blue glacial ice,
the Bergshrunds are located
to the front of him as well as to the side.

Gusty Gulch

The Rain Shadow

The Windy Mill

The Gusty Gulch is a small wasteland that in inhabited by the Boo’s, there is also a Windy Mill located on the east side of the gulch. Because of the high-pressure gradient that is pushing air to a lower gradient, it causes the high winds and makes it very difficult for life to flourish. The dryness of the Gulch is caused by the rain shadow, which is making it so the gulch does not get any water but plenty of wind. The rain shadow is when the mountains block the movement of weather that produces rain, which casts a “shadow” of dryness behind the mountain. Warm air is pulled over the mountains and then it condenses, and, is then turned into dry air, which then moves the air behind the mountain that causes the rain shadow.

Mario and a Boo at the Gusty Gulch  

This is what a Boo looks like 

The pressure variation that occurs at the Gulch is a thermal variation, which is driven by temperature differences. Mountain diurnal is the type of thermal variation that is occurring. During the day the sun heats the gulch, which causes warm air to rise and at night the mountains cool quickly and the heavy dense air creates air drainage and then the cool air settles at the bottom of the Gulch.

Sources for Post 

http://www.mariowiki.com/Windy_Mill

http://www.mariowiki.com/Gusty_Gulch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_shadow

http://www.freebase.com/view/m/021qbk

Dry Dry Desert and the Dry Dry Ruins

Dry Dry Ruins
Towards the top and bottom you can see the small holes that are the Alveoli. If you also look at the columns you can see the lighter color that is salt.

 

In the northern area of the Dry Dry Desert is the Dry Dry Ruins. Like the pyramids of Egypt the Ruins are made from limestone. Because the ruins are located in a desert there is salt weathering occurring. Salt weathering is common in deserts because there is little water to wash away the salt. There are two types of salt weathering; one, which is rapid heating and cooling this exerts pressure and makes the salts expand which cracks the rock. The second is crystallization this is where water gets into pores of a rock, and when the water dries the crystals grow, this exerts an outward force that can expand or weaken the rocks. As a result from the salt weathering there is Alveoli on the top and bottom of the ruins, this is a type of cavernous weathering.

Mario walking on the aridisol soil

When looking closely at the soil you can see that it is made up of K-horizon on the soil profile. This makes a very hard mineral called caliche present in the soil. In arid areas aridisol is the common type of soil. Though the Desert is too hot for human life, the Ruins however are the native home to the Chomps. 

http://www.mariowiki.com/Dry_Dry_Ruins

http://www.mariowiki.com/Dry_Dry_Desert

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090607030912/nintendo/en/images/thumb/d/d9/Dry_Dry_Ruins.png/254px-Dry_Dry_Ruins.png

Lavalava Island and Mt. Lavalava

Mushroom kingdom has many unique parts and places; it has forest, deserts, and even a volcano. The volcano is located on the island of Lavalava. Mt Lavalava is the solitary volcano in the mushroom kingdom; it is also an active volcano.  

Entering the Volcano

When traveling through the land of Lavalava you enter the volcano and complete your journey through the volcano in caves, tunnels, and even lava tubes. You enter though the side of the volcano into cavern that is made from intrusive igneous rock. There are stalactites and stalagmites all throughout the internal structure of the volcano.  Mt Lavalava is a composite volcano; it has steep sides and is very tall.

Pahoehoe Lava and the Lava tubes 

 The lava that flows in and out of Mt. Lavalava is pahoehoe smooth lava; it creates the lava tubes that you travel through further on your journey in the volcano. The lava tubes were created from when the outside lava cools first and the inside lava keeps moving.  Though this is a composite volcano, and has erupted in the past the fact that it has basalt lava flows is abnormal. These flows tend to be less viscous.  

                      

                                        

Watch the journey through Mt. Lavalava

Sorces for Post:
http://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=Mt._Lavalava&oldid=942442\
http://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/paper-mario/screenshots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t047QVHhEc
http://www.mariowiki.com/Mt._Lavalava
http://www.mariowiki.com/Lavalava_Island

Map of Mushroom Island 

from site http://pleatedjeans.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/super-mario-world-map.png

Introduction

Hello, my name is Dominique Calloway; I am a psychology major at University of Colorado Denver. This blog is on Mushroom Island, form the super Mario world. I choose this island because of the fact that there are several different landscapes such as desert, plains, forest, and mountains. Mushroom Island also has an island off its coast; it also shares its southwest boarder with the Beanbean Kingdom. I have enjoyed the Mario games for many years and it will be very interesting to look at this game and island in a geographical way.