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| DESCRIPTION |
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| Field Location: Arches
National Park.
Geologic Feature: Eolian and fluvial deposits. Deposition under relatively arid conditions. Necessary Background Information: Jurassic tectonic configuration. Geologic Problem: Determine the environments represented and document them. Discuss how changes through time and space related to sea level, climate, tectonics. Rock Units Exposed Triassic/Jurassic Wingate Sandstone, Jurassic Kayenta Formation and Navajo Sandstone. Skills: Correlation and interpretation of measured sections. Petrographic interpretation of sand grain sizes, grading, sources and morphology. Other Questions to Consider: (1) Which way is up? - what clues tell the orientation of a sedimentary layer. (2) Compare the depositional rates of sediments from an arid to a wet climate. (3) What do geologic ages represent? - study of rock unit differences across a major time boundary. Anticipated Outcomes: Increased awareness of depositional environments. Correlation of rock units to geologic time scale transitions. |