MINERALOGY FIELD TRIP
North Carolina and Georgia
September 21 to September 25, 2011
INTRODUCTION
As an important part of the class, you are required to participate in a field trip to
the region around the common border of Georgia and North Carolina. The field trip will
be lead by Dr. Jim Vogl. You will use the department vans to get there and will prepare
some of your own meals (breakfast and lunch) and eat out for others (dinners). Expenses
will be kept to a minimum, and will depend on the cost of gas, camp fees, food, entrance
fees for museums etc. Dr. Vogl or I will give you a better estimate closer to the trip, but
in the past these expenses have ranged around $20. You should give that money to your
TA’s as soon as possible so that we may reserve campgrounds. Your food will be
additional. Everyone in the class is required to go.
The trip has several objectives: to provide you with experience of seeing rocks in
their native habitat, to let you try to identify minerals in the wild, and to give you a taste
of geologic field work (yes - geologists still work in the field!!!). The area contains
numerous good exposures of a variety of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.
These rocks contain both common and rare minerals, and some may be difficult to
identify. Identifying the minerals will be an important part of the trip, but not as
important as a complete and accurate description of the minerals, including their textures,
physical properties and assemblages. These descriptions will be how you ultimately
identify the minerals.
This trip will be more than just “show and tell” – you are responsible for
keeping a neat and organized field book. The field book is how you will be evaluated
(i.e., graded) and this grade will represent a fraction of your total lab grade. As you
prepare you notebook, ask yourself the following questions as well as any others you may
think of. Then try to find the answers by discussing (not asking) the questions with other
students, the TA’s, or Dr. Vogl. Write in your notebook while you make observations,
think of additional questions, and formulate possible answers. At a minimum, your
description should include the location of the outcrops (we will have maps available) and
the minerals, rocks, and structures that you find there. You should include a sketch, with
a scale, of every outcrop you take notes on- photographs can also be quite useful. Include
pictures of minerals, rock, and outcrops and label them. If you take pictures, keep track
in your notebook of what you have photographed. Otherwise, you may not remember
once they are developed/printed. Your notebooks should be field books, ie. write in them
in the field - there is no point in writing information in the books once you have returned
home.
Suggested Questions:
• Where are we?
• How many different types of minerals are in the rocks?
• How many different types of rocks are present?
• What are the characteristics of the minerals? Describe their textures, physical
properties, and how they make up the rocks.
• What large scale structural features are visible in the outcrops?
• Are there any other interesting or unusual features?
Your field book should be a small, waterproof, bound engineering style notebook.
These books are available at the bookstore. Your notebook should be organized as a road
log for each stop and it should include a thorough description of each outcrop.
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YOUR NOTEBOOKS ARE DUE ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH – THE LAST
DAY OF THE FIELD TRIP
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES:
You might find some or all of these supplies useful. The bold items are very
highly recommended (i.e. required). Space in the vans is likely to be limited so pack
sparingly.
(1) Personal items:
Warm Clothes – the temperature can drop below freezing some nights
Cool Clothes
Rain gear
Sturdy shoes (flip flops are not allowed in the field)
Hat
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Bug spray
Sleeping Bag (a warm one – not a flannel one with pictures of Barbie or
ducks!)
Tent
Flashlight/Lantern
Toiletries: Soap, toothbrush, etc.
Towel
Necessary medicines
Food for breakfast and lunch. We will stop at grocery stores in the
evening after leaving the field, so you only need to purchase food
for the following day. Dinners will be at restaurants.
Camera
(2) For field work
Rock hammer (do not bring carpenters’ hammers – the steel is not
tempered and will shatter on the rocks)
Hand lens
Notebook
Pens and pencils
Eye Protection (Safety Goggles- Chem lab glasses work fine)
Sample bags
Mineral identification sheets/books
Information about the field area
(3) At all times
A sense of humor
Flexibility
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