i don't think it was gophers

[sky otter]

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/geologists-digging-mima-mounds-mystery-say-gophers-behind-it-2D11702466

Geologists digging into Mima mounds mystery say gophers behind it
Becky Oskin LiveScience
2 hours ago






Mima mounds in western Washington as seen from the air.

A new twist on an old mystery may finally settle the debate over the origin of Mima mounds, which bulge out of the ground like enormous, grass-covered bubble wrap.


Mima mounds (sounds like dime-a) were named in 1841, when a vast pimply prairie (the Mima Prairie) was discovered in western Washington during the United States Exploring Expedition. In the centuries since, the source of this strange landscape has defied explanation. A single field may be covered in a million mounds that are several thousand years old, yet no builder has ever been found.

Early explorers thought Mima mounds were Native American burial sites, but no skeletons or grave relics were inside. Armchair experts have suggested many other hypotheses, from earthquakes to floods to extraterrestrials. [Images: Amazing Mima Mounds]

Because the rich prairie soil at many Mima mound sites turns sodden when it rains, scientists often blamed burrowing pocket gophers, the same rodents that pockmark golf courses and lawns. Perhaps, scientists surmised, the gophers built up to escape drowning. But the mounds are 8 feet (2.5 meters) tall and 30 feet (9 m) wide, and their sheer size led some researchers to pooh-pooh the idea that wee gophers could ever create such vast earthen citadels.

Now, a study analyzing the interplay between gopher and ground implicates the humble rodent.

http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/13/55/53/83/2d985911.jpg

These Mima mounds can be found in California's Central Valley.
Mountains from molehills
According to a computer model, "mature" Mima mounds appear after about 500 to 700 years of scurrying and burrowing by pocket gophers. In the model, single gophers add a bit of soil, pebbles or dead plants to each mound over many generations — the animals are fiercely territorial.


"That's what makes it take so long; it's generation after generation living in these mounds and building them," said study author Manny Gabet, a geologist at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif.

"What's really cool about this is scaled by body size, these are the largest structures built by any mammal not including humans," Gabet told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet. "In terms of effort, it would be like a single person building the pyramids."

The new model, published Oct. 3 in the journal Geomorphology, combined virtual gophers with the unique soil conditions seen at Mima mound sites. Gabet incorporated behavioral studies of pocket gophers at Mima mounds in California. These studies revealed one of the key clues to Mima mounds. Unlike most gophers, the furballs push soil upward, toward the surface, instead of shoving soil downhill farther into their burrows.

Another critical puzzle piece in Gabet's computer model was a shallow buried layer that was impenetrable to water, as is seen at Mima mounds in the West. Because this barrier prevents rainwater from quickly draining, water collects in the upper soil level where pocket gophers live.

http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/13/55/53/83/2d986010.jpg

computer model of a Mima mound formation.
While scientists had put these clues together before, no one had ever seen gophers actually creating Mima mounds.

"The problem with figuring out how Mima mounds form is that nobody has actually seen one form, which suggests that the processes that formed them are either no longer active or just very, very slow," Gabet said. "The advantage of using a computer model is you can speed up time."


Just keep building
The model suggests that gophers start pushing soil toward any existing high spots, and these budding mounds continue to beckon later generations of builders. "There's a positive feedback where the gophers are somehow sensing where the high spots are," Gabet said.


Eventually, the burrowing mammals run out of soil and the Mima mounds are fully "developed" — which takes 500 to 700 years. "There's an end stage where the mounds don't grow any higher," Gabet said. [World's Weirdest Geological Formations]

The size of each mature Mima mound roughly matches the territorial range of a single gopher, Gabet discovered.

Though the study isn't proof that gophers create Mima mounds, it does show that it's possible, said Ronald Sletten, a soil scientist at the University of Washington who has studied the state's Mima mounds.

"We don't have a smoking gun, but it's a very nice paper and it lends support to the hypothesis that it's feasible for gophers to move the amount of material to (make) the size and shape of the mounds that are there," Sletten said.

Sletten and his UW colleague Bernard Hallet have analyzed carbon fragments in Washington Mima mounds, concluding the Washington fields are at least several thousand years old.

Worldwide phenomenon
Mima mounds can be found at Washington's Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve, a national landmark, and can also be found in many places in the West and the Plains. The unique landscape was more widespread before the prairie was planed off for farming, but there's a chance that the mounds could return.


On abandoned farmland in California's Central Valley, near the Carrizo Plain, Gabet has discovered budding Mima mounds, he said. There, he tested the computer model's predictions for mound spacing and height against the 30-year-old gopher piles and found a good fit.

In the Central Valley, temporary vernal pools appear between Mima mounds during winter rains, creating a rare type of grassy wetland and habitat for endangered species such as fairy shrimp.

Both Sletten and Gabet agree with the hypothesis that in the West, Mima mound gophers pile up soil to stay high and dry above wet ground. "If you live underground like these gophers do, then saturated soil is a fatal condition," Gabet said.

While this model may hold water for Mima mounds in the West, the mysterious hills are found on every continent except Antarctica, far from the range of pocket gophers. "This suggests other burrowing mammals have evolved this same type of adaptive behavior on other continents," Gabet said.

Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

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[deuem]

Did you read anywhere where the gophers are doing this now or are they all gone. If they still do this there must be places where they are in all stages of being built. Gopher mega-Structures. I like that!
Alien Gophers would be better.
Deuem

[Elvis Hendrix]

I just dont gopher it.

[Norval]

Back in 1997 I was court ordered to go there, , , , long story.

Google them and you will find some very interesting "homes" located nearby, , ,

Note some of the "unique" antenna systems here and there.

The lands are federally patrolled and protected almost as secure as area 51 only more discrete.

[WarToad]

Back in 1997 I was court ordered to go there, , , , long story.

Google them and you will find some very interesting "homes" located nearby, , ,

Note some of the "unique" antenna systems here and there.

The lands are federally patrolled and protected almost as secure as area 51 only more discrete.

  I lived in Seattle area for 8 years and been to the Mima mounds.  It's a public access natural area with a parking lot and trails.  It's adjacent to the Capitol State forest which has probably a dozen campgrounds. 



It is federally partolled by an occasional Forest Ranger, but you typically run into hipsters.  The mounds are pretty cool though the way they go on and on.  I seriously doubt the gopher source though.

[sky otter]

hi norval..
you made me curious so i had to check it out..seems that the army is a neighbor and that would answer a lot..the link to the army is on the same page as the park
soooooooooooooooooo
i copied it here...i don't think it's a conspiracy..but hey.. what do i know..




http://www.dnr.wa.gov/ABOUTDNR/MANAGEDLANDS/Pages/amp_na_mima.aspx

Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve 

Site Description

Features protected: Roemer's fescue – white topped aster grassland community; Mima Mounds topography; Garry oak woodland and savannah
Ecoregion: Puget Trough

The Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve (NAP) was established in 1976 to protect rare examples of mima mound landforms and Puget prairie grasslands. The site includes a small Garry oak woodland and savannah (widely spaced oak trees with grass understory) and also supports a variety of prairie dependent butterflies and birds, and Douglas-fir forest. The NAP currently comprises 637 acres of grassland covered mima mounds, forest and oak woodland. In 1966, the National Park Service designated mima mounds a National Natural Landmark, for its representation of our Nation's natural landscape. The site is one of only 17 landmarks found in Washington State.

Environmental Education and Public Access
Mima Mounds NAP has an interpretive trail system including a paved, ADA accessible ½ mile loop, and two longer gravel paths to the north and south of the paved loop. The interpretive center includes full color signs with information on geology, mima mound hypotheses, prairie ecology, fire and Native American use. Site stewards are available by request to lead group tours. Staff may be available for educational field trips as time permits. No dogs allowed—please—to help conserve the ecology of this site.

Science, Research and Monitoring
Public and private universities, other research institutions and individual researchers may contact DNR to propose a research project at the site. If you are interested in pursuing research at Mima Mounds, please contact David Wilderman, Natural Areas Ecologist, at david.wilderman@dnr.wa.gov

Mima Mounds NAP has served as an active research site for more than 50 years, including studies of mound formation, prairie vegetation, rare species, and restoration methods. 

Examples of research and monitoring projects that have been carried out at Mima Mounds

Stanley, A. G., T. N. Kaye, P. W. Dunwiddie. 2010. Regional strategies for restoring invaded prairies, final technical report. Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, Oregon and The Nature Conservancy, Seattle, Washington.
Reducing Soil Nitrogen to Restore the Puget Prairies.   
Dorner, J. 1999. The South Puget Sound Prairie Plant Community: A Multivariate Analysis of Plant Species Distribution and the Relationship of Environmental Variables. M.S. Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Del Moral, Roger, and David C. Deardorff. 1976. Vegetation of the Mima Mounds, Washington State. Ecology 57:520–530.   
Ground beetles in three western Washington prairies and associated oak forests.
University of Washington – Tacoma, Restoration Ecology class projects.
Inventory and distribution assessment of lichens, including the first record of Cladonia ciliata in the United States.
Nelson. 1997. Implications of Subfossil Coleoptera for the Evolution of the Mima Mounds of Southwestern Puget Lowland, Washington. Quaternary Research 47, 356–358.
Experimental seeding and outplanting of golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta).
Prairie Appreciation Day is held annually on the second Saturday in May at Mima Mounds NAP and the nearby Glacial Heritage Preserve.  Mima Mounds NAP serves as the ADA accessible site for the event. Glacial Heritage is not accessible. For more information, contact the Pacific Cascade Region Natural Areas Manager.

Volunteer and Stewardship Opportunities
Mima Mounds Spring workday series
Volunteer workdays occur from 10:00 am-3:00 pm on the last Saturday of the month in March and April every year. Private companies and school groups are encouraged to contact the Natural Areas Manager regarding "day of service" work parties.

Site Stewards
Volunteer site stewards are also needed year round to monitor the site, remove invasive species, check perimeter fences, and interact with visitors. If you are interested in becoming a site steward, please contact the Pacific Cascade Region Natural Areas Manager for more information.

Restoration at Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve
The Department of Natural Resources, along with a number of partner organizations, is actively restoring parts of the Mima Mounds NAP to enhance conditions for rare plants, butterflies, and birds that inhabit prairie and oak habitats.

Directions to the Site
From southbound or northbound Interstate 5, take Exit 95 and turn west on Highway 121 (Maytown Road SW) toward Littlerock. In Littlerock, continue west (forward past the school, past the intersection with Littlerock Road that curves south, and past the mini mart/gas station on the right) onto 128th Avenue. Travel about 0.8 mile where 128th Avenue ends at a 'T.' on top of the hill. Turn right onto Waddell Creek Road and travel about 1 mile. The entrance to Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve will be on the left.

A Washington State Discover Pass is required for parking at this site. This funding helps DNR manage these important natural areas across the state.



........................................


 
Related Links

DNR Resources
Natural Areas Program Overview
Natural Areas of Washington State
Natural Area Preserves
Natural Resources Conservation Areas
Project Partners
American Bird Conservancy
Army Compatible Use Buffer Program
Friends of Puget Prairies
Joint Base Lewis-McChord
South Puget Sound Prairie Landscape Working Group
The Nature Conservancy
University of Washington-Tacoma
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Natural Resoures Conservation Service
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Washington Native Plant Society
Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program





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http://www.sustainability.army.mil/tools/programtools_acub.cfm

Army Compatible Use Buffer Program (ACUB)


Army Compatible Use Buffers (ACUBs) support the Army's mission to fight and win the nation's wars. Winning wars requires a trained and ready force. Trained and ready Soldiers require land for maneuvers, live fire, testing and other operations. ACUBs establish buffer areas around Army installations to limit effects of encroachment and maximize land inside the installation that can be used to support the installation's mission.



ACUBs support the Army's responsibility as a federal agency to comply with all environmental regulations, including endangered species habitat protection. By working in partnership with conservation organizations, ACUBs can coordinate habitat conservation planning at the ecosystem level to ensure that greater benefits are realized towards species and habitat recovery.



ACUBs also support local and regional planning and sustainability efforts by emphasizing partnerships with state and local governments and private conservation organizations to work towards common objectives and leveraging public and private funds towards those common goals.

Conservation organizations are becoming the military's most effective neighbors by collaborating to protect land adjacent to military installations.

ACUB Program Defined

The ACUB program is an integral component of the Army's sustainability triple bottom line: mission, environment, and community. The program is an innovative tool to address encroachment and achieve conservation objectives by proactively addressing encroachment that causes costly workarounds or compromises training realism. Title 10, Section 2684a of the United States Code authorizes the Department of Defense to partner with non-Federal governments or private organizations to establish buffers around installations. The Army implements this authority through the ACUB program, which is managed jointly at Army Headquarters level by the offices of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management and the Director of Training.



An ACUB allows an installation to work with partners to encumber land to protect habitat and training without acquiring any new land for Army ownership. Through ACUBs, the Army reaches out to partners to identify mutual objectives of land conservation and to prevent development of critical open areas. The program allows the Army to contribute funds to the partner's purchase of easements or properties from willing landowners. These partnerships preserve high-value habitat and limit incompatible development in the vicinity of military installations.

10 USC 2684


Need for ACUB Program
The United States originally established military installations in rural areas far from population centers. As the Nation's population has grown, urban sprawl now abuts many installations. Noise, dust, and smoke from weapons, vehicles, and aircraft prompt citizen complaints about military training. Commanders frequently are required to choose between being good neighbors and meeting training and testing requirements. Noise concerns, the presence of cultural and historic resources, and the distribution of endangered species can result in training restrictions affecting military readiness. This is referred to as encroachment.



Encroachment is defined as urban development surrounding military installations that affects the ability of the military to train realistically. More than 40 percent of installations report encroachment issues.



Back to top

ACUB Process
The Army Headquarters has formalized an ACUB process that is initiated locally at the installation level but reviewed, approved, and funded centrally. For ACUBs, the cooperating partner purchases easements or fee simple property from a willing seller with funds contributed by the Army and other partners. These areas provide a natural buffer between military training lands and residential or commercial activities for perpetuity. The partner, not the Army, receives the deeded interest in the property and provides for long-term habitat management. Pursuant to the terms of the Cooperative Agreement and with land owner permission, the installation may retain access rights to conduct compatible military training.

[Norval]

Using the google maps, yah can see many things, , and use the "terrain" feature also to see some other attributes. There are enough clues to cause some thoughtful rethinks.
What are the old Indian legends?
What are the other theories?
Why do "sensitive" people feel odd there?

Its IS the questions that drive us, , , , , 

[sky otter]

  i get it now.. it was a computer model that figured it was gophers...
stupid machine...only knows what you tell it then it spits it back at you

how did i miss that part?   sigh 




Mima Mounds Are Built By Generations Of Gophers, New Computer Model Suggests
LiveScience  |  By Becky Oskin
Posted: 12/23/2013 12:02 pm EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/23/mima-mounds-generations-gophers-model_n_4493575.html?utm_hp_ref=science