G/M 309 Reading Assignment #7
(for the Field Trip to Ocean Beach on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005)
Read “Trip 5: Fort Funston” in our “textbook”, Geologic Trips, by Ted
Konigsmark.
The purpose of the reading is to learn about the recent (i.e., late Cenozoic)
geologic history of San Francisco (and surrounding area). The story is told largely by
sediments and sedimentary rocks, but there was also some igneous activity. While
reading, pay particular attention to the sedimentary environments in which the sediments
were deposited. Take note of how the sedimentary environments and the general
geologic conditions changed with time.
You do not have to hand in written responses to these questions; rather, they are
designed to help you focus on what consider the most important parts of the assigned
reading.
Thinking about Ocean Beach (and the northernmost part of Fort Funston) in particular:
1. What were the geologic and climatic conditions that caused the deposition of the
sediments?
2. What was the timing of the various changes in geologic and climatic conditions?
3. How did changes in geologic and climatic conditions affect the types of sediment
that were deposited?
4. Were there intervals of time when no sediments were deposited and erosion was
the dominant process occurring?
5. What caused the various transgressions and regressions?
6. Compared to the geologic past, what present-day geologic and climatic conditions
exist that enable us to see the rocks and sediments
7. What geologic and climatic conditions dominate in the present-day?