Hi everyone, We hope your summer was a good one and rewarding for you and your family!!
We will visit an outstanding, operating granite quarry at Wake Stone's Knightdale quarry, where there will a chance to collect specimens including feldspar, graphic granite, mica and amethyst.
The cost of the Geology Field Trip is $35.00 per student. There is no charge to parents/drivers. Contact us if you would like details about a multiple sibling or scout group discount. Once you register for the trip, we will send you directions to our meeting place.
To register for any trip, or if you'd like more information, please contact rgreengeology@gmail.com. We accept PayPal or pay by check.
Our first destination is a 400-foot deep quarry in Wake Co., NC, where we will be looking at the geologic history near the boundary between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. These rocks record a time in North Carolina's past characterized by mega-earthquakes, intrusions of magma chambers and the emplacement of mineralized veins rich in unique minerals.
The Knightdale area is bounded by a major plate tectonic boundary formed when ancient Africa collided with ancient North America to create the super-continent called Pangaea. An event very similar to what happened when the Indian subcontinent collided with the Asian continent to push up the modern Himalayas. Just as today we see major earthquakes happening all along that collision zone, in ancient times, our area experienced cataclysmic earthquakes.
The rocks at the quarry tell us this history by their texture and we will see examples on our trip. Textures of the rocks also reveal that a transform boundary (strike-slip fault system) similar to the San Andreas fault also existed in this area hundreds of millions of years ago. Raleigh, so tectonically quiet now, was once a mountainous area rocked by massive, high-magnitude earthquakes!
On the trip, we will enjoy a special opportunity for rock and mineral collection and learn about the economic importance of these rocks. Rock and mineral specimens we can expect to see include: orthoclase, plagioclase, quartz and micas. We may see some amethyst, we collected this mineral on our last trip to the quarry. The intrusive igneous rock, granite, is similar in composition to the Sierra Nevada and has a similar geologic history.
We'll follow the first stop with a trip to see the unique Raleigh gneiss at Fall's Lake Dam. Bring a lunch to enjoy! We will picnic there at a site with a fantastic overview of the lake. For those interested, Rob will lead a hike at Falls Lake to show you the outstanding geology exposed along the shore line of Falls Lake.This will be a great chance to burn off some steam while enjoying outdoors time.
Because, the quarry will need an accurate 'head count', please let us know as soon as you can, if you will be attending and how many will be in your party : )
Upon registration we will send you additional info about what to bring along and field any questions that you have for us.
Please feel free to forward this email to others who you think will be interested. We would love to grow our list of geology enthusiasts!
We look forward to seeing everyone!
Mary Watson & Rob Greenberg
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