Old World Archaeology (ARCH/ANTH 4620
Geology of Texas (GEOL 3000.001) Fall 2015
Mondays, 2:00-4:50 PM, WH 118
Course Outline
WeekTopic
August
24Introduction: Tectonics, Time, Fossils and Environments
Precambrian Texas: Paleogeography; The Grenville Accretion; Llano, Franklin
31Paleozoic Tectonic Cycle; Rifting, The Cambro-Ordovician Transgression
Cambro-Ordovician environments; petroleum resources; Middle Paleozoic
September
7LABOR DAY – NO CLASSES
14Ouachita Orogeny and Formation of Pangaea;
Marathon geologic record;The Fort Worth Basin Exercise 1 Due
21EXAM I
28Pangaea and Permian environments; The Delaware Basin; Permian Mass Extinction;Triassic-Jurassic; first dinosaurs; Breakup of Pangaea
October
5Cretaceous Transgressions – Edwards Plateau
Cretaceous of North Texas; rock types, environments, present landscape
12K/T Boundary and the Trans-Pecos Basins;
Llano Estacado Exercise 2 Due
19EXAM II
26The Tertiary Gulf Coastal Plain and present Texas Coast
November
2Geo-resources of Texas: Oil and Gas
9Geo-resources of Texas: Coal, Uranium and Rocks Exercise 3 Due
16NO CLASS – LLANO FIELD TRIP NOV 20-22
23Texas Rivers and Groundwater
30Pleistocene Texas and Paleoindians Llano Report Due
December
7FINAL EXAM (1:30-3:30 PM)
GEOLOGY OF TEXAS
Geology 3000.001 - Fall 2015
Instructor: Dr. Reid Ferring
Office Hours: 12-1:30 Tu and 12-1:30 W; or by appointment; Office: 242 ENV
Phone:Office: 565-2993
Home : 387-4874
email:
Course Requirements:
1. Class attendance. The nature of this course is such that attendance is essential for satisfactory performance. The class meets only once a week, and, much (most) of the course material will be presented through lectures and handouts.
2. Three exams. The final will be non-cumulative, and will be given at the university scheduled time (Monday, December 7th,1:30-3:30 PM). (NOTE: the final exam time is for Monday 2:00 PM classes only; there is a different exam time for classes that meet M-W-F). Each exam counts 20% of your course grade.
3. Texas Geology Exercises. I will give you three exercises in Texas Geology to complete out of class. You will have two weeks to prepare the exercise (see schedule for due dates). These will involve using maps from the Geologic Atlas of Texas as well as possible information from the internet. These must be turned in on time, and there will be a 5%/day late penalty.
4. Llano Field Trip. In lieu of class on Monday Nov. 16, we will take a required field trip to the Llano area on November 20-21. We leave the campus in University vans after lunch on Friday, Nov. 20th, and return approximately 4:30 PM on Sunday, Nov. 22nd. We will camp at Black Rock Park on Lake Buchanan Friday and Saturday nights. You will have to pay for your dinner on the road Friday (Cooper’s Barbeque in Llano is the usual favorite). Your course fees cover van transportation, camping and Enchanted Rock State Park entrance fees, and meals on Saturday and Sunday. You will have to bring your tent, sleeping bag and personal items. Showers are available at the park. I will ask for a couple of volunteers to bring an extra lantern and cookstove. If fire bans do not prohibit, we’ll have a fajita dinner Saturday evening. Please note that all university rules will apply. I’ll pass out more information, including the pre-trip exercise, later. You will turn in a field trip report. NOTE: This field trip is required. You must present prior written requests for non-attendance based on unavoidable work conflicts. For acceptable reasons, I will give you a supplemental Llano Exercise to complete, which will be due on Nov. 30th.
Course grading:
The course grade will be based on:
Three exams (equal value):60%
Texas geology exercises 3 @ 10%30%
Llano Field Trip Report10%
Text:
No suitable text is available for this course, but the listed below are recommended and required materials:
Required:
“The Geology of Texas” (by me) which is a chapter in Physical Geology: Exploring the Earth, The Geology of Texas Edition (Monroe, Wicander, Hazlett and Ferring) Thomson, 2007. I will pass this out, free.
Recommended (especially for exercises):
1. Roadside Geology of Texas contains much useful information. This is accompanied by The Geologic Map of Texas (1:1,000,000). American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Order from them on the web and/or use abebooks.com or other used book sources.
2. The Geology of Texas, Vol. 1, Stratigraphy. by, E.H.Sellards, W.S. Adkins and F.B. Plummer. The University of Texas Bulletin, No. 3232. 1932. Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas, Austin. Cost: about $12.00 (?) (includes State Geology Map- very dry reading, but still a good deal).
3. Geologic Map of Texas (1:500,000) Fantastic Map in four sheets- good for papering a wall- psychedelic in scope and effect. About $12-16. Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin
4. Fossils of Texas. Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin. Cost: about $2.00 (cheap, but quite good for common fossils)
5. A Field Guide to Fossils of Texas- by Chuck Finsley. $16.95. Nice pictures, good descriptions. Compare to other fossil books such as Petersons or Audabon.
6. Sheets from the Geologic Atlas of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin. Excellent details in each of the 15 or so that cover the state. Available in Willis Library, documents section. Cost: $6 each. Note: for exercises using these maps, I will pass them out for you to use and return.
7. Numerous publications of the Bureau of Economic Geology- Circulars, Reports of Investigations, etc. See Library Holdings, or the beg.ut website.
Classroom Rules:
I expect all students to behave in a manner that is considerate of others at all times. Except for reasons of health, leaving the class early without my prior notification will be counted as an absence. If you use a cell phone (including text messaging) during the class, you will be asked to leave. Please help me avoid such a situation! Thanks!
Laptop Rules:
Because this is an upper level course, I will allow you to use your laptop, for the sole purpose of taking notes. To ensure that this is the case, I will periodically ask to see your new notes at the end of a lecture. If they are not there, you will be counted absent and also lose your laptop privileges for the remainder of the course.
Academic Dishonesty
Cheating and/or plagiarism (see UNT Undergraduate Catalog for definitions) in any part of this course will result in a grade of F for the course and will be referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities for possible further penalty.
NOTE: All information presented in the class, orally in writing or by any other means, is copyrighted, 2014, by C. Reid Ferring. Any recording of the class information by any electronic means requires specific written permission from me. Any use of this material beyond your individual participation in this class, for the Fall 2014 semester or later in time, without my explicit written permission is strictly forbidden.
The Department of Geography, in cooperation with the Office of Disability Accommodation, complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Please present your written accommodation request before the 12th class day so that I can make any necessary arrangements.