Original music by Bob Blackshear: Nashville recording artist Song writer and singer Sun City Resident Tramping Geology through the Appalachians

Vagabonds & Sojourners Tramping Geology: The Appalachian Mountains Session 1: Getting Started An Overview of the Next 6 Weeks Remember our field trip, Nov. 3rd

And now, Geology in the News

Geology in the News Next, diamonds reveal geology of the deep “earth furnace” that generates many of our natural metallic resources New York Times, Sept.15, 2011

Geology in the News New York Times, Sept.16, 2011 Continent Oceanic crust Mantle plume (hot spot) And, China turns out our “green” lights, at least for a while

Geology in the News New York Times, Sept.16, 2011 Now to “playing in the sand pile” in McCulloch County, Texas Austin American statesman,

Geology in the News

McCullough County Austin Up close

McCullough County Sand quarries

500 million year old sandstones The big picture: why sand here? Is the favorable sand elsewhere? McCulloch County

Ancient beach sands Now to an earthquake in Himalayas North America 505 million years ago McCullough County

Geology in the News India Tibet-China 6.9

Geology in the News

Nile geosyncline gas prone

Geology in the News

Nile geosyncline gas prone Geology in the News

Nile geosyncline gas prone Cyprus Offshore territory Back to the Western Hemisphere

Expensive production from deep water (6,000 feet+) Brazil and Canadian tar sands forecast to provide oil to replace diminishing resources in Mexico and Venezuela.

Geology in the News Computer modeling of oil & gas reservoirs using seismic, drilling, production, and conceptual data Now, back to the Appalachians

Vagabonds & Sojourners in the Appalachians Six Sessions Return to NC & follow the Great Valley through VA, WV, MD, PA, NY, CT, & VT into Canada Begin in North Carolina Blue Ridge Mts Follow the Blue Ridge to Georgia & Alabama As we follow the Great Valley we’ll: 1. explore the heart of the Appalachians 2. note to economic resources of the interior 3. relate human history to the last great continental glacier Where are the lands of the Sojourners?

The Lands of the Sojourners The Appalachian Geologic Province Back to Session 1 0 Sandi’s first geology field trip: Wisconsin Dells age 6 months

Vagabonds & Sojourners Tramping Geology: The Appalachian Mountains Session 1: Getting Started What is a geologic mountain?

What is a geologic mountain? Rocks deformed by the collision of two plates of the earth’s crust Mountains grow to great heights & are gradually destroyed by weathering & erosion Mountain Classification

Youthful Mountains: Washington State

Mature Mountains: Mount Mitchell, North Carolina

Old Age Mountains: Granville Range Llano County, Texas

What is a geologic mountain? Rocks deformed by the collision of two plates of the earth’s crust Mountains are composed of folded, faulted, and melted rocks Mountains grow to great heights & are gradually destroyed by weathering & erosion

Blue Ridge Mountains Great Valley Valley & Ridge Piedmont Coastal Plain Folded & faulted rock layers Partially melted rock mass Melted rock masses Folds, faults, and melted rocks Appalachian Geologic Province

What is a geologic mountain? Rocks deformed by the collision of two plates of the earth’s crust Mountains are composed of folded, faulted, and melted rocks Mountains grow to great heights & are gradually destroyed by weathering & erosion Mountain building exposes different rock types at the surface

Blue Ridge Mountains Great Valley Valley & Ridge Piedmont Coastal Plain Folded & faulted rock layers Partially melted rock mass Melted rock masses Folds, faults, and melted rocks What type of rocks do we have in the Valley & Ridge Province?

A Land of Long Ridges and Valleys Sedimentary rocks of all kinds What made the ridges & valleys?

A yellow sandy rock made prominent ridges A black mud stone made this stream valley Dense white limey rock made low ridges What made the valleys & ridges? A gray soft rock made these low hills Sandstones, Limestones, & Shales: rocks of the Valley & Ridge Province rocks made from sediments deposited in the oceans along continental margins

Sediments Rocks Sediments Rocks Sediments accumulate in oceans at continental margins They accumulate in layers, one on top of another They are composed of: sand, mud, &/or sea shells How do these sediments become rocks?

Creating the Three Sedimentary Rock Types Limestones: made from sea shells Sandstones: made from “ beach” sands Shales: made from mud and silt A Simple Example 37

Cross Section showing different Sediment layers Sand layer Mud layer Shell layer How do these soft sediments become solid rocks? Let’s follow one shell layer as it becomes a limestone

How are Solid Rocks Formed? Example: Limestones in Williamson County Edwards started out as a “shell” layer 400 feet thick What happened next? 39

Burial, compaction and dewatering. Layer after layer of sediment deposited on top of Edwards “shell” layer 40

Continued burial to depths as deep as 10,000 feet and deeper Edwards shells recrystalize to limestone with fossils 41 Many more layers of sediment deposited on top of Edwards deposited on top of Edwards What happens to newly formed rocks?

Uplift brings to the surface natural resources created at great depth: e.g. metals, coal, oil, etc 42 Deeply buried Edwards Limestone layer Uplifted, Weathered, and Eroded What did we find east of the Valley & Ridge Province?

Valley and Ridge province Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains What type of rocks do we find in these mountains?

What type of rocks do we find in the Blue Ridge Mountains? Metamorphic Rocks: sedimentary rocks buried to great depth, squeezed, crushed, & partially melted Origin of metamorphic rock types: sandstone = quartzite limestone = marble shale = slate sandstone + shale = schist = gneiss** ** most common metamorphic rocks rocks of the Blue Ridge Mountains Parallel to & east of the Blue Ridge is the Piedmont geological province The Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge mountains 300 million year old metamorphic rocks Great Smoky Mountains 600 million year old sandstones & shales Geologic Provinces of North Carolina Coastal Plain 1 to 65 million year old sand & clay Offshore Continental Shelf Recent sand & clay P i e d m o n t h i l l s m i l l i o n y e a r o l d m e t a m o r p h i c & i g n e o u s r o c k s The Piedmont geologic province Igneous & metamorphic rocks What is an igneous rock?

What is an igneous rock? Remember that Metamorphic Rocks are: sedimentary rocks buried to great depth, squeezed, crushed, & partially melted Origin of metamorphic rocks: sandstone = quartzite shale = slate limestone = marble An igneous rock one formed by complete melting & cooling of a pre-existing rock Two principle igneous rocks: granites-rhyolites & basalts-gabbros granite basalt Where do we find igneous rocks? Let’s look at the big picture

The Solid Earth Rocky Crust Plastic Rocky Upper Mantle Focus on the rocky crust

The Earth’s Rocky Crust: Two Types Oceanic Crust: 5 miles thick under the oceans: basalt Continental Crust: 20 to 50 miles thick makes the continents: granite The Mantle: “Molten” (plastic) rock below the crusts Let’s look at the Oceanic Crust

Igneous Rocks in the Earth’s Crust Oceanic Crust: 5 miles thich under the oceans Continental Crust: 20 to 50 miles thich makes the continents Mantle: Molten rock below the crusts Continental crust = granite Oceanic crust = basalt

The Earth’s Oceanic Crust The Rocky top of the Mantle Oceanic Crust: basalt 5 miles thick Ocean The Earth’s Mantle plastic (molten) rocks A world view

Oceanic Crust: dark colored rocks dense rocky top of the mantle Next the Continental Crust Oceanic Crust: dark colored rocks dense rocky top of the mantle: basalt All the dark blue are basalt All the dark blue are basalt

“Floating” on the Mantle The Earth’s Continental Crust “Floating” on the Mantle Oceanic Crust The Earth’s Mantle Continental Crust A world view

Continental Crust: light colored rocks less dense than oceanic crust “floats” on the mantle : granite How “thick” is North America compared to the whole earth?

Radius = 4000 miles Interior of Our Earth Our Earth

D i a m e t e r = m i l e s

The Crust of Our Earth Crust Crust: 5 to 50 miles thick The two types of crust

8000 miles 4000 miles = radius How thick is a continent?

2000 miles How thick is a continent?

1000 miles How thick is a continent?

500 miles How thick is a continent?

miles thick How thick is a continent? A continent is only 25 to 50 miles thick! Just one half to one quarter as thick as this orange line How far does North America extend?

Center of the earth Equator West North Pole North America How far does North America extend? South Pole South Africa Cut the earth in half through the poles The earth’s rocky crust is broken into seven major separate plates plus a number of small plates Conclusion: continents are a thin veneer on the surface of our earth Yet they move as “plates” over the face of the earth through time

The Earth’s Crustal Plates Today From E. A. Keller, 1996, Environmental Geology Pacific Plate North American Plate Crustal plates move during geologic time Plate motion in geologic time: 1. moves continents into different climate zones and 2. creates mountains when the plates collide Eurasian Plate African Plate Evidence of plate motion Recent earthquake

The Earth’s Earthquakes and Volcanoes Evidence of Plate Motion Today From E. A. Keller, 1996, Environmental Geology Recent earthquakes Mineral Virginia How were the plates configured when the Appalachian Mountains were created by plate collision?

270 million years ago: (Permian Period) The Appalachian Mountains have just been formed by the collision of North America with South America-Africa Let’s look at a more detailed map North America South America Africa

South American-African plate North American plate European plate Plate collision Appalachian Mountains A look at the collision of crustal plates Check “hidden” figs. 23 thru 28 Now to the Appalachian Mountains

Collision of Two Oceanic Plates Some modern-day examples

Modern-day examples: Collision of two oceanic plates Next; the collision of two continental plates

Collision of Two Continental Plates Appalachian Mountains A modern-day example

India: a modern day example of the collision of two continental plates And last, the collision of an oceanic plate with a continental plate

Collision of Oceanic & Continental Crust A modern-day example

Modern-day Examples of the Collision of Oceanic Plates with Continental Plates

Original music by Bob Blackshear: Nashville recording artist Song writer and singer Sun City Resident Tramping Geology through the Appalachians

Geology in the News India Tibet-China 6.9

Geology in the News

Nile geosyncline gas prone

Geology in the News Nile geosyncline gas prone

Nile geosyncline gas prone Geology in the News

Nile geosyncline gas prone Cyprus Offshore territory

Expensive production from deep water (6,000 feet+) Brazil and Canadian tar sands forecast to provide oil to replace diminishing resources in Mexico and Venezuela.

Geology in the News Computer modeling of oil & gas reservoirs using seismic, drilling, production, and conceptual data Now back to the Appalachians

As we define the history and geology of the Appalachian Mountains we’ll also focus on how human history was shaped by the geological events that created these mountains But first, a little about Geologic Time

Geologic Time Scale Human History Appalachian Mountains formed Our focus: last 570 million years

Geologic Time: Last 570 Million Years Last 5 Million Years The time of us “humans” 570,000,000 years Appalachian Mountains

Geologic Time Line: last 5 million years “Humanoid & Humanid” Fossil History 5 million ago Oldest OldestHumanoids Kenya 1970 Volcanic mud Footprints Tanzania, 1978 Now Homo Sapiens Written Human history Where are early human fossils found?

Hot Spots under Africa today Current Known Earliest Humanoid Fossils From: Ron Redfern, 2000, Origins General Area of Oldest Human ancestors A closer view A closer look at the last 5 million years

From: Ron Redfern, 2000, Origins Lake Victoria Nile River

Mt. Kilimanjaro 3.6 million year old footprints 5 Million year old Oldest Humanoid Lake Victoria

3.6 million year old Humanoid footprints Adult and child? Walking in wet volcanic ash. From: Ron Redfern, 2000, Origins A closer look at the last 5 million years

1 million years ago 2 million years ago 3 million years ago 4 million years ago Today Columbia University Lamont Geol Inst 2011 A closer look: the last 1 million years Homo erectus & Homo sapiens Added NY Times 9-11 You & Me

Homo erectus Homo Antecessor/ mauritanicus Homo rhodesiensis Homo neanderthalensis Homo sapiens Homo ergaster Focus on Homo sapiens Times of Continental Glaciation: Northern Hemisphere

Awesome Humans: 1. reasoning 2. conscience 3. adapt to any environment 4. migrated worldwide in 80,000 years Expressed in language The Current Homo Fossil Record: Last 300,000 years Time of Written World History Last ice age Human history time line

One Million Years Ago Now Human History Time Line: aka Recent Geologic Time Line Now 100,000 Years Ago Last Ice Age AD human history BC 100,000Years 1,000,000Years 500,000Years 12,000 Years Ago Next, Eurasia 10,000 years ago

The Last Ice Age: Eurasia From: Ron Redfern, 2000, Origins Last Continental Glacier 110,000 to 10,000 ybp

Last continental glacier: Eurasia Last continental glacier: North America Human land path Other views of human migration

Rift Valleys Nile River Migration of Humans into Eurasia

Possible Migration Route of Humans into the Western Hemisphere I t ’ s a 1 5, m i l e w a l k f r o m K e n y a t o t h e S o u t h e r n A p p a l a c h i a n s ! ! ! More specific routes

Alternate route current theory: Asia to North America by sea

Alternate route current theory: Asia to North America by sea The awesome challenge of migrating by sea

The awesome challenge of migrating by sea Early human artifacts in the vicinity of the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains Pre-Clovis artifact sites Evidence of early humans in the Appalachians Might early humans in the USA have arrived much earlier than pre-Clovis (15,000 years ago)?

pre-Clovis artifacts How do Clovis and per-Clovis artifacts differ?

Pre-Clovis and Clovis artifacts Back to when did humans first come to North America?

Appalachian Mountains Pre-Clovis artifact sites Evidence of early humans in the Appalachians But when did they first come to North America? Might it have been while the glacier was growing rather than when it was at it maximum extent?

Last Four Ice Ages Homo sapiens Looking at the last glacial period

15,000 years ago pre-Clovis 35,000 years ago glacial recession Possible migration of early humans into North America 35, 000 years ago The big picture Last glacial period

Possible Intra-glaciation Migration of Humans from Asia to North America 35,000 years ago mid-late glacial period 15,000 years ago What did early humans find on their way to Appalachia?

Possible Migration Route 35,000 years ago during glacial regression Appalachian Mountains Or 15,000 years ago

Possible Migration Route 15,000 years ago during last glacial maximum Appalachian Mountains What was this 6000 mile trek like?

Possible drainage challenges of migration during a glacial recession What might the Canadian portion of the migration route looked like?

NorthSouth Glacier Cold hostile climate!

Possible drainage challenges of migration during a glacial recession Cold hostile climate What did First Nation People find when they finally got to Appalachia?

Appalachian Mountains Melting glacier Maximum extent of last glacier What did Appalachia look like as First Nation People approached it from the west? Following the rivers, staying away from the melting glacier

A Land of Long Ridges and Valleys And east of this region What made the ridges & valleys?

Blue Ridge Mountains Valley & Ridge province Ridge Valley Next Week

First Nation People arrive and explore Southern Appalachia Next Week