(MD) (Nature Forward)
Leader: Joe Marx
Location: Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area, MD
The same tectonic collisions that metamorphosed much of our local bedrock also moved oceanic rock from beneath an ancient sea floor and stranded it in scattered patches within the continental rock of the Piedmont. The Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, near Owings Mill, MD, preserves one of the largest of these ophiolite patches. The soil at Soldiers Delight tends to be thin, dry and nutrient-poor, producing a landscape observably different from most in the Mid-Atlantic. We will hike three miles or so on well-maintained trails within the preserve, studying the bedrock, soil and plant communities. A few places will be steep and several stretches of trail may be muddy.