Field Trip!

Had a great time this past Friday with with the Elgin Community College Geology Department. the field trip included stops at Buffalo Rock and Matthiessen State Parks as well as a road cut and privately operated facility. The purpose of the trip was to gain a broader understanding of Illinois geology and see some of the processes being discussed in class. The best part? Getting to see these beautiful destinations during the fall season. 

A recurring theme throughout the trip was interpreting what the environment was like at each stop (paleoenvironment) and how that environment was changing in time. We saw rocks that formed in broad intercontinental beaches, shallow inland seas, heavily vegetated marshes/bogs and sediment laid down by ice sheets tens of meters thick. All of these environments have existed in Illinois starting back in the Ordovician Period (~480 million years ago) through the end of the last Ice Age (~10,000 years ago). Lots more details but I'll leave those for class. 

 This trip is a highlight every semester, thanks to everyone involved for such a great time.