SECTION V. GEOLOGY
Objectives
The objectives and concepts listed in this and the next section were used to assist high school teachers with ways to
teach about earth history in the area of geology and the related time issues.
1) Geology as a subject – The purpose of the exercises will be to assist the teacher in knowing the basic
terminology of geology, in identifying geological features in the field, and in understanding how geologists
work. When finished the teacher will know from hands-on experience:
o Basic rock types – based on hand samples identified in the lab and collected in the field that can later be
used in the classroom
o Fundamental rock structures – at hand sample size, outcrop size, and regional size with pictures that can
later be used in the classroom
o Interpreted processes – based on rock types and structures for sedimentary environments, fossil
preservation, igneous and metamorphic pressures and temperatures, and plate tectonics
o Practical applications of geology
o Representative examples – from many localities that can then be applied to the teacher’s location to
develop his/her own teaching unit
2) Time issues – Using these geology basics the teacher will be able to understand the significance of the
following geological time issues:
o Rates – the evidence for both rapid, catastrophic activity and slower, uniform activity. Biology would seem
to require at least trillions of years to arrive at the observed complexity by random chance. Astronomy
requires billions of years for stellar evolution and light travel. Geology does not necessarily require
hundreds of millions of years for many of its processes, but it does require more than a single year.
Theology seems to require only thousands of years. Physics and radiometric dating are the only absolute
technique for determining the millions to billions of years.
o Relative time – yielding the vertical and lateral order in the fossil record. The relative sequence seems valid
independent of any absolute time model.
o Research – examples related to origins issues
o Importance – what is the theological significance of various models for time
3) Models – The teacher will recognize:
o The big picture – vertical fossil sequence, horizontal rock location, and time … as modeled in the standard
paradigm by the geologic column, plate tectonics, and radiometric dating
o Variety – of possible models for explaining the geological record
o Complexity – that the geological record is not formed from a simple “bathtub” model with the water merely
getting deeper and then shallower
o Naturalistic flood models – are not available to compete with the standard scientific models
o Uncertainty – and a certain amount of tentativeness that must be accepted in presenting earth history
models, but also methods for dealing with the uncertainty and conflict
o Answers – that Seventh-day Adventists have in relation to theology and design
4) Attitudes – The teacher will come to emphasize:
o Interaction/collaboration rather than confrontation/fighting in dealing with science and religion issues
5) Informed faith – The teacher will come to better:
o Respect both the Biblical record and the scientific process
o Evaluate claims of theologians and scientists in the area of earth origins
o Enjoy the spectacular scenery and the beauties of God’s creation
o Trust the God of creation who is much bigger than anything we can understand with our finite
comprehension
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Geological Concepts
Rock Types
Sedimentary – rocks deposited by water or wind
Clastic: conglomerate
 LOCATIONS: Spectacular conglomerates can be found in the Cadomin Fm and in the gritstone of the Miette
near Lake Louise and Jasper.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Conglomerate deposits made up of pebbles required rapidly moving water to
transport them. Higher energy deposition can be said to be more catastrophic. Clasts (rock pieces) in the
conglomerate are the best indicators of provenance before deposition (i.e., source).
Clastic: sandstone
 LOCATIONS: Sandstone can be found in some of the Mesozoic formations, such as the Brazeau, Kootenay,
and Fernie.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Sandstone is made up of sand grains that were deposited in an intermediate
energy environment such as near-shore marine, or terrestrial streams.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Sand is used for making glass. Sand and gravel are generally the most
economically valuable mining material in any locality.
Clastic: shale
 LOCATIONS: Shale can be found in some of the Mesozoic formations, such as the Brazeau, Kootenay, and
Fernie.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Shale is formed from clay deposited in a low energy environment. Sometimes
clay can be precipitated rapidly, but is usually considered to be deposited slowly from quiet water in a marine
or lake environment.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Clay is mined for use in making ceramics. Kaolinite clay is thought to be of
continental origin and the result of diagenetic (post-depositional) alteration. Shale that weathers to bentonite
clay can cause heaving foundations and roads. Clay must be compacted to shale by up to 70% before it can
form a seal for a petroleum reservoir.
Chemical: limestone
 LOCATIONS: Much of the Paleozoic is limestone, including the Devonian Fairholme reef.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Massive limestone is usually interpreted as formed in a marine environment
from the breakdown and recrystallization of calcium carbonate structures of living organisms such as shells,
corals, and many other simpler organisms. This would seem to take time.
Limestone is easily dissolved by moving ground water leaving behind underground caves and surface karst
topography. The calcium carbonate can then precipitate out in caves as speleothems (cave formations).
Again, the question of time for dissolution and precipitation is an issue.
Both ancient and modern limestone reefs would require time for formation by living organisms.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Limestone is quarried for making cement. Oil exploration often finds that
reefs can be good traps for oil. Limestone is used as a building material, e.g., all the buildings in Jerusalem.
Chemical: evaporites – gypsum
 LOCATIONS: Gypsum can be found in some Mississippian Golden Embayment rocks south of Banff N.P.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Evaporite deposits are usually interpreted to form from evaporation of sea water
in hot, dry conditions, but can also form underwater from brines. The purity of evaporites is hard to model.
The formation of gypsum requires huge amounts of the sulfate ion (SO 42-).
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Gypsum is mined, e.g., for wall board (sheet rock).
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Organic: coal, oil
 LOCATIONS: Major oil and gas reserves are found in the Devonian Fairholme and the Cardium Fms. Coal
is mined from the Kootenay Group. Coal continues to burn in mines in the Crowsnest Pass area south of
Banff.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Oil is usually considered to come mostly from algae deposited slowly on the
ocean floor. Coal is explained as coming from plant material growing in swamp areas. The purity of coal is
hard to model. The book Patriarch and Prophets refers to underground burning coal seams.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Oil and coal (and associated natural gas) are currently the world’s major
energy sources, currently greater than 60% for Southern California Edison.
Igneous – rocks formed from magma or lava
Intrusive: granitic type rock formed by slow cooling of magma underground
 LOCATIONS: Large areas in British Columbia, but only seen on this excursion at Crowfoot Dyke.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: It takes a significant amount of time for large igneous intrusions (batholiths) to
cool from a magma.
Extrusive: volcanic rock formed by rapid cooling of lava above ground
 LOCATIONS: Volcanic ash from Mt Mazama can be seen at the Saskatchewan River Crossing
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Volcanos exemplify the typical geological catastrophe.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Volcanoes are a significant geological hazard that can be mitigated by
proper monitoring to warn of eruptions.
Mining
 LOCATIONS: Lead and zinc were mined near Kicking Horse Pass in the area of Field, BC.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Gold and precious stones were readily available before the flood, but now
difficult to find. (PP90,108)
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Most mineral resources come from igneous rock.
Geothermal
 LOCATIONS: Hot springs at Banff and Radium Hot Springs
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Rate of heat flow is a significant time issue.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Geothermal energy is a significant untapped energy resource, currently 9%
for Southern California Edison, up from 4% in 2005.
Metamorphic – rocks changed by high pressure and/or temperature
Slate, schist [shiny micaceous surfaces], and gneiss [light/dark bands] – formed from shale type rocks
 LOCATIONS: The Miette Grp near Lake Louise contains slate.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Apparently requires time for a cycle of sediment deposition, deep burial for
elevated pressures and temperatures, exhumation (removal of overlying rock), and erosion to see present
outcrops. The formation of large crystals is assumed to require time, but is also aided by significant water
content in the rock.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Beautiful and exotic gem quality mineral specimens are often found in
metamorphic rocks.
Quartzite – formed from sandstone
 LOCATIONS: Gog quartzite near Snowbird Glacier and Mt Wilson Fm near Saskatchewan River Crossing.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Pure quartzites seem to requires several cycles of deposition and erosion that
would take time -- formation of the original rock, erosion, transport, deposition of the second formation,
lithification, uplift, and erosion to see the current outcrop.
Marble – formed from limestone
 LOCATIONS: In Marble Canyon along the road toward Radium Hot Springs
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Apparently requires time for limestone deposition, burial, intrusion of magma
to elevate temperatures of the limestone, and exhumation (removal of overlying rock).
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Quarried for building stone and sculptures.
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Geologic Processes
Water movement
Flooding
 LOCATIONS: The Cadomin conglomerate suggests deposition by flash flooding.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: The catastrophic effects of rapidly moving water are often forgotten until it is
too late.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Dams, reservoirs, and weather forecasting are used to try to mitigate flood
hazards.
Erosion/weathering
 LOCATIONS: Examples of erosion can be seen in many places, but Johnston Canyon is spectacular.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Present-day rates of river erosion world-wide would remove the continents in
much less than a billion years. Chemical weathering of granitic rock takes time to turn it to clay.
Stream meanders require slow moving water. Rapidly moving water forms a straighter riverbed. How can
entrenched meanders form quickly?
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Rapid erosion causes rapid loss of the fertile top soils to the oceans.
Sedimentation
Turbidites
 LOCATIONS: Mega-turbidites in the Miette Grp west of the town of Jasper and turbidites in the Fernie Fm
near the town of Banff.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Turbidites are rapidly deposited sedimentary layers. Some flood geologists have
used turbidite deposits to explain how thick sequences of sedimentary material can be deposited in a
relatively short period of time.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Turbidity currents that deposited turbidites were responsible for the
breaking of multiple trans-Atlantic cables on the Grand Banks off Nova Scotia in 1929.
Cross bedding
 LOCATIONS: In the Gog quartzite north of the Icefields Center
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Cross bedding is interpreted as often coming from dune deposits, either
underwater or in desert dunes. Desert dunes could be difficult to fit into the middle of a world-wide flood.
Terrestrial geologic processes, i.e., not by water
Glaciation
 LOCATIONS: Evidence of continental glaciation such as U-shaped valleys, moraines, glacial erratics, roches
moutonnée, and striations can be seen throughout the Banff and Jasper N.P. area.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: How much time is required for Pleistocene glaciation, considering the number
of layers in the ice cores? How does one explain evidence for glaciation, such as striations and erratics, in the
middle of the geologic record?
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Ice cores are studied in an effort to understand global warming.
Landslides
 LOCATIONS: Along the main road through Banff N.P.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Landslide striations have been used as an alternative explanation to glacial
striations. Landslides exemplify a typical geological catastrophe.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Landslides and soil creep cause more monetary damage to property than any
other hazard, but it can be mitigated by proper building regulations.
Soil formation
 LOCATIONS: Paleosols in the Rundle Grp near Canmore and in the Ranger Cyn Fm northeast of
Saskatchewan River Crossing.
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ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Soil horizons take longer than a year to form, but the evidence for soil horizons
in the geologic record may be equivocal.
PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Once a fertile soil horizon is destroyed by erosion of poorly cultivated land,
it is a difficult process to redevelop fertile land.
Extraterrestrial impacts
 LOCATIONS: One explanation the geological community gives for the mass mortality at the CretaceousTertiary (K-T) boundary is an extraterrestrial impact in the area of the Yucatan Peninsula resulting in a
world-wide iridium anomaly at this horizon. The K-T boundary occurs in the Willow Creek Fm south of
Banff.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: An extraterrestrial impact with an accompanying mass extinction exemplifies
the typical geological catastrophe.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Attempts have been made to monitor potentially dangerous meteors in
regions close to earth’s orbit. It has been suggested that correctly setting a nuclear explosion on one might
deflect its path away from collision with the earth.
Tectonics – earth movements
Plate tectonics
 LOCATIONS: The mountain building (orogeny) of the Precambrian and of the present Rocky Mountains are
explained by plate tectonic compression.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: How are the movements of the continental plates explained in a short time
frame?
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Plate tectonics is the greatest unifying concept in physical geology. All of
the following tectonic features are explained in terms of plate tectonics.
Folding
 LOCATIONS: Large synclines can be seen in several places along the Icefields Parkway. An especially
noticeable syncline can be seen on Cascade Mtn near Banff.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Mountain building (orogeny) and other tectonic movements are high energy
processes. Folding can be due to slow movement and plastic deformation or more rapid movement of poorly
lithified sediments.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Shale folded into an anticline can act as an oil and gas trap.
Faulting, including thrust faults
 LOCATIONS: Numerous thrust faults can be observed throughout the Canadian Rocky Mtns.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Thrust faulting requires enormous amounts of energy. Faulting is brittle
deformation and generally assumed to be due to relatively abrupt movement.
Earthquakes
 LOCATIONS: It is assumed that earthquakes are the result of any sudden motion along faults, especially the
many thrust faults in the Banff area
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Earthquakes exemplify the typical geological catastrophe.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Earthquakes are a significant geological hazard that can only partially be
mitigated by proper building codes in areas where recent earthquakes are known to have occurred.
Paleontology
Fossilization processes
 LOCATIONS: Tyrrell Museum displays.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Fossilization generally requires rapid burial.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Some level of organic preservation is necessary for coal and oil formation.
Mass extinctions/mortalities, lagerstätten – good preservation
 LOCATIONS: Tyrrell Museum displays
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Good preservation probably requires some kind of catastrophic action.
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Dinosaurs
 LOCATIONS: Royal Tyrrell Museum
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Dinosaurs did really exist. How does one explain their distribution in the
geologic column? Were they God’s creation or just the result of sin?
Fossil sequence – trends, patterns
 LOCATIONS: We will walk through the fossil sequence of the geologic column at the Royal Tyrrell
Museum.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: The order suggests some kind of evolutionary sequence.
 PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The fossil sequence is used in exploration for natural resources to determine
the location in the geologic column.
Ecological life zones
 LOCATIONS: various life zones can be observed at different elevations in the parks.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Ecological zonation theory is part of the creationist explanation for the order in
the fossil record.
Overall Rock/Fossil Sequence
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LOCATIONS: Rock layers from most periods of the geologic column will be visible in sequence at several
areas.
ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: The sequence in the geologic column appears to be real, not just an artificial
construct.
PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The rock sequence is used in exploration for natural resources.
Wide-spread deposits
 LOCATIONS: Several of the formations in Banff cover wide areas.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: These and other wide-spread deposits have been used as evidence for a widespread flood.
Unconformities – angular
 LOCATIONS: A slight angular unconformity can be seen between the Gog Grp and the Miette Grp at the
southern end of the Icefields Parkway
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Angular unconformities indicate the passage of time for deposition of the lower
sediments, their burial and lithification, angular uplift, erosion, then deposition of the upper sediments,
lithification, and erosion. This was the convincing evidence of time for James Hutton at Siccar Point in
Scotland.
Unconformities – paraconformity
 LOCATIONS: The Silurian gap can be seen in a roadcut north of the town of Jasper.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: Based on the fossil record, millions to tens of millions of years appear to be
missing, but looking at the contacts often shows no evidence of long times of non-deposition and erosion.
Radiometric dating
 LOCATIONS: Few igneous rocks can be seen in our field areas, but the volcanic ash from Mt Mazama found
at Saskatchewan River Crossing could be radiometrically dates.
 ORIGINS SIGNIFICANCE: The radioactive parent-daughter ratios of various isotopes indicate millions of
years of radioactive decay.
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