17 May 2019

Friday fold: Found folds

Posted by Callan Bentley

This week, for Friday folds, I offer up some random folds that have passed my perceptual transom this week.

First up: In the new Netflix series Our Planet, in episode 7 (Fresh Water), an anticline/syncline pair makes a brief appearance as David Attenborough discusses glaciers as a reservoir for fresh water. Here is a screenshot:

I’m not sure where this is in the world: Greenland? Antarctica? Let me know in the comments for this blog post if you recognize this scene.

Cropped to zoom in on the fold, and minimize those glacial distractions:

Here, I’ve traced the bedding out, using red for the nearer of the two mountains, and yellow for the mountain that’s further away:

I made an animated GIF of the flyby, which imparts a better 3D sense of the outcrops:

The second fold I’d like to share comes from Highlights, a magazine for children that we subscribe to for the sake of my son: In this month’s issue’s science spread, they feature a fold from an Australian island under the title “How to Bend Rock,” though they don’t say which island.

Zooming in on the (annotated!!) fold:

I asked around on Twitter for other suggestions for “found folds,” and Jefferson Chang suggested the brake light pattern in the Chevy Bolt:

Sure, that works: It looks like an overturned asymmetric fold pair, perhaps a fault-bend fold.

Where have you found folds lately?

Have a terrific Friday and a rejuvenating weekend.