Final Assessment 

Katelyn's Backyard is neither a dry or a wet landscape, but somewhere in the middle. I would consider my backyard to be a Mountain Landscape. I mainly think this because a Mountain Landscape is caused by tectonic plates that push against each other, pushing the land up.

Soil
My landscape has all kinds of soils, rocks, plants, and clouds formations. As a review from my previous blogs, some of the soils are granular, crumb, and different horizons of soils. The granular soil shows us that our landscape is moist in areas, and allows water into the soil. Mainly from rain and melting snow. The crumb soil shows us a more dry part of our backyard, an area of land that does not let in moisture quite as easy. As in one of my previous blogs here is what those soils look like below:

Rocks
My backyard rocks contain Igneous, Metapmorphic, and Sedamentary. Igneous rocks are formed from solidification of molten rock material.
Such as:

Metamorphic rocks are rocks that are formed by heat, pressure, or chemical processes. These rocks combine when these factors affect them.
For example:

Lastly, Sedimentary rocks are formed from the accumulation of other sediments. A lot of these rocks are formed from different small and large pieces, their patterns looks inconsistent because of this.
For example:

Clouds
Some of the clouds i often see in my backyard are Cirrocumulus, Cumulus, Cirrostratus.
Cirrocumulus clouds are some of the high clouds and look like pieces are missing from them, these mainly appear in cold weather days.

Cumulus clouds are soft and puffy looking. These are common clouds on nice days and do not produce any moisture.

Cirrostratus clouds look kind of see through, they happen when warm weather is coming and then perception after that.

Conclusion
With all this gathered information i conclude that my backyard is a mountain landscape. I think that in 10,000 years my backyard will look much different. Mainly because when walking on our ditch bank, there is a cement wall right before the train tracks that has began to separate. Below is a picture of that cement separating.

This leads me to believe that over the years it will separate more and more until eventually it is no longer intact, separating the land all together. Or even making the land all overlap until it becomes one.

In 1,000,000 years, considering the land is still separating like i see today, i think that the area will slowly begin to flatten out. And the hill that is in my backyard now will begin to shrink, and be less then half of what it is now.

In 100,000,000 years this land will be completely flat. The train tracks will not longer be there and the hill that once was the ditch bank in Katelyn's backyard will be gone. The river running through the ditch bank will flow over the flat land and eventually disappear because it will have no indent in the land to flow through.

Clouds

It has been snowing quite a bit in Katelyn's Backyard the past few days, so i unfortunately cannot show you what the clouds in my backyard have been looking like. So i am instead going to show you some pictures of the kind of clouds you would normally see in Katelyn's Backyard. 


Cirrocumulus Clouds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud)

Cirrocumulus Clouds are part of the high cloud group. They kind of look like they are missing pieces, and are almost "wispy" looking. These clouds are most seen during the winter time or when there is cold weather. These clouds also usually appear in patches, so they usually do not cover the entire sky. They are also a forecast for rain, and mean some will be coming shortly. The different kinds of Cirrocumulus clouds are: stratiformis, floccus/castellanus, undulatus, lenticularis, lacunosus. 
Stratiformis: Formed in a sheet/layer
Floccus/Castellanus: Turreted cloudlets
Undulatus: Have ripples and waves
Lenticularis: Ripples with sharp edges
Lacunosus: Large, clear holes in the clouds








Cumulus Clouds (http://www.wjla.com/blogs/weather/2012/04/a-happy-cloud-weighs-how-much-15262.html)

Cumulus Clouds are the most common cloud to see in Katelyn's Backyard. These are puffy clouds that look like soft airy pillows. Unlike the above Cirrocumulus Clouds, the Cumulus Clouds have a shape and defined edges. You can see where they start and where they end. These clouds are out for a nice day, they do not produce precipitation, but can grow into thunderstorm clouds. There are four types of Cumulus Clouds: cumulis humilis, mediocris, congestus, and fractus. All of them are specified by different shapes. 
Cumulis Humilis: Puffy and flat clouds
Mediocris: Similiar but with vertical shapes
Congestus: High in atmosphere and often have cauliflower like structure
Fractus: Has a ragged appearence



Cirrostratus Clouds (https://mtapp.wikispaces.com/Calvin+Perry+Kevin+Hodge+Cirrostratus)

Cirrostratus Clouds are high level and composed of ice-crystals. They are actually very thick, but to use look almost see through. The sun easily shines through them. These clouds also tell us when a warm front is coming, and that precipitation will be coming after that. There are also 4 types of Cirrostratus Clouds: nebulosus, fibratus, undulatus, duplicatus. 


Nebulosus: Featureless, sometimes produces halos
Fibratus: Patchy clouds
Undulatus: Shows fine ripples
Duplicatus: Have more than one layer













Works Cited: http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cirrocumulus.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrocumulus_cloud
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumulus_cloud
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrostratus_cloud
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Cirrostratus.htm
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Cirrocumulus.htm

Blog Post #2

In "Katelyn's Backyard" there is a lot of soil, and it is not all the same. I saw example of granular and crumb soil, which are both very similar. I did not see platy, blocky, or columnar soil in my backyard. So I am just going to show you the two that I did see.

This picture to your left shows you the soil horizons. The first three horizons, O,A, and E, are the horizons I was able to quickly see in my backyard.

It is a little hard to see at first but if you look closely at this hole I started, it goes from a dark brown at the top to a light brown/tan on the bottom. The O Horizon contains the organic matter, so that would be the area with the grass and roots. Below that we see the A Horizon which is the dark brown which contains the soils organic matter. And then the lighter layer after that is the E Horizon, which represents the zone of maximum leaching. It is lighter because there are low organics and because of particles that are pushed downwards.

This "granular" soil is also in my backyard. This kind of soil is usually found in the A Horizon where there is other organic matter, like the grass and roots I mentioned before. This kind of soil allows water in quickly and easily. This soil has rounded surfaces.

 This soil is an example of "crumb" soil. This soil has rounded surfaces but smaller then crumb. This soil does not cling together, and almost look similar to that of sand. I also noticed that this soil looks more dry then the granular soil I found above. Water also circulates easily through this soil. Both of these structures contain sand, silt, and clay all grouped together, and also is located on the A Horizon.











http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/grunwald/teaching/eSoilScience/introduction.shtml
http://colbydigssoil.com/2012/07/09/sizing-up-soil-structure/
ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/cdrom/fao_training/FAO_Training/General/x6706e/x6706e07.htm
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Soils/Soils.html

Blog Entry 1
Topic: Earth's Innards(Basic Rock Types)

In Arvada Colorado, there is a place known as "Katelyn's Backyard." In Katelyn's Backyard there are many things to observe. Such as the river, rocks, hills/fields, and trees. In my backyard there are many rocks that i had never really given much thought to until now. I found Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks right in my backyard.

Igneous: Rocks formed from the solidification of molten rock material.

(en.wikipedia.org)

Igneous rocks are formed when magma in the earth gets trapped. When this trapped magma cools it forms little pockets that turn into igneous rocks. These rocks can also be formed from volcanic eruptions above the surface. 

The picture of the left is an example of a extrusive igneous rock. The little holes in the rock are formed when gas is trapped within the rock before it solidifies.

This is a granite igneous rock. It is a light colored rock, and contains feldspar minerals and quartz. It is a rock you have to observe closely to see all its pieces.















Sedimentary: Rocks formed from the accumulation of sediments.

(krupp.wcc.hawaii.edu)

Sedimentary rocks are formed when sediments of other rocks start to form together. The 4 steps for this process are: erosion, transportation, deposition, and finally when the rock is compacted. Once everything is squashed together after this process, you know have a sedimentary rock. These rocks cover 3/4 of the earth's surface. 

This is an example of a conglomerate sedimentary rock. These rocks contain large and small particles that all have formed together. The smaller particles of the rock holds it together.















Metamorphic: Rocks that have been modified by heat, pressure,  and chemical processes.

(elearning.stkc.go.th)

Metamorphic rocks are formed from other rocks when heat and pressure affect them. These rocks them combine and are known as metamorphic rocks. 

This rock is slate, this rock is composed during the metamorphism of shale. Slate also splits into thin pieces, and you can easily see an example of this to the right of the rock in this picture where is looks like a thinner layer on top.

Sources:
http://geology.com/rocks/igneous-rocks.shtml
http://geology.com/rocks/sedimentary-rocks.shtml
http://geology.com/rocks/metamorphic-rocks.shtml
http://www.universetoday.com/82009/how-are-igneous-rocks-formed/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/s/sedimentary_rock.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science/environment_earth_universe/rock_cycle/revision/5/

Introductory Blog-August 30, 2014
My name is Katelyn Gaines, I am a business management major at CU Denver, and am a full time student. I am employed at Carrabbas Italian grill in Westminster, Co. I am 20 years old and have 4 brothers. My hobbies would include watching movies and shopping. 
For my semester blog entries i have selected my backyard as my observation area. I selected my backyard because i have a lot going on in my backyard. My house backs right up to a large ditch bank, this includes a river, train tracks, large field area, and lots of trees and greenery. Also on the right of our house is a wide open park.  It seems like the ideal spot to me because there is so much nature happening in my own backyard that i can easily go and observe whenever i would like. 
Below is a picture of my backyard from about a year ago. In the picture you mainly see the park area next to my house, and the ditch bank that i had talked about is behind that.