Field Trip 3: Paleozoic Rocks, Pedernales Falls State Park and Llano Uplift

I. OBJECTIVES:

• Map, measure, describe and interpret sedimentary aspects of Marble Falls Limestone at Pedernales Falls State Park.

• Sketch the geometry of a carbonate buildup in the Marble Falls Limestone along Lake Marble Falls.
   
• Examine and measure sedimentary structures in Smithwick Fm. sandstone.

II. WHEN:

• February 25 OR 26 (Dr. Kerans);
  March 3 (Dr. Horton) - see trip rosters on Blackboard

We depart from the east basement entrance at 7:30 AM.  Trips will return to Austin by about 6 PM.

III. BRING:

• Clipboard & field book
• Compass, ruler, protractor
• Mechanical & colored pencils
• Hand lens, hammer, acid bottle
• Water, lunch, raincoat

Paleozoic Rocks (brown), Precambrian plutons
(pink) and Pennsylvanian faults in the Llano uplift.

IV. BACKGROUND MATERIAL

• See a description of the day's activities in your lab manual.  Additional materials will be handed outs on the trip.
• Download a Google Earth file of the trip stops and the geologic map of the field trip area.
• The Paleozoic history of central Texas is described in the University Students Geological Societies "Guidebook to the Geology of Travis County"
• See a highly generalized geologic map of the Llano uplift region.
• See geologic maps of the Pedernales Falls State Park area and the area around Marble Falls.
• View panoramas of the unconformity at Pedernales Falls and the Smithwick Formation along Hamilton Creek.

Be on time and come prepared!