The murder of Miss Thecla Gerken remains a mystery to this day. She was buried in the family plot at the Catholic cemetery on the outskirts of Woonsocket, South Dakota. Her gravestone stands next to that of her father, John E. Gerken.
Permafrost is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen more than two consecutive years. In areas not overlain by ice, it exists beneath a layer of soil, rock or sediment, which freezes and thaws annually and is called the active layer.xceptions occur in un-glaciated Siberia and Alaska where the present depth of permafrost is a relic of climatic conditions during glacial ages where winters were up to 11 Â°C (20 Â°F) colder than those of today.
One of Alaskaâs natural wonders is found underfoot. It is permafrost, ground that remains frozen year after year. Made up of soil and rocks as well as frozen water, permafrost forms when the depth of winter freezing exceeds the depth of summer thawing.rom the Brooks Range southward its thickness gradually decreases and it becomes more and more discontinuous, broken by taliks, pockets of unfrozen ground. Near Anchorage, permafrost is found only in isolated patches, and in Southeast Alaska it is found only high in the mountains.