You be the Geologist: Igneous Enigma

Not too long ago, while shooting Geo-RoadTrip 2014, we found ourselves in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range near Lone Pine, California.  While driving up Mount Whitney, enjoying the 50 degree temperature difference from our afternoon in Death Valley, we come upon some dark discolorations in the rock:

Upon closer inspection, we had more questions, than answers.  And further investigation was clearly necessary.  We pulled over and here's what we saw:

So we need your help to figure this out.  Devin breaks it down:

Got a theory?  Email us or tweet us or leave a comment on our Facebook!

Geo-RoadTrip 2014: Exploring Lone Pine

After leaving Death Valley we headed down the road to Lone Pine, CA.  It's a small town but has a lot of interesting things going on and is a great access point to the Sierra Nevada mountain range including the Alabama Hills and Mount Whitney.  But before tackled the mountains, we made a stop at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center.

Inside they have a great interactive, 3-D model of the mountain range:

As well as a section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct that delivers water from around the area to Los Angeles:

Exploring Lone Pine further led us to a monument to a tragic natural disaster.  In 1872 the area was the site of an earthquake estimated to be 7.6 to 8 on the Richter scale killing 27 people and destroying most of the town's structures.  Today a small stone marker commemorates the event in front of the mass grave of the victims:

The plaque on the marker reads:

Next up on the trip: movie memorabilia!