Photo taken at intersection of Frankfort Avenue and Louisiana Street looking west
This spot sits on the sediments that washed off the Franklin mountains, which are in view. There are several interesting geological and botanical features in view at this location. These are numbered or outline in color.
The “A” on the mountain, which stands for Austin High School, is painted on rocks of the Red Bluff Granite. This rock is 1.1 Billion years old and is one of the oldest rocks in El Paso. The Red Bluff Granite was a large blob of magma that formed long ago when our neighbor to the south, Antarctica, broke off and moved south. The Red Bluff Granite has also been described from Antarctica.
On top of the Red Bluff Granite is an ancient erosion surface, where surface erosion wore its way down into the granite, before rock layers were deposited on top. This erosion layer is world famous, and is called the Great Unconformity. In El Paso this erosion layer represents over 600 million years of missing time!
Above the Red Bluff Granite is the Bliss Sandstone. This layer is outlined in red lines. It is a chocolate brown later of sandstone and conglomerate (gravel and pebbles) that was deposited near the beach of an ancient island in El Paso.
On top of the Bliss Sandstone is the El Paso Group, a large pile of limestones and other rocks deposited in the ocean. On top of the El Paso Group is the Montoya Group, and the layer on the top of the yellow line, the Upham Formation, has been traced all the way to Nova Scotia. This layer was deposited when all of North America was covered in a shallow ocean.
The plants visible in this photo are typical of landscaping plants in El Paso.
#1 are Washingtonia Palms, or Date Palms. These trees have male and female individuals, and the two visible in photo appear to be males, which produce pollen. The females produce dates, which are pretty bland compared to store-bought dates.
#2 These are Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempivirens) and are native to northern Italy in the foothills of the Alps. These trees are high in tannic acid which can be used to treat several external problems, such as stinky feet and pits, sunburn, rash, scratches, pimples, etc. A simple poultice or “tea” for external use only.
#3 This is a Cenizo bush (Leucophyllum sp.). These bushes got their names because of the grey leaves looking like ashes (“cenizas” in Spanish means ashes). This plant is also called Barometer Bush because they flower as barometric pressure rises after a rainstorm. The leaves and flowers can be used in a tea to treat cold symptoms.
#4 This large bush looks like Oleander (Nerium oleander). Oleander is a common landscaping plant in El Paso with flowers most of the year. This plant is in the Dogbane family (Apocynaceae) and all species are toxic. Oleander has its own special toxins, called oleandrin and oleandroside, and is so toxic, the smoke from the burnt clippings can kill a person, or at least make them very sick.
Annotations by Dr. Eric Kappus, Geologist