Laramidian Endemism: Part 1

Every few years, the wife and I will spend Christmas away from Alaska with her family, in Kansas. Now, the Sunflower State may not be the most exciting place to spend the holidays, but it's usually warmer than it is in Anchorage. It's also, from my point of view, a lot more geologically interesting. Now, of course, Alaska is home to about a million mountain ranges, glaciers, and volcanoes. Indeed, my state is largely a conglomeration of chunks of continental crust, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. In its own way, Alaska is the MOST interesting state, geologically speaking. But Kansas is basically made of limestone and chalk. Alaska's Mesozoic fossil record is only impressive when you look past the fact that it is made up of hundreds of bits, pieces, and chunks of bone.