Fossils
The preserved remains or traces of ancient life are called these
What are fossils?
This trip is where you learn the task of using a Brunton Compass and a Jacob's staff.
What is Mojave?
Dinosaurs thrived during this era
What is the Mesozoic?
This mineral is the main component of table salt
What is halite?
This professor has peed on an active flow of a volcano
Who is Dr. Wolf?
These coiled marine animals, distant relatives of squids, are common in Mesozoic rocks
What are ammonites?
This trip is where you will encounter various marine organisms while SCUBA diving.
What is Bonaire?
This eon covers most of Earth’s history, before complex life appeared.
What is the Precambrian?
Quartz is made primarily of these two elements
What are silicon and oxygen?
This professor's pen pal was their spouse
Who is Dr. Strasser
Fossils found in multiple locations and from a specific time period are known as these, useful for dating rocks
What are index fossils?
This type of map shows the distribution, nature, and age of rock units that you create in Mojave
What is a geologic map?
The rapid diversification of life is referred to as this
What is the Cambrian Explosion?
The hardest mineral on the Mohs scale
What is diamond?
This professor was an Olympic rafting guide
Who is Dr. J?
When an organism decays but leaves an impression in rock, it forms this type of fossil
What is a mold? (or cast if filled)
The process of describing and interpreting layers of rock in the field is called this, which you also do in Mojave
What is stratigraphic description? (stratigraphic column)
The current epoch, characterized by human influence on the environment, is often called this
What is the Anthropocene?
This common rock-forming mineral group makes up over half of the Earth's crust
What are silicates?
This professor played jazz trombone all through high school and college
Who is Dr. K?
This fossil type preserves ancient dung — and can reveal an animal’s diet
What are coprolites?
This Arizona landmark reveals nearly two billion years of Earth’s history in its rock walls and is visited by GEOL-105
What is the Grand Canyon?
“The present is the key to the past” summarizes this geological principle
What is uniformitarianism?
Marble is created when this sedimentary rock undergoes metamorphism
What is limestone?
These people are the backbone of the department
Who are Jen and Susan?