Wednesday, January 19 Sedimentary Rocks and processes
      Types of sedimentary rocks
      Depositional Environments

Reading: Chapter 5, p. 104-123.  Make sure you understand the basic classification scheme of sedimentary rocks: clastic vs. chemical vs. biogenic (the book calls biogenic "organic").  Then, within each of those categories are various types.  For clastic rocks, the different types are distinguished by grain size; for chemical and biogenic rocks, the different types are distinguished by composition.  Then, read carefully the section on "Origin of sedimentary rocks".  Pay special attention to figure 5.9 and the photographs in figures 5.10 through 5.20.  Also, our website has a lot of photos of depositional environments postedógo there now!
 

Friday, January 21      Sedimentary Rocks and processes
                                       Stratigraphic Sequences
                                       Geologic Time

Reading: textbook Chapter 5, p. 124-129; Handout: "How old is the earth? Why should we care?"   In the text, read carefully p. 124, Stratigraphic Sequences, and study figure 5.21.  If you were hiking down the canyon of figure 5.21E, what could you say about the geologic history of the area?   From the handout, how do thick sequences of sedimentary rock demonstrate a great age for the earth?  Why is this important?
 

Saturday, January 22  Optional Field Trip: Roseburg, Oregon Coast.

On to week 4