Geology of the National Parks

August 13-22, 2017

Introduction

Geology of the National Parks is a required course for all geology majors at UM-Dearborn. In this class, taught by Dr. Kent Murray, me and five other students traveled by university van to South Dakota and Wyoming, where we worked on geological exercises. We ended the trip by observing the August 21 total solar eclipse from Beatrice, Nebraska.

On this page, I tell the story of what we did this course using pictures that I took.

Sioux Falls Quartzite (8/14)

This image was taken from the top of a tower in Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD. We had to use a field book to draw a map of the quartzite (pink rocks) and the falls, then take 75 strike and dip measurements using a Brunton compass and map their orientation. This was probably the hardest assignment of the entire course, especially because it was done on the second day and nobody really knew how to use a Brunton compass. We all did after 5 hours in the park, though!

Here's a nice close-up of the waterfall.

eros data center (8/15)

We toured the EROS data center, where Landsat satellite data is processed. This was a very fun part of the course, especially since remote sensing and satellite data is a key component of what I want to do with my career.

The lobby of the building had many of these map screens, depicting very different maps.

A model of the Landsat satellite.

The server room, which contained a bunch of these servers and houses all Landsat data.

The Badlands (8/15)

The Badlands was my favorite part of the course. The visual beauty of the Badlands is stunning.

rapid city exercise (8/16)

For this exercise, we had to make a stratigraphic column of this sequence of rocks in Rapid City, measuring the strike and dip of as many layers as we could.

devils tower (8/16)

We next visited the igneous intrusion Devils Tower in Wyoming. We hiked around the tower while learning about the various theories of the controversial structure's formation. It was a very fun part of the trip!

homestake gold mine (8/16)

This is the open pit of the Homestake gold mine, our next destination. It truly was a bottomless pit-- we couldn't see the bottom! (Even more gold was mined in underground tunnels). We took a tour of the mine area where we learned about the history of the mine, then I gave a presentation about the geology of the mine and gold in the Black Hills. (Everyone had to research a topic and give a presentation, and my topic was gold). There is nothing like researching a specific place and then visiting that place in person!

black hills transect (8/17)

Next, we drove through the Black Hills, making a transect and studying the geology at specific points. There was an exercise at the point where I took this picture. There is a fault here, and this is the first time I've seen faulted bedding planes like this. This was definitely a learning experience!

cave tour (8/17)

In the middle of our transect, we toured Rushmore Cave. There is nothing like being in a natural cave. I've always wanted to tour a cave, and got the chance to do so on this trip, while learning about geology.

mt. rushmore exercise (8/17)

Very close to the famous national monument is this outcrop of metamorphic rocks with igneous intrusions, which we studied. These rocks are visually stunning, and I had never seen anything like this before!

sand hills (8/19)

Next, we visited the Sand Hills in western Nebraska. These are sand dunes that go on for miles and miles. They would rival the Sahara if they were still drifting dunes like they were 10,000 years ago, but climate change associated with the last Ice Age made the climate less arid and allowed grass to grow on top of the sand. We took samples of the sand at various locations as part of a research project Dr. Murray is working on.

Left and center: two places where we took samples of the sand. Right: a landslide, as it had rained the day before we got here.

total solar eclipse (8/21)

I had always wanted to experience a total solar eclipse, and this course made it possible. On the day of the eclipse, August 21, we planned to travel to northwestern Missouri to view totality, but cloud cover forced us to go back to Nebraska. We experienced totality in the town of Beatrice, where a rainstorm just missed us. A total solar eclipse is an amazing experience, and is something that everyone should definitely experience before they die. What a great way to end this trip!

Both of these pictures were taken during totality. The one on the left was taken with flash on, but you can still see the corona and the moon blocking the sun. The one on the right was taken without flash; this is how dark it actually got. Again, you can see the moon blocking out the sun, and the corona surrounding the object.

Here is a semi truck that drove down the road during totality with its lights on.

the end!

We returned to Dearborn on the 22nd of August. I definitely enjoyed this field course! There is nothing like seeing firsthand the geology you learn about in the classroom!

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