2010 LSU Geology Field Camp GEOL 3666 Syllabus LSU Field Camp Director and course Instructor Dr. Dan Kelley 101 Howe‐Russell dkelley@lsu.edu 225‐578‐2337 TA’s: Andrew Sampson Scott Tipple Celina Will General Information LSU maintains a rustic camp facility in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains south of Colorado Springts, Colorado. The site has been used for field geology courses since 1928. LSU purchased the camp property in 1954 from the Keeton brothers whose father homesteaded the area in the late 1800s. Ruins of the old homestead still stand in various places on the property. The camp is primarily a structural mapping camp located along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. You will also be exposed to a generous dose of stratigraphy, sedimentology, mineralogy, petrology, geomorphology, and paleontology. You will work hard at Field Camp. Field work, or classroom work, runs six days a week. We will leave for the field at 8:00 am and return between 5:00 and 5:30 pm. The required evening work sessions begin at 8:00 pm and last a minimum of two hours. This unique environment provides total immersion in the subject matter. You will complain about the work, the long hours, the weather, the rustic accommodations, and the lack of sufficient time to complete what is asked of you. However, you will learn more about geology than you ever thought possible. Field camp will turn you from a geology major into a geologist. At the time it may not seem so, but Field Camp will definitely be the highlight of your academic career. Just ask the TAs who willingly signed on for another tour of duty. Format LSU Geology Field Camp is a six‐week “all‐inclusive” field camp with its own permanent living and dining quarters. The course emphasizes the fundamentals of field geology in challenging and scenic study areas along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
Prerequisites Physical and Historical Geology, Paleontology, Petrology (ig, met, and sed), and Structral Geology. Grades Grades are based on field exercises. The final grade is based on the maps, field notebooks, exercises, and daily academic performance turned in by each student. Educational Goals 1. To learn how to describe, log, and correlate stratigraphic packages of sedimentary rocks. 2. To learn how to construct geologic maps of areas comprising several square miles. Students utilize topographic base maps, compasses, and aerial photos to map folded and faulted rocks in a variety of geologic settings. 3. To learn how ot identify and map metamorphic and igneous lithologies. These exercises will include mapping the distribution of metamorphic and igneous units, but much emphasis will be placed on mineral and lithologic identification. 4. To make observations about regional geology, changes in sedimentary facies, structural deformation, and tectonics. 5. Additional goals include gaining confidence in making geologic observations and interpretations; broadening of geologic experience beyond the classroom; and learning to deal with incomplete or apparently contradictory geologic data. Grade Distribution LSU Camp Stratigraphy Exercise 5 Pace and Compass geologic map and cross section(s) 5 LSU Camp Property geologic map and cross section(s) 15 Twin Mountain geologic map and cross sectin(s) 15 Nott Creek metamorphic field project 10 Stratigraphic correlation exercise 10 Polvadera Mesa volcanic mapping exercise 10 Field notebook (4pts per week) 24 Daily academic performance and participation 6