Gavin studying the detail from the ravine, UMBC
| soundWalk2, March 14 between
3-5pm the class visited a location on the north-north east side of
campus in what we ended up calling a ravine. Though this particular
site is not by definition a ravine, if let alone, it probably would
become one within 50 years. These harbor rare plants and animals
due to the water moisture and lower temperatures. The site
is sandwiched between Wilkins Avenue near the entrance onto I-695
South and Hilltop Circle, the outer ring surrounding UMBC. The plant
and bird life was abundant. There is a stream that runs through
the area making it a rich point of water supply to the wildlife and
plants. The small stream disappears near the entrance into
a manmade drainage pipe. It would be curious to find out where
it opens back up to the surface. On the left-hand panel is
an aerial map of the area—note the orange shaded area. The
road just below the ravine is Hilltop Circle, the other one in the
far right corner is I-695. During the period of our soundWalk, we were experiencing wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour. But because we were in this wooded ravine like area we were shielded for the most. The sound was mixing with the sounds from the busy I-695 artery. Other sounds experienced were the creaking and “barking” trees. We discovered a couple of trees, which were leaning closely to one another that when the wind picked up speed would cause the trees to suddenly shift with enough force to cause the trees to “bark.” Many of us at first thought it was some kind of animal. The other major sounds were water and dry leaves being moved about due to the winds. Several recordings can be found here >> mp3 << |