Historical Geology Course Page

"Historical Geology uncovers the history of the earth and the history of life on earth. Most interesting are the repeating patterns that we observe through geological time. Often, it is at the intersection of the history of life and the history of the earth that these recurrences appear--for example, how climate and other factors affected which animals experienced success and which ones became extinct at different times."
--
C.A. Thornton

So...what is Historical Geology?
Great Question! This is a course in how the Earth was, and how it got to be the way it is today. Historical Geology is all about the history of life on earth, and how it has changed through time. It is also the history of the earth itself---when and how specific mountains were made, when the climate of the earth was hot and full of deserts, when it was cold with ice sheets, and when oceans covered parts of the earth.

For example, did you know that about 42 million years ago, the area around Mount Selman and Jacksonville was the bottom of a shallow sea? Sharks lived there, and it is possible to go out and find their teeth along U.S. Highway 69, if you know where to look.


So what do we do in Historical Geology?
Well the way I teach it, we look at the Scientific Method and Science as a philosophy (a part of all my science courses). Then we take a look at how we measure geological time, radioactivity, and estimates of the age of the earth.

From there, the course is divided into two portions: first, we look at the history of life on earth, and then we look at the history of the earth itself (mountains, deserts, glaciers). I like to find the crossroads that link the history of the earth with the history of life on earth.

We study evolution, information recorded on fossils themselves (an area of science called Taphonomy), and how fossils are formed. We'll study some of my favorite fossils in lab, and explore the lives of dinosaurs in detail with slide shows and video clips.

In the second portion of the course, we'll look at the way the earth has changed through time, focusing primarily on North America--and throw in some local history as well. For example, we'll discover that the Arbuckle Mountains just across the state line North of Dallas, the Ozarks of Arkansas, and the Ouachita and Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma were all made at the same time, in a continent-crumpling episode of mountain building. You'll be surprised to find out where all the salt in our local salt domes came from, and we'll see that a mere 40 million years ago, our part of East Texas lay beneath a shallow sea.

We'll end up the semester looking at humans, their ancestors, and the last great Ice Age.

Below is the general outline for the course. Though it may not be for the current semester, the outline stays basically the same from semester to semester.