News Release, Kansas Geological Survey, Sept. 25, 2001
With several stops east of El Dorado, the field trip will provide a general introduction to the geology of the region. At Eureka City Lake, participants will learn about basic bedrock geology: limestones, shales, and sandstones that were deposited during the Pennsylvanian Period, about 300 million years ago. The trip will also stop at Toronto Lake to investigate sandstone deposits and then visit a quarry near Buffalo to learn about a rare (in Kansas) igneous, or once-molten, rock. Participants will also have an opportunity to collect fossils at one or two sites.
The field trip, which will depart Saturday morning from El Dorado, is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, and space is limited. A $15 registration fee will be charged per person. Additional information about this and previous field trips is available on the GeoKansas web site at www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/fieldtrips.html.
In addition to the bus trip, the Survey is also conducting a walking tour of geologic features in downtown Wichita. The tour will be led by Larry Skelton, Survey assistant director and manager of the Wichita Well Sample Library, a branch of the Survey. The tour will last about an hour and will introduce participants to a variety of stones used in downtown buildings. The walking tour is free of charge.
This is the second public field trip the Survey has conducted in celebration of Earth Science Week. Earth Science Week was established in 1998 by the American Geological Institute (AGI), based in Alexandria, Virginia, to educate people about the Earth and earth sciences. To find out more about Earth Science Week or to request an information kit, visit their web site at www.earthsciweek.org.
To register for either trip, contact Liz Brosius (785-864-2063; lbrosius@kgs.ku.edu) or Rex Buchanan (785-864-2106; rex@kgs.ku.edu) at the Kansas Geological Survey.