Geology of Texas (GEOL 3000.001) Fall 2011
Wednesdays, 2:00-4:50 PM, 190 ENV
Course Outline
WeekTopic
August
31Introduction: Tectonics, Time, Fossils and Environments
September
7Precambrian Texas: Paleogeography; The Grenville Accretion; Llano, Franklin
14Paleozoic Tectonic Cycle; Rifting, The Cambro-Ordovician Transgression
21Cambro-Ordovician environments; petroleum resources; Middle Paleozoic
28EXAM I
Ouachita Orogeny and Formation of Pangaea; Marathon geologic record
October
5Ouachita Orogeny: The Fort Worth Basin; Barnett Shale gas; Pennsylvanian environments and economic resources
12Pangaea and Permian environments; The Delaware Basin; Permian Mass Extinction
19Triassic-Jurassic; Dockum Fm; first dinosaurs; Breakup of Pangaea
26Cretaceous Transgressions – Edwards Plateau
November
2EXAM II
9Cretaceous of North Texas; rock types and environments; basis for modern landscape; groundwater hydrology
16K/T Boundary and the Trans-Pecos Basins
23THANKSGIVING – No class
30Tertiary Texas: Llano Estacado and Gulf Coastal Plain
December
7Pleistocene Texas and Paleoindians
14FINAL EXAM (1:30-3:30 PM)
GEOLOGY OF TEXAS
Geology 3000.001 - Fall 2011
Instructor: Dr. Reid Ferring
Office Hours: 10-11:00 Tu and 10-11 W; or by appointment; Office: 242 ENV
Phone:Office: 565-2993
Home : 387-4874
email:
Course Requirements:
1. Students will be dropped from the class after three absences. 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. There will be three exams. The first two will be one hour exams given in class. The final will be non-cumulative, and will be given at the university scheduled time (Wednesday, 14 Dec, 1:30-3:30 PM).
3. Each student will prepare either a) term paper on an appropriate subject; or b) a geology project on a chosen area of the state (county or region). Guidelines for each of these will be distributed soon.
NOTE: Students taking this class for graduate credit must do a project and a paper. These two products will count 40% of the course grade.
4. The camping field trip to Llano is scheduled for October 14-16, and attendance is required. Unavoidable conflicts with field trip participation must be discussed with the instructor prior to the fieldtrip, and an exercise in lieu of the trip will be assigned. University vans will be provided for the trip. You will have to provide your tent, sleeping bag/pad, and all beverages. Your other camping expenses are covered from your course fee.
Course grading:
The course grade will be based on:
three exams (equal value):70%
geology project / paper 30%
Text:
No suitable text is available for this course, but the listed below are recommended and required materials:
Required:
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.
“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 projects):
1. 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).
2. 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)
3. 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.
4. 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. Use in your projects, available in Willis Library, documents section. Cost: $6 each.
5. 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 counted absent.
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, 2007, 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 2007 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.