John Orcutt
@jdorcutt.bsky.social
Northwesterner, paleobiologisr, traveler, aspiring comeback trombone artist of the year.
Happy #FossilFriday from the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland, home of several important Ediacaran localities within the fantastic Discovery Global Geopark!
August 15, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Happy #FossilFriday from the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland, home of several important Ediacaran localities within the fantastic Discovery Global Geopark!
Longtime wildlife-viewing aspiration achieved (at Port au Choix National Historic Site, Newfoundland)!
August 12, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Longtime wildlife-viewing aspiration achieved (at Port au Choix National Historic Site, Newfoundland)!
What does a paleontologist do when they’re on vacation? Go look at fossils! Is it healthy? Probably not, but when a museum does as fantastic a job with their exhibits as the @romtoronto.bsky.social, how could I resist spending part of a long Toronto layover there?
August 7, 2025 at 12:24 AM
What does a paleontologist do when they’re on vacation? Go look at fossils! Is it healthy? Probably not, but when a museum does as fantastic a job with their exhibits as the @romtoronto.bsky.social, how could I resist spending part of a long Toronto layover there?
Always a pleasure to find myself back "home" at the @burkemuseum.bsky.social, especially on #FossilFriday!
July 18, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Always a pleasure to find myself back "home" at the @burkemuseum.bsky.social, especially on #FossilFriday!
A few glimpses of a Salish Sea spring before jetting off to an African savanna winter (taken at Seattle's Ballard Locks and the Anacortes ferry terminal)
May 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
A few glimpses of a Salish Sea spring before jetting off to an African savanna winter (taken at Seattle's Ballard Locks and the Anacortes ferry terminal)
A weekend trip across the state to visit family culminated in finding myself in the midst of one of the Northwest's greatest natural spectacles.
February 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
A weekend trip across the state to visit family culminated in finding myself in the midst of one of the Northwest's greatest natural spectacles.
I'm prepping a lecture on the afrotherian paleontology this #FossilFriday, so how could I not share the spectacular reconstruction of Arsinoitherium from the Fayum of Egypt on display at the Natural History Museum, London?
January 18, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I'm prepping a lecture on the afrotherian paleontology this #FossilFriday, so how could I not share the spectacular reconstruction of Arsinoitherium from the Fayum of Egypt on display at the Natural History Museum, London?
Two related things that make me proud of my home town of Seattle:
1) We're a @unesconow.bsky.social City of Literature
2) We have a strong contender for World's Most Beautiful Bookstore in Arundel Books
1) We're a @unesconow.bsky.social City of Literature
2) We have a strong contender for World's Most Beautiful Bookstore in Arundel Books
January 12, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Two related things that make me proud of my home town of Seattle:
1) We're a @unesconow.bsky.social City of Literature
2) We have a strong contender for World's Most Beautiful Bookstore in Arundel Books
1) We're a @unesconow.bsky.social City of Literature
2) We have a strong contender for World's Most Beautiful Bookstore in Arundel Books
Last full day on the West Side before heading back to Spokane. Spending it with some surprising sunshine and the Space Age architecture of the Seattle Center (site of the '62 World's Fair).
January 12, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Last full day on the West Side before heading back to Spokane. Spending it with some surprising sunshine and the Space Age architecture of the Seattle Center (site of the '62 World's Fair).
As always, the Olympics made photography easy today.
January 11, 2025 at 3:08 AM
As always, the Olympics made photography easy today.
Maybe the most beautiful place in the world is on the lands of the Makah Nation, where the open Pacific meets the northwestern tip of the US at Cape Flattery.
January 10, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Maybe the most beautiful place in the world is on the lands of the Makah Nation, where the open Pacific meets the northwestern tip of the US at Cape Flattery.
Not a video, but as a bonus, please enjoy this photo of Lake Crescent and its surrounding peaks.
January 10, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Not a video, but as a bonus, please enjoy this photo of Lake Crescent and its surrounding peaks.
Next, the now dam-free and (in the right season) salmon-full Elwha River, also in Olympic National Park.
January 10, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Next, the now dam-free and (in the right season) salmon-full Elwha River, also in Olympic National Park.
For so many reasons, things are stressful right now. I've always found the waters of the Olympic Peninsula to be endlessly soothing and refreshing, and I hope these videos bring some of that calm to your feed. First, off, Madison Falls in Olympic National Park.
January 10, 2025 at 2:27 AM
For so many reasons, things are stressful right now. I've always found the waters of the Olympic Peninsula to be endlessly soothing and refreshing, and I hope these videos bring some of that calm to your feed. First, off, Madison Falls in Olympic National Park.
While I'm revisiting the highlights of 2024, I'd be remiss to not mention a very recent development that's my biggest personal news of the year: I got tenure!!! I'm thrilled to be able to spend the rest of my career at Gonzaga and in Spokane!
December 31, 2024 at 8:01 PM
While I'm revisiting the highlights of 2024, I'd be remiss to not mention a very recent development that's my biggest personal news of the year: I got tenure!!! I'm thrilled to be able to spend the rest of my career at Gonzaga and in Spokane!
2024 culture highlights: Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces across the Midwest, the glories of porteño architecture in Buenos Aires, the monumental Jesuit missions of the Guaraní in Argentina and Paraguay, and the brightly-colored seaport of Valpairaiso, Chile.
December 31, 2024 at 7:53 PM
2024 culture highlights: Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces across the Midwest, the glories of porteño architecture in Buenos Aires, the monumental Jesuit missions of the Guaraní in Argentina and Paraguay, and the brightly-colored seaport of Valpairaiso, Chile.
2024 nature highlights: there are too many to list, but it's hard to beat seeing flocks of seabirds on the Salish Sea, the diverse ecosystems of Indiana Dunes, the grandeur of Iguazu Falls, and the wildlife of Iberá and Patagonia.
December 31, 2024 at 7:53 PM
2024 nature highlights: there are too many to list, but it's hard to beat seeing flocks of seabirds on the Salish Sea, the diverse ecosystems of Indiana Dunes, the grandeur of Iguazu Falls, and the wildlife of Iberá and Patagonia.
2024 paleontology highlights: museums from Pittsbugh to St. Paul and South American megafauna on display and in situ in Argentina and Uruguay!
December 31, 2024 at 7:53 PM
2024 paleontology highlights: museums from Pittsbugh to St. Paul and South American megafauna on display and in situ in Argentina and Uruguay!
2024 research highlights: taking the lab students to the GSA section meeting in Spokane and NAPC in Michigan, hosting the NW Scientific Association at Gonzaga, and collections visits to the great museums of the Midwest!
December 31, 2024 at 7:53 PM
2024 research highlights: taking the lab students to the GSA section meeting in Spokane and NAPC in Michigan, hosting the NW Scientific Association at Gonzaga, and collections visits to the great museums of the Midwest!
Happy Holidays from the shore of the Salish Sea! To celebrate the new year, here are some of my favorite memories from 2024!
December 31, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Happy Holidays from the shore of the Salish Sea! To celebrate the new year, here are some of my favorite memories from 2024!
I think we could all use a sea otter in our feeds this #MarineLifeMonday. Famous for the role they play in maintaining kelp forests, they are equally at home in - and equally important members of - the West Coast's other cradles of biodiversity: eelgrass beds, like these in Morro Bay, California.
November 25, 2024 at 7:40 PM
I think we could all use a sea otter in our feeds this #MarineLifeMonday. Famous for the role they play in maintaining kelp forests, they are equally at home in - and equally important members of - the West Coast's other cradles of biodiversity: eelgrass beds, like these in Morro Bay, California.
It's been a long #FossilFriday and I'm in no state to say anything profound, so please enjoy, with minimal comment, this photo of Miocene rhinoceros and Friend of the Lab, Teleoceras!
(Photo taken in the Carnegie Museum)
(Photo taken in the Carnegie Museum)
November 23, 2024 at 5:38 AM
It's been a long #FossilFriday and I'm in no state to say anything profound, so please enjoy, with minimal comment, this photo of Miocene rhinoceros and Friend of the Lab, Teleoceras!
(Photo taken in the Carnegie Museum)
(Photo taken in the Carnegie Museum)
And because it's also #MuseumMonday, here's a southern elephants seal (and some cetacean companions) in the beautiful zoology galleries of Argentina's Museo de la Plata.
November 18, 2024 at 8:59 PM
And because it's also #MuseumMonday, here's a southern elephants seal (and some cetacean companions) in the beautiful zoology galleries of Argentina's Museo de la Plata.
Is #MarineLifeMonday a thing here on Bluesky? If not, my argument for why it should be is that it gives us all a chance to nerd out about species like the world's largest carnivoran, the southern elephant seal (elefante marino in Spanish), seen here on Península Valdés, Argentina.
November 18, 2024 at 8:59 PM
Is #MarineLifeMonday a thing here on Bluesky? If not, my argument for why it should be is that it gives us all a chance to nerd out about species like the world's largest carnivoran, the southern elephant seal (elefante marino in Spanish), seen here on Península Valdés, Argentina.
And for the smaller subset of you that are also @unesconow.bsky.social World Heritage nerds, besides Messel, the same valley is also home to the Medieval abbey of Lorsch and the Jungendstil (Art Nouveau) architecture of Matildenhöhe.
November 16, 2024 at 5:24 AM
And for the smaller subset of you that are also @unesconow.bsky.social World Heritage nerds, besides Messel, the same valley is also home to the Medieval abbey of Lorsch and the Jungendstil (Art Nouveau) architecture of Matildenhöhe.