Department News

2010 Regional Geology Trip to the Appalachians

Professors Bill Bartels, Carrie Menold, and Mick McRivette along with 18 students spent eight days and visited approximately 40 outcrops and locations. Many geology stops were made in the Valley and Ridge of Pennsylvania, the Rift Basins of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the Coastal Plain of New Jersey.

The class also examined the ancient bedrock of Manhattan Island in New York City. Geological and cultural stops were made at Gettysburg Battlefield, the site of the Great Johnstown Flood, and Lehigh Gap. Collecting stops were made at Big Brook for fossil shark teeth, Franklin Mineral Mines for fluorescent minerals, and Sandy Hook State Park for modern sea shells. (Click here to see College news story about the trip.)

The J Harlen Bretz Legacy at Albion College

J Harlen Bretz graduated from Albion College in 1905. He went on to be a very influential geologist and professor at the University of Chicago. Early in his career Bretz hypothesized that the barren Scablands terrain of eastern Washington State was created by giant ice age floods. His ideas were scorned but he was ultimately vindicated and is recognized for his rebellious tenacity. Late in his life Bretz rekindled his ties to Albion College's Department of Geological Sciences. We have just created a new website to honor Bretz's Albion Legacy. (Click here to access the Bretz page)