FIELD TRIPS
Please direct questions related to the following sessions to the Field Trip Chair: Angela Chandler, or contact the trip leaders. All trips depart the Little Rock Marriott unless otherwise noted.
Pre-Meeting
- 1. Lithostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy of the Mississippian across Northern Arkansas.
Cosponsored by the GSA Sedimentary Division
Friday and Saturday, 9–10 March, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Canceled
- 2. Minerals and Geologic History of Magnet Cove.
Saturday, 10 March, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
US$40 (includes transportation, lunch, and a snack)
- Principal Organizer: Corbin Cannon, Arkansas Geological Survey, corbin.cannon
arkansas.gov.
Co-Organizers: Lea Nondorf, Terracon, lea.m.tiptongmail.com; Christopher DeGarmo, Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, christopher.degarmoarkansas.gov.
Description: Magnet Cove is an area of unusual petrologic and mineralogical interest that is located in northern Hot Spring County, Arkansas, about 12 miles east of the city of Hot Springs. This field trip will take attendees through a series of stops exploring the Magnet Cove intrusive complex and the surrounding alteration zone, which have long been known for the presence of unusual minerals. Over 100 mineral species have been found, including some unique to the area. Attendees will be taken to sites that reveal examples of the different igneous rocks of the intrusion, typically varieties of syenites and ijolites that are nepheline-rich and silica-poor. Textures range from fine-grained to coarse-grained and are often porphyritic. We will also visit an intrusion of carbonatite near the center of the cove. This igneous form of calcite is relatively rare in outcrop and contains a variety of interesting accessory minerals.
- 3. Educators in the Field: Bringing Earth and Space Science into Context.
Cosponsored by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Geo2YC Division; The International Association for Geoscience Diversity.
Saturday, 10 March, 1–5 p.m. Canceled
- 4. Healing Springs of Arkansas.
Saturday and Sunday, 10–11 March, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Canceled
- 5. Hot Springs National Park and Finding Quartz Crystals.
Sunday, 11 March, 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
US$40 (includes entrance fees and transportation; participants are responsible for meals)
- Principal Organizer: Doug Hanson, Arkansas Geological Survey, doug.hansonarkansas.gov.
Co-organizer: Ty Johnson, Arkansas Geological Survey, ty.johnsonarkansas.gov.
Description: Spend half a day along Central Avenue in Hot Springs learning about the geology of the hot springs and geo-hazards in the area. Hear about the long, strange trip rainwater has undergone before becoming a hot spring. Next, spend the rest of the day looking for world famous quartz crystals (Arkansas’ state mineral) at a local mine.
- 6. Lake Ouachita Geofloat.
Sunday, 11 March, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
US$40 (includes transportation and meals)
- Principal Organizer: Ty Johnson, Arkansas Geological Survey, ty.johnsonarkansas.gov.
Co-organizers: Garrett Hatzell, Arkansas Geological Survey, garrett.hatzellrkansas.gov; Doug Hanson, Arkansas Geological Survey, doug.hansonarkansas.gov.
Description: Spend a day in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains on the third cleanest lake in the nation with more than 2,800 miles of shoreline. You will have a chance to see exposures of the oldest rocks (Ordovician) in the core of the Ouachita fold and thrust belt. Highlights of this float include olistoliths, graptolites, quartz veins, and beautiful recumbent folds.
Post-Meeting
- 7. Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Wednesday, 14 March, 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
US$50 (includes transportation, entrance fees, and meals)
- Principal Organizer: Doug Hanson, Arkansas Geological Survey, doug.hansonarkansas.gov.
Co-organizer: Danny Rains, Arkansas Geological Survey, danny.rainsarkansas.gov.
Description: Visit Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only place in the world where anyone may pay a small entrance fee, search for diamonds, and keep what you find! This site presents a window into the geologic past and Earth’s mantle, a rare thing indeed. The geologic story is a fascinating one, not just for geologists, but for anyone wanting to learn why the diamonds are present, their age, and the past environment that existed when the diamondiferous igneous rocks were explosively emplaced.