Author Archives: Ryan Haupt

Photos from Spring Fieldtrip 2022

SAVE THE DATE: 2022 GSW Spring Fieldtrip, second announcement

Proterozoic and Paleozoic evolution of the Blue Ridge geologic province in northern Virginia

Bill Burton, Steve Schindler and Alan Pitts, USGS

Saturday, May 14 at 9 AM, starting in Haymarket, VA

A one-day trip across the northern Virginia Blue Ridge geologic province highlighting published geologic mapping and geochronology of Mesoproterozoic rocks that constitute the core of the Blue Ridge anticlinorium and Neoproterozoic cover-sequence rocks on the fold limbs.

 Directions to meeting place from I-66 W:  Take I-66 W in the direction of Front Royal.  Take exit number 40 to US-RT 15 NTurn right onto Heathcote Blvd.  Take the next right into the Heathcote Blvd Park and Ride.  This is a VDOT commuter parking lot where we can leave cars safely for the day. There are no restroom facilities or food services at this location. For restrooms or snacks, plan to stop before arriving at the meeting point–for example, at the Sheetz Gas station on the south side of I-66 just 5 mins from this location, which is part of a larger shopping center with a Subway, Aldie Grocery Store, and others.  Arrive early if you need to use these services.  Introductory remarks in the parking lot will start at 9 AM.  We will need to consolidate cars before leaving—please carpool to the meeting place if you can. 

Field guide only available in advance – email PDF request to burtonwc5@gmail.com

(To download this announcement as a Word doc, click here: GSW fieldtrip 2022, second announcement)

SAVE THE DATE: 2022 GSW Spring Fieldtrip, first announcement

Proterozoic and Paleozoic evolution of the Blue Ridge geologic province in northern Virginia

Bill Burton and Steve Schindler, USGS

Saturday, May 14

[Details will be provided at a future date]

Questions?  Contact Bill Burton at burtonwc5@gmail.com

(To download this announcement as a Word doc, click here: GSW fieldtrip 2022)

NASEM Announcement – America’s Geoheritage II: Distinguished Speaker Webinar Series

The U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is presenting the America’s Geoheritage II: Identifying, Developing, and Preserving America’s Natural Legacy Distinguished Speaker Webinar Series throughout fall 2020, many Tuesdays at 11:00 am EDT. These presentations will introduce the underlying rationale and concepts of the Geoheritage initiative, and the contributions that are being made by numerous stakeholders in the geoscience community. These presentations are free and open to everyone interested in using Geoheritage sites to promote research, education, public outreach, community planning, and geotourism. These presentations will set the stage for a virtual writing part of the workshop that will be convened the week of January 10, 2021 to further explore opportunities to develop and promote Geoheritage sites across the United States.  Save the dates, be informed, and plan to contribute to Geoheritage in your own geologic setting!

Attached are a complete flyer for the series and one for the inaugural September 8, 2020 webinar with Tim Badman (IUCN) and Patty Limerick (University of Colorado, Boulder) as our keynote speakers.  For more details about this first presentation, and to register please visit:  https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/09-08-2020/celebrating-americas-geoheritage .

For a complete list of webinar dates, topics, and speakers in the series and to register for each individual webinar, please visit https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/americas-geoheritage-ii-a-workshop .

“Stories in Stone” Virtual Field Trip Announcement

The Geological Society of Washington is pleased to present a virtual field trip experience, “Stories in Stone” hosted by author David Williams on Wed. Aug 26 at 8:00 pm ET. An invitation with a link to the Zoom virtual meeting is included below.

We will start the virtual meeting at 7:30 pm to allow some time for social connections and setup, and the event will start at 8:00 pm ET. We hope you can join!

Stories in Stone – Most people do not think of looking for geology from the sidewalks they travel, but for the intrepid geologist any good rock can tell a fascinating story. On this virtual walk, which incorporates illustrations and photographs, you will explore a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics, from 3.5-billion-year-old gneiss to 120,000 years old travertine; a fossil rich limestone that is the most commonly used building stone in the United States, and the granite that led to the construction of the first commercial railroad in America. In this tour of building stone in the U.S. and Italy, I will discuss history, transportation, and architecture to give you a new way to appreciate urban geology. Plus, you’ll even be able to “visit” a couple of quarries and see where the stone originates.

Bio: David B. Williams is an author, naturalist, and tour guide and author of Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology, which forms the basis for this talk. He is also the author of the award-winning book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography, which explores the unprecedented engineering projects that shaped Seattle during the early part of the twentieth century, as well as Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City and Cairns: Messengers in Stone. Williams is a Curatorial Associate at the Burke Museum. His next book, Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, will be published in Spring 2021.

Day and Time: Aug 26, 2020 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

To Attend: Please e-mail Daniel Doctor for the Zoom link to attend.