FIELD CONFERENCE OF PENNSYLVANIA GEOLOGISTS
HISTORY
History of the Field Conference
The history of the Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists is told through the roadlogs, stop descriptions, receptions, and informal talks that became the pattern of each of the trips. This pattern was established in 1931 by C.A. Bonine, graduate of Lehigh University and Professor of Geology at The State College of Pennsylvania, who was the organizer and originator of the Field Conference. Bonine’s desire to “become better acquainted with the other geologists located or working in Pennsylvania” became a major objective of the Conference. This objective has been well met at the subsequent meetings of the Conference, as it has guided geologists to share their knowledge and to look at new interpretations of geological phenomena throughout our Commonwealth.
Of the several field conferences held annually in the northeastern U.S., the Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists is a “johnny-come-lately.” The first of these conferences was held in 1901, led by William Morris Davis, to become what is now the New England Intercollegiate Field Conference. The New York Geological Association held their first field trip in 1924. All have followed the same organizational pattern of minimizing bureaucracy and maximizing visits and discussion at “the outcrop.”
The success of the Conference is the result, for the most part, of the willing volunteer efforts of geologists of the colleges and universities of Pennsylvania and our nearby states, the Pennsylvania Geological Survey and nearby State Geological Surveys, the U.S. Geological Survey, and geologists from our industrial mineral and fossil fuel companies, as well as many other individual geologists. Some 347 geologists have been leaders on at least one trip, and a number have been leaders for several. From the beginning, these geologists have prepared detailed road logs and carefully written stop descriptions published as the guidebook for each trip, and have provided able instruction at each stop to explain Pennsylvania’s complex geology in the most current interpretation.
Meetings have been held each year since 1931, with the exception of 1942 to 1945, which was due to limitation on travel during World War II, and in 1957, when 18 months elapsed between the October, 1956 meeting in New Jersey and the Spring 1958 meeting in Maryland’s South Mountain.
Transportation
Field trips during the first 25 years of the Conference were largely by individual auto, usually with State Police escorts. Minutes of the fifth meeting in Philadelphia state “Despite the size of the party [86] and the necessity of moving a motorcade of 25-30 cars through the thickly settled Philadelphia district, the trip was handled without difficulty, thanks to a trained escort of the Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol.” Private cars were used until the middle 1950’s when buses were chosen for some of the individual trips in 1954, 1955, and 1959. Since the meeting of 1963, buses have been used in preference to individual cars because of logistical problems as Conference attendance grew. With the one exception in 1967 when one of the buses was struck while parked, no serious accidents have occurred.
Times have changed Field Conference traditions. One tradition of the Field Conference for many years was beer at lunch and at an afternoon refreshment break. Gradually, the amount of beer consumed was reduced and the amount of water and soda increased, until, in the 1990s, more soda and water were consumed than beer. Also, by the 1990s, many of the lunch stops, usually public facilities such at state parks, disallowed alcoholic beverages. By the late 1990s, liability concerns and the cost or availability of insurance eliminated the serving of beer during the field trips. New officers, pledging to bring beer back to the Field Conference soon learned that it was beyond their control.
Time of year
Until 1956, the conferences were held in late May and early June, usually over the Memorial Day weekend. In 1956, the meeting was held in late September. The next two meetings in 1958 and 1959 were held in May. Following those years, the Conference has met consistently in the Fall in order to avoid difficulties of scheduling around college graduation days. Since 1963, the Conference has usually met on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the first weekend in October, although that has been flexible, based on availability of transportation and hotel, as well as coordinating to avoid busy weekends locally (such as Penn State home football weekends when the Field Conference is held in that general area).
Attendance
Attendance on the trips started with 45 in 1931, gradually growing to 99 in 1936, and then fluctuating in the low to middle 100’s until 1967, when a record 183 attended. This figure was exceeded in 1981 when, for three years in succession, over 200 attended with the record being 343 in 1985, the 50th anniversary trip. In recent years, the attendance has usually been between 100 and 150. Since the passing of the geologist registration law in Pennsylvania, and requiring PDHs to maintain that registration, the Field Conference usually fills and has a waiting list each year, being limited for logistical purposes to about 150. Another change is that in the past, undergraduate student participation was discouraged. Now, we encourage student participation by making some scholarships for undergraduates available, and also have a reduced rate for students..
Subjects of the Conferences
Subjects of the Conferences have usually centered around the research interests of the host organizations. Areas visited on more than one occasion have been Centre County, the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, the Harrisburg-York-Gettysburg area, Lancaster County, the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area, the Wyoming-Lackawanna Valley, and along our major highways and rivers where outcrops are more prevalent. Areas that have not often been visited are the northern tier of counties and southwestern Pennsylvania, with several counties having never been traversed. The record of the Conference shows that revisits to areas of former trips are productive, as the dynamics of geology require the application of new interpretations to old and familiar outcrops.
Host organizations
Host organizations vary widely. Early trips were hosted by one institution, but most have been hosted by multiple organizations. Credit for these through the 75th Field Conference in 2010 goes to (number of conferences in parentheses):
Pennsylvania Geological Survey (43), Pennsylvania State University and its predecessor, State College (9), Lehigh University (5), New Jersey Geological Survey (5), Bloomsburg University (4), U.S. Geological Survey (4), Bryn Mawr College (4), Pittsburgh Geological Society (4), Franklin and Marshall College (3), University of Pittsburgh (3), Carnegie Institute of Technology (2), Dickinson College (2), Edinboro State College (2), Lock Haven University (2), Lafayette College (2), Maryland Geological Survey (3), Mercyhurst College (2), Slippery Rock University (2), University of Pittsburgh- Johnstown (2), West Chester University (2).West Virginia Geological Survey (2), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Anthracite Heritage Museum, J.E. Baker Company, Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, Concord College, Delaware County Christian School, Delaware Geological Survey, East Tennessee State University, Eastern Industries, Eckley Miners’ Village, Elizabethtown College, Everhart Museum, Excalibur Group, LLCGeorge Washington University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Johns Hopkins University, Juniata College, Lafarge Corporation, LaSalle College, Luzerne County Community College, Mansfield State College, Millersville University, Mountain Research, LLCNational Park Service, National Science Foundation, New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. New Jersey Division of Water Resources, New York State Museum, Ohio State University, Ohio Wesleyan College, PA DEP Bureau of Watershed Management, Princeton University, Ricketts Glen State Park, Rider College, Rutgers University, Spitzenburg Hoch Ergiehunganstalt, SUNY College at Fredonia, Susquehanna County Historical Society, Susquehanna University, Tethys Consultants, Inc., University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh- Bradford, Villanova University, and the Virginia Geological Survey.
Support
Logistical, and occasionally financial, support of the Conference has been given cheerfully by industry from the early years. Conference records show that the Gulf Research and Development Corporation of Pittsburgh hosted the first complementary smoker at the fourth annual conference held in 1935 in Pittsburgh. Support to the Conference over these many years has been provided by: A.B. Crichton, Abarta Oil and Gas Company, Aero Service Corporation, Allegheny Minerals Corp., Alpha Portland Cement, Atlantic Refining Company, the J.E. Baker Company, Michael Baker Associates, Benatec Associates, Benders Quarry Company, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Bethlehem Steel Company, Brockway Glass, Calcite Quarry Company, Ceco Associates, Inc., Chevron Resources Company, Cummings Riter Consultants, D’Appolonia, Datum Products, DLZ Construction, Dunn Geoscience Corporation, Dupont Corporation, Ecoscience, Mrs. Marion Escallon, Eshenaur’s Quarry Company, GAF Corporation, J.T. Galey, Geomechanics, Geo-Technical Services, Inc., Gannett-Fleming, Inc., Geo-Graphics, Etc., Geoscience Engineering Co. Inc., Carlyle Gray & Associates, Mr. Ben Greeley, Harrisburg Area Geological Society, HDR, Hotel Easton, Hudson Coal Company, Hydro-Geo Services, Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Company, International Exploration Company, Kendall Oil Refinery, Key Environmental, L. Robert Kimball and Associates, Lehigh Navigation Coal Company, SMC Martin, Inc., H.E. Millard Lime and Stone, Mountain Research, Inc., New Jersey Zinc Company, Northeastern Environmental Associates, Samuel T. Pees and Associates, Inc., Pennsylvania Bluestone Association, Pennsylvania Oil Producers Association, Peoples Natural Gas Company, Petroleum Reclamation Company, Philadelphia Clay Company, Philadelphia and Reading Coal Company, Pennsylvania Drilling Company, Philadelphia Geological Society, Pittsburgh Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pittsburgh Geological Society, Mr. Jack Purvis, Quaker State Refining Company, Reading Railroad, Rebor Sand and Coal Company, Showalter’s Quarry Company, Snyder Brothers Coal Co., South Penn Oil Company, Sun Oil Company, Tethys Geotechnical Consultants, Thomasville Lime and Stone Company, United Natural Gas, Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce, Wolf’s Head Oil Company, and R.E. Wright Associates.
Past Field Conferences
All guidebooks back to the first Field Conference in 1931 are available on DVD or by Download.
Geology of areas of the Bellefonte, Tyrone and Lock Haven Quadrangles. First Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1931.
Road logs were not included with this guidebook but five trips were conducted. 1. American Lime and Stone Company at Bellefonte. 2. Silurian and Lower Devonian rocks of the Bald Eagle Valley from Bellefonte to Lock Haven. 3. Stratigraphy of the Allegheny Front from Gallitzen to Altoona. 4. Tyrone [Birmingham] thrust fault structures.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania State College
Conference Headquarters: State College, PA
Leaders: Chesleigh Bonine, Charles Butts, Ralph Stone, Frank Swartz
Date: May 29-31, 1931
Around and Near the “Forks of the Delaware,” and Various and Sundry “Gaps.” Second Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1932.
Six field trips with road logs are in the guidebook. Two one-half day trips examined Triassic rocks and the slate and cement district. The main excursion traversed the Lehigh and Delaware gaps followed by three one-half day trips in the Saucon Valley, Pleistocene drifts, and the Spitzenberg.
Conference Hosts: Lehigh University and Lafayette College
Conference Headquarters: Easton, PA
Leaders: B. L. Miller, L. Whitcomb, H. A. Itter, F. Ward, B. Willard, F. Swartz
Date: May 28-30, 1932
Geology of Central Pennsylvania. Third Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1933.
This conference included six field trips in central Pennsylvania. 1. Cornwall Mines. la. Cornwall Mines and Triassic. 2. Third Mountain. 3. Susquehanna-Juniata Valleys.
4. South Mountain. 5. Western Perry County.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA
Leaders: G. Ashley, C. Graeber, W. Hickok, B. Willard, R. Stone
Date: May 27-29, 1933
Geology of Western Pennsylvania. Fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1934.
Areas near Pittsburgh were explored during this conference. Trips conducted were: la. Wildwood underground coal mine; lb. Herron Hill Reservoir and Allegheny River Boulevard; 1c. the Carnegie Museum. 2. Beaver Valley area. 3. Uniontown and Ohiopyle area.
Conference Hosts: University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, and Gulf Corporation
Conference Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Leaders: C. Fettke, H. Leighton, R. E. Sherrill, W. A. Copeland
Date: May 25-27, 1934
Philadelphia Area of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1935.
Five field trips were taken during this conference. They included: 1. Physiographic trip southwest of Philadelphia. 2. Mineralogic and petrologic localities north of Philadelphia. 3. Crystalline rocks of the Piedmont north and west of Philadelphia. 4. Lower Paleozoic Formations and their relations to the Pre-Cambrian rocks. 5.
Coastal Plain excursion in New Jersey.
Conference Hosts: Academy of Natural Sciences, Bryn Mawr College, Lehigh University, University of Pennsylvania, and Atlantic Refining Co.
Conference Headquarters: Philadelphia, PA
Leaders: L. Dryden, S. Gordon, E. Watson, B. L. Miller, F. Ehrenfeld, P. Storm, H. Kummel
Date: May 31-June 2, 1935
Geological Inspection of Anthracite Region. Sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1936.
Conference members examined the geology of the anthracite region as well as the mining methods used and the problems encountered while mining coal as well as mine fires. Road logs are indicated for trips in the northern, middle and southern anthracite fields. This conference was conducted in association with the New York State Geological Association.
Conference Host: Lehigh University
Conference Headquarters: Scranton, PA
Leaders: B. L. Miller, D. M. Fraser, L. Whitcomb
Date: May 22-24, 1936
Bradford District Trip. Seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1937.
The stratigraphy of the oil fields of the Bradford District is discussed. Two field trips traversing McKean and Warren Counties are included. A trip was also conducted to Presque Isle to study Pleistocene and shoreline features.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania State College, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, and Oil Producer’s Association
Conference Headquarters: Bradford, PA
Leaders: C. Fettke, K. Caster, H. Leighton
Date: May 29-30, 1937
Virginia Trip. Eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1938.
This field trip traversed northern Virginia, and parts of West Virginia, and Maryland examining Paleozoic rocks and included a trip on the Skyline Drive. The guidebook was published as Virginia Geological Survey Guide Leaflet No. 1.
Conference Host: Virginia Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Cumberland, MD
Leaders: F. M. Swartz, C. Butts, G. Stose, A. Bevan
Date: May 28-30-1938
West Virginia Trip. Ninth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1939.
This field trip went from Morgantown to Berkeley Springs, WV examining the major outcrops along the route. A geologic column is included.
Conference Host: West Virginia Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Morgantown, WV
Leader: E. T. Heck
Date: May 28-30, 1939
The Geology of New Jersey. Tenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1940.
Four field trips were conducted. 1. Geology of the Culvers Gap to Newfoundland area. 2. Geology of the Franklin district. 3. Physiography, glaciation and soils. 4. Cretaceous and tertiary stratigraphy of the Coastal Plain.
Conference Hosts: New Jersey Geological Survey, Rutgers University, and Princeton University
Conference Headquarters: Newton, NJ
Leaders: M. E. Johnson, H. Woodward, A. F. Buddington, H. H. Hess, E. Sampson, E. Dorf, A. O. Hayes, H. Johnson, B. Willard
Date: MaY 30-June 1. 1940
Allegheny Front Trip: Blue Knob-East Freedom-Hollidaysburg-Williamsburg Area, Pennsylvania. Eleventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1941.
The field trip examined Cambrian-Pennsylvanian rocks along the Allegheny Front.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Johnstown, PA
Leaders: F. M. Swartz, G. Ashley, M. Shaffner, A. B. Crichton
Date: May 30-June 1. 1941
WORLD WAR II
interrupted scheduling the conference during 1942-1945
From the Cambrian to the Silurian near State College and Tyrone. Twelfth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1946.
The trip outlined was concerned with lower Paleozoic rocks of the Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province and the Allegheny Plateau. Upper Devonian to Pennsylvanian rocks along the Horse Shoe Curve near Altoona were also included.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania State College
Conference Headquarters: State College, PA
Leaders: P. D. Krynine, G. M. Kay, F. M. Swartz
Date: May 30-June 2, 1946
Thirteenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1947.
Northampton and Lehigh Counties were explored during this field conference. Field trips outlined included: 1. Nazareth Cement Plant. 2. Saucon Valley Zinc Mines and Triassic intrusives. 3. The Valley of the Lehigh. 4. West from Bethlehem. 5. Triassic fanglomerates of Delaware Valley.
Conference Host: Lehigh University
Conference Headquarters: Bethlehem, PA
Leaders: B. Willard, L. Whitcomb, T. E. Stephenson, R. H. Gault, F. Betz
Date: May 30-June 1, 1947
Fourteenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1948.
South-central Pennsylvania was the site of this field conference. Four field trips are outlined in this guidebook. 1. South Mountain. 2. Pennsylvania Turnpike. 3.
Cornwall Mine. 4. Susquehanna-Juniata River.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA
Leaders: R. M. Foose, R. C. Stephenson, F. M. Swartz, A. B. Cleaves, D. M. Fraser, G. L. Adair, B. Willard
Date: May 28-30, 1948
Fifteenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1949.
This conference, centered in Lancaster County, included three field trips. 1. Old metal mines and Mine Ridge Anticline. 2. “Martic Overthrust” area. 3. Appalachian drainage and Pleistocene terraces.
Conference Host: Franklin and Marshall College
Conference Headquarters: Lancaster, PA
Leaders: E. Cloos, R. Chapman, G. Biemesderfer, J. Moss, J. Freedman, R. M. Foose, E. Sampson, H. Meyerhoff
Date: May 2T-29, 1949
Sixteenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1950.
Three field trips are included.
1. Visit to Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, Aliquippa Plant.
2. Glacial Foreland, Northwest Pennsylvania. This trip examined the evidence of glacier-dammed lakes in the Slippery Rock and Muddy Creek valleys in Butler County, and the resulting drainage diversions through the Slippery Rock Gorge in Lawrence County.
3. Chestnut Ridge Anticline.
Conference Hosts: Pittsburgh Geological Society, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum, and Carnegie Institute of Technology
Conference Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Leaders: A. I. Ingham, W. S. Lytle, F. W. Preston, C. E. Prouty, R. E. Sherill, W. M. Fieldler, P. R. Stewart, R. E. Boyles
Date: May 26-28, 1950
Guidebook Illustrating the Geology of the Philadelphia Area. Seventeenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1951.
The geology of the Chester Valley was explored, giving participants a general overview of the mineralogy and geology of the area.
Conference Host: Bryn Mawr College
Conference Headquarters: Bryn Mawr, PA
Leaders: M. E. Johnson, L. Dryden, E. Watson, D. Wyckoff, A. W. Postel, H. E. McKinstry
Date: June 1-3, 1951
Sussex County, New Jersey. Eighteenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1952.
Field trips were conducted. 1. Pleistocene geology. 2. Dikes of special petrologic interest. 3. Silurian and Devonian stratigraphy. 4. Cambro-Ordovician and Pre-Cambrian rocks. 5. Silurian-Devonian of Nearpass quarries.
Conference Host: New Jersey Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Newton, NJ
Leaders: P. MacClintock, C. Milton, H. Herpes, M. Johnson
Date: May 30-June 1, 1952
Nineteenth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1953.
This conference, held in Northampton County, summarized the geology of the area through its four field trips. 1. North from Easton to slate and cement areas. 2. Mineral collecting trip to serpentine quarries north of Easton. 3. North from Easton to Panther Valley anthracite region. 4. South from Easton to Riegelsville.
Conference Host: Lafayette College
Conference Headquarters: Easton, PA
Leaders: J. L. Dyson, A. Montgomery, C. Cabeen, R. F. Gantnier, D. McLaughlin, B. Willard, C. Warmkessel, J. Bertrand
Date: May 29-31, 1953
Twentieth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1954.
The field trips taken at this conference were almost entirely in Lebanon County. The routes were in the Great Valley section of the Ridge and Valley province. Trips included: 1. Cornwall iron deposits. 2. Cambro-Ordovician limestones of Lebanon County. 3. Martinsburg Formation and associated eruptive rocks of the Jonestown area.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Hershey, PA
Leaders: C. Gray, J. R. Moseley, D. B. McLaughlin, C. E. Prouty
Date: May 28-30. 1954
Twenty-first Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1955.
This field conference provided participants with a general review of the geology of parts of central Pennsylvania. They were: 1. Stratigraphy of Ordovician limestones and dolomites of Nittany Valley from Bellefonte to Pleasant Gap. 2. Stratigraphy and structure of Ridge and Valley area from University Park to Tyrone, Mt. Union, and Lewistown. 3. Stratigraphy and structure of Pennsylvania sediments of the Plateau area near Philipsburg and Clearfield.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania State University
Conference Headquarters: University Park, PA
Leaders: F. M. Swartz, M. Rones, A. D. Donaldson, J. P. Hea, P. D. Krynine, R. P. Nickelsen, and E. G. Williams
Date: May 27-29. 1955
Twenty-second Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1956.
This guidebook summarized the geology of the major physiographic provinces and Coastal Plain sediments near Trenton, New Jersey, and included a stop at Limeport, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Conference Host: New Jersey Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Trenton, NJ
Leaders: M. E. Johnson, F. J. Markewicz, K. Widmer, B. Willard
Date: September 28-29, 1956
No conference scheduled in 1957
Structural Geology of South Mountain and Appalachians in Maryland. Twenty-third Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1958.
This guidebook was published as the Johns Hopkins University Studies in Geology No. 17 and is available from University Microfilms, 300 North Zeebs Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
The South Mountain anticlinorium and the Appalachians to the west are examined. The route does not extend into Pennsylvania.
Conference Host: Johns Hopkins University
Conference Headquarters: Hagerstown, MD
Leaders: E. Cloos and T. D. Murphy
Date: May 10-11, 1958
Twenty-fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1959.
The field conference celebrated the centennial of the Drake well and included trips throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. 1. The glacial geology of Crawford and Erie Counties. 2. Bedrock and oil geology of northwestern Pennsylvania and the great Oildorado. 3. Erosion channel in Penn Dixie limestone mine. A history of the Drake well and a visit to the museum are included in this guidebook.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Titusville, PA
Leaders: V. C. Shepps and W. S. Lytle
Date: May 15-17, 1959
Some Tectonics and Structural Problems of the Appalachian Piedmont along the Susquehanna River. Twenty-fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1960.
This trip examined the intensely deformed, metamorphosed and intruded inner Piedmont, Triassic fanglomerates, nappe structures and Ordovician volcanics.
Conference Host: Franklin and Marshall College
Conference Headquarters: Lancaster, PA
Leaders: O. P. Bricker, C. A. Hopson, M. E. Kauffman, D. M. Lapham, D. B. McLaughlin and D. U. Wise
Date: October 22-23. 1960
Structure and Stratigraphy of the Reading Hills and Lehigh Valley in Northampton and Lehigh Counties, Pennsylvania. Twenty-sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1961.
The field trip was designed to examine and compare the structural features of the rocks of the Reading Hills and those of the Lehigh Valley in Northampton and Lehigh Counties, Pennsylvania and adjacent parts of New Jersey and to examine the relationship between early Paleozoic tectonism and sedimentation.
Conference Host: Lehigh University
Conference Headquarters: Bethlehem, PA
Leaders: A. Drake, W. C. Sherwood, J. Ames, and J. D. Ryan
Date: October 20-21, 1961
Stratigraphy, Structure, and Economic Geology of Southern Somerset County and Adjacent Parts of Bedford and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania. Twenty-seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1962.
The general geology of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks in the Appalachian Plateau of Pennsylvania are examined.
Conference Hosts: University of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Somerset, PA
Leaders: N. K. Flint, A. S. Cate, G. Klein, W. Leeper, S. Philbrick
Date: October 19-20. 1962
Stratigraphy and Structure of Upper and Middle Devonian Rocks in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Twenty-eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1963.
The field guide describes, evaluates, and interprets the stratigraphic and structural framework of Catskill and related strata in northeast Pennsylvania. A two day field trip, including eleven stops, begins and ends in Stroudsburg.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Stroudsburg, PA
Leaders: J. D. Glaeser, L. A. Frakes, W. R. Wagner, J. F. Wietrzychowski
Date: October 11-12, 1963
Cyclic Sedimentation in the Carboniferous of Western Pennsylvania. Twenty-ninth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1964.
This field trip is concerned with the existence, character, and genesis of cyclothems in the Carboniferous rocks of western Pennsylvania. It provides conceptional and physical frameworks within which some important aspects of Carboniferous sedimentation and stratigraphy can be observed.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania State University
Conference Headquarters: Clearfield, PA
Leaders: E. G. Williams, J. C. Ferm, A. L. Guber, R. E. Bergenback
Date: October, 10-11, 1964
Stratigraphy of the Pennsylvanian and Permian Rocks of Washington, Mercer, and Lawrence Counties, Pennsylvania. Thirtieth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1965.
The guide includes two field trips: 1. Stratigraphy of Upper Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian rocks, Washington County. 2. Stratigraphy of the Pottsville and Allegheny groups of Mercer and Lawrence Counties.
Conference Hosts: U.S. Geological Survey and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Leaders: B. H. Kent, J. B. Roen, S. P. Schweinfurth, and L. D. Carswell
Date: October 8-9, 1965
Comparative Tectonics and Stratigraphy of the Cumberland and Lebanon Valleys. Thirty-first Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1966.
The Cumberland and Lebanon Valley stratigraphic sequences are examined at various locations. The structural and stratigraphic discontinuities between them is demonstrated.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA
Leaders: D. B. MacLachlan and S. I. Root
Date: October 7-8, 1966
Geology in the Region of the Delaware to Lehigh Water Gaps. Thirty-second Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1967.
The interrelationship of the stratigraphy, structure, geomorphology, glacial geology, and economic geology of the Middle Ordovician through part of the Middle Devonian strata and overlying surficial deposits in the area between the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers in eastern Pennsylvania is demonstrated by this guide. A two day field trip log is included.
Conference Hosts: U.S. Geological Survey and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Stroudsburg, PA
Leaders: J. B. Epstein and A. G. Epstein
Date: September 29-30, 1967
The Geology of Mineral Deposits in South-Central Pennsylvania. Thirty-third Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1968.
The guide for a two day field trip begins and ends in Harrisburg. It contains detailed discussions of mineral deposits of the region. Each deposit is discussed separately. Stops were made at the GAF greenstone quarry, Hanover quarry, Thomasville stone quarry, Bender’s quarry, Mt. Holly white clay deposits, Millard quarry, and Eschelmann’s quarry.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geologic Survey
Conference Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA
Leaders: E. Cloos, J. Freedman, G. Hole, K. Hoover, J. Hosterman, A.-Nelson, S. Sims, and D. Wise
Date: October 4-5, 1968
The Pocono Formation in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Thirty-fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1969.
A detailed description of the Mississippian Pocono Formation is given. The trip, 240 miles long with nine stops, begins and ends in Hazleton.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Hazleton, PA
Leader: W. D. Sevon
Date: October 3-4. 1969
New Interpretations of Eastern Piedmont Geology of Maryland. Thirty-fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1970.
The area visited by this field conference is the northeastern Piedmont of Maryland mainly Baltimore, Cecil, and Harford Counties. The trip does not extend into Pennsylvania.
Conference Host: Maryland Geologic Survey
Conference Headquarters: Baltimore, MD
Leaders: W. P. Crowley, M. W. Higgins, T. Bastian, S. Olsen
Date: October 2-3. 1970
Upper Devonian Sedimentation in Susquehanna County and Hydrology, Glacial Geology and Environmental Geology of the Wyoming-Lackawanna Valley. Thirty-sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1971.
The first trip presents a discussion of the geology, composition, texture, and physical properties of the flagstones of northeastern Pennsylvania and of the properties of flagstone that affect their discovery, development, and use. The second shows environmental problems resulting from the removal of the coal in the northern anthracite field and examines exposures of Pleistocene deposits.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania State University and U.S. Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Wilkes-Barre, PA
Leaders: S. A. Krajewski, E. G. Williams, J. R. Hollowell
Date: October 8-9, 1971
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, and Structure of Silurian and Devonian Rocks Along the Allegheny Front in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Maryland, and Mineral and Grant Counties, West Virginia. Thirty-seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1972.
This guidebook brings together the varied structural and stratigraphic research concerned with the Allegheny Front. It traces the geology from Pennsylvania southward across Maryland to West Virginia demonstrating the regional continuity of certain stratigraphic and structural trends.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia Geological Surveys
Conference Headquarters: Bedford, PA
Leaders: J. M. Dennison, W. deWitt, K. O. Hasson, D. M. Hoskins, J. W. Head
Date: October 6-7, 1972
Structure and Silurian-Devonian Stratigraphy of the Valley and Ridge Province, Central Pennsylvania. Thirty-eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1973.
The Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachians has been considered a classic area of relatively simple geologic structures with complete and undeformed Paleozoic stratigraphic sections. Revisions of the structural geology and stratigraphy are demonstrated in this field trip guide.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Camp Hill, PA
Leaders: R. T. Faill, R. W. Wells, R. P. Nickelsen, D. M. Hoskins
Date: October 5-6, 1973
Geology of the Piedmont of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Thirty-ninth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1974.
The guidebook contains a group of studies dealing with the Pennsylvania Piedmont, including an introduction to crystalline rocks, deformation and metamorphism in the Wissahickon Formation, and an examination of sinkholes.
Conference Host: Bryn Mawr College
Conference Headquarters: King of Prussia, PA
Leaders: R. V. Amenta, M. L. Crawford, W. A. Crawford, W. B. Fergusson, W. R. Parrott, F. H. Roberts, E. J. TroJan, M. E. Wagner
Date: October 4-5, 1974
The Late Wisconsinan Drift Border in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Fortieth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1975.
The character and availability of the Late Wisconsinan drift materials, similarities and differences between the Late Wisconsinan drift and pre-Late Wisconsinan-post Sangamonian drift, the character of the Illinoian glacial drift, the character of deposits of periglacial origin, and the reasoning used in differentiating and dating these various deposits are included in this field guide.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Bartonsville, PA
Leaders: W. D. Sevon, G. H. Crowl, and T. M. Berg
Date: October 3-4, 1975
Bedrock and Glacial Geology of Northwestern Pennsylvania in Crawford, Forest and Venango Counties. Forty-first Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1976.
The area examined by this trip is near the boundary between the glaciated and unglaciated sections of the Allegheny Plateau Province. The Mapledale and Titusville Tills, with their respective glaciofluvial deposits, are examined, as are exposures of Upper Devonian(?), Mississippian, and Lower Pennsylvanian rocks. The controversial Carbon-14 dating site that placed the Titusville Till in the early Wisconsinan was visited.
Conference Hosts: Slippery Rock and Edinboro State Colleges, and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Titusville, PA
Leaders: A. N. Ward, W. F. Chapman, M. T. Lukert, J. L. Craft
Date: October 1-2, 1976
Stratigraphy and Applied Geology of the Lower Paleozoic Carbonates in Northwestern New Jersey. Forty-second Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1977.
The intent of this field trip is to present the subdivision of the Cambro-Ordovician “Kittatinny” carbonate sequence and to cite some case histories of environmental, geohydrologic, and engineering problems. Two field trips, covering northwestern New Jersey, are outlined in the guidebook.
Conference Hosts: New Jersey Division of Water Resources, New Jersey Geological Survey, and Rider College
Conference Headquarters: Stroudsburg, PA
Leaders: F. J. Markewicz, R. Dalton, W. Spink, R. Metsger, C. Lucey
Date: October 6-8, 1977
Uranium in Carbon, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Columbia Counties, Pennsylvania. Forty-third Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1978.
Sedimentological and geochemical models were presented to account for the primary distribution of the uranium minerals and their enclosing rocks. A post-depositional model was also presented to explain the present localizations of these minerals.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Hazleton, PA
Leaders: W. D. Sevon, A. W. Rose, R. C. Smith, and D. T. Hoff
Date: October 6-7, 1978
Devonian Shales in South-Central Pennsylvania and Maryland. Forty-fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1979.
The authors describe the major purpose of this field conference as to demonstrate the outcrop stratigraphic relationships and nomenclatural changes among the Brallier Formation, Harrell and Burket Shales, Tully Limestone, and Mahantango Formation. A secondary purpose is to illustrate the facies and faunal changes within the Needmore Shale and Huntersville chert.
Conference Hosts: University of North Carolina, East Tennessee State University, and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Bedford, PA
Leaders: J. M. Dennison, K. O. Hasson, D. M. Hoskins, R. M. Jolley, W. D. Sevon
Date: October 5-6, 1979
Land Use and Abuse – The Allegheny County Problem. Forty-fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1980.
The field conference highlighted the geology of the Pittsburgh area. Included are the geology of the area, coal geology, oil geology, and geologic hazard problems.
Conference Host: Pittsburgh Geological Society
Conference Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Leaders: W. R. Adams, R. P. Briggs, H. F. Ferguson, N. K. Flint, W. S. Skinner
Date: October 3-4, 1980
Geology of Tioga and Bradford Counties, Pennsylvania. Forty-sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1981.
The guidebook was for an area untouched by a geologic study in recent years. Included are the stratigraphy, sedimentology, glacial geology, economic geology, and groundwater geology.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey and Mansfield State College
Conference Headquarters: Wellsboro, PA
Leaders: T. M. Berg, G. H. Crowl, W. E. Edmunds, P. B. Luce, W. D. Sevon, J. P. Wilshusen, D. L. Woodrow
Date: October 2-3, 1981
Geology of the Middle Ordovician Martinsburg Formation and related rocks in Pennsylvania. Forty-seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1982.
This field conference allowed participants to examine outcrops, lithologies, and structures of the Martinsburg Formation. The discussion examined the structure, stratigraphy, sedimentology, and plate tectonics of the formation. The first day of the field trip was spent west of Harrisburg in the Great Valley. The second day was spent east of Harrisburg in the allochthonous “Hamburg klippe”.
Conference Hosts: George Washington University, Bryn Mawr College, and National Science Foundation
Conference Headquarters: New Cumberland, PA
Leaders: G. C. Stephens, T. O. Wright, L. B. Platt
Date: October 1-2, 1982
Silurian Depositional History and Alleghanian Deformation in the Pennsylvania Valley and Ridge. Forth-eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1983.
This field conference examined the landscape of central Pennsylvania which is dominated by linear ridges and fertile valleys. For the Lower and Middle Silurian units, a pattern in the complex paleoenvironmental patterns that is related to Appalachian Basin configuration, source area tectonics, and sea-level fluctuations, were examined. Strain features which help explain the Alleghany Orogeny are also examined.
Conference Host: Bucknell University
Conference Headquarters: Danville, PA
Leaders: R. P. Nickelsen and E. Cotter
Date: September 30 to October 1, 1983
Geology of an Accreted Terrane: The Eastern Hamburg Klippe and Surrounding Rocks, Eastern Pennsylvania. Forty-ninth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1984.
Participants had the opportunity to see Cambro-Ordovician rocks of the eastern Hamburg klippe, nearby Ordovician rocks of the Shochary Ridge and the Martinsburg Formation, as well as Silurian and Devonian rocks in the Valley and Ridge north of Reading, PA.
Conference Host: Spitzenburg Hoch Erziehunganstalt
Conference Headquarters: Wyomissing, PA
Leaders: G. G. Lash, P. T. Lyttle, J. B. Epstein
Date: October 5-6, 1984
Central Pennsylvania Geology Revisited: Coral Reef; The Catskill Clastics; Quaternary and Tertiary Geology; Deformed Zones; Exploration and Exploitation of Coal. Fiftieth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1985-The Golden Jubilee.
The Golden Jubilee Conference returned to topics examined at the first Field Conference emphasizing the advances made in our understanding since that time. In addition, and to emphasize the prominent role geology plays in society today, two applied topics-Geology in the Exploration and Exploitation of Coal, and Application of Quaternary and Tertiary Geology to Environmental Problems in a Carbonate Valley in Central Pennsylvania were presented as was an opportunity to visit an undolomitized Silurian coral-Bryozoan reef.
Conference Host: Department of Geoscience, Pennsylvania State University
Conference Headquarters: State College, PA
Leaders: D. P. Gold, R. J. Cuffey, A. Davis, T. Gardner, R. R. Parizek, H. Pohn, A. W. Rose, R. Slingerland, B. Voight, E. G. Williams, and W. White
Date: October 3-5. 1985
Selected Geology of Bedford and Huntingdon Counties-. Fifty-first Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1986- In celebration of the Sesquicentennial of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey: 1836 to 1986.
In the spring of 1836, three geologists of the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania made a trip across Pennsylvania examining rocks along a traverse which included the valleys of the Little Juniata and Juniata Rivers in Huntingdon County. Later that summer field work began with the measurement of the Paleozoic section from the Broad Top along the course of Yellow Creek. This field work established the correct sequence of Paleozoic stratigraphy for the Appalachians. The 1986 Field Conference revisited some of the outcrops first examined in 1836 and considered them in light of modern geologic thought. The trip examined much of the Paleozoic section and included structures in Bedford and Huntingdon Counties, as well as the first ever Field Conference stop in the coal-bearing rocks of the Broad Top.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey and Juniata College
Conference Headquarters: Huntingdon, PA
Leaders: W.D. Sevon, T.M. Berg, S.W. Berkheiser Jr, E. Cotter, C.H. Dodge, W.E. Edmunds, R.T. Faill, A.D. Glover, J.D. Inners, T.L. Kaktins, L.J. Lentz, J. Cullen-Lollis, A.M. Thompson, E.G. Williams
Date: September 25 – 27, 1986
Pleistocene and Holocene Geology on a Dynamic Coast. Fifty-second Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1987.
The Field Conference examined some of the ice-marginal landforms, and some landforms developed by changing lake level. Attendees examined various diamicts, and sand and gravel facies which comprise these landforms. Problems of determining sedimentary environments and related sedimentological history were emphasized.
Conference Hosts: Mercyhurst College and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Erie, PA
Leaders: D.J. Thomas, M.R. Buyce, C.H. Carter, H.L. Delano, K. Taylor
Date: October 1 – 3, 1987
Bedrock and Glacial Geology of the North Branch Susquehanna Lowland and the Eastern Middle Anthracite Field. Fifty-third Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1988.
The 53rd Field Conference emphasized new findings on the glacial history of the North Branch Susquehanna River lowland and adjacent Anthracite regions, the structural geology of the Light Street fault between Bloomsburg and Berwick, and the stratigraphy of the Pottsville Formation in the Eastern Middle field. Also included was a tour of the Eckley Miner’s Village, the only preserved “mine patch” in the Anthracite fields and former abode of the “Molly Maguires.”
Conference Hosts: Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, and Eckley Miner’s Village
Conference Headquarters: Hazleton, PA
Leaders: D.D. Braun, N.M. Gillmeister, J.D. Inners, W.E. Edmunds, M.A. Landis, L.J. Lentz, D.A. Springer
Date: October 6 – 8, 1988
Geology in the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Fifty-fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1989.
The 54th Field Conference examined the stratigraphy and sedimentary geology of the latest Devonian and earliest Mississippian rocks exposed in western Pennsylvania, the geology of Mississippian carbonates, Pennsylvanian freshwater limestones and flint clays, geochemistry of calcium carbonate polymorphs in Pennsylvanian marine fossils, coal mining and related environmental problems. And an overview of the infamous Johnstown floods.
Conference Hosts: University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Johnstown, PA
Leaders:J.A. Harper, F. Baldassare, W.A. Bragonier, D.K. Brezinski, K.R. Cercone, A. Itanpanah, U. Kaktins, F.J. Knight, C.D. Laughrey, R. Naylor, J.F. Taylor, B. Walker, S.D. Weedman, R.W. Wood
Date: October 5 – 7, 1989
Carbonates, Schists, and Geomorphology in the Vicinity of the Lower Reaches of the Susquehanna River. Fifty-fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1990.
The 55th Field Conference focused on three topics of new field work and new thinking about the geology of western Lancaster and eastern York Counties. These are: 1) the age, facies, and tectonic relationships of the carbonate rocks which are extensively quarried in the two counties, 2) the structural history of the schists (and related rocks) which lie south of the Martic Line, and 3) the origin and age of the dramatic landscape in and around the gorge of the lower Susquehanna River.
Conference Hosts: Elizabethtown College, J.E. Baker Company, Millersville University, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Tethys Consultants, Inc.
Conference Headquarters: Lancaster, PA
Leaders: C.K. Scharnberger, N.J. Durika, R.T. Faill, G.R. Ganis, D. Hopkins, W.M. Jordan, D.B. MacLachlan, W.D. Sevon, J.F. Taylor, G.H. Thompson Jr., D.W. Valentino, D. Wyckoff
Date: October 4 – 6, 1990
Geology in the South Mountain Area, Pennsylvania. Fifty-sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1991.
Precambrian metavolcanics and Cambrian clastics comprise the rocks deformed during the development of the South Mountain Anticlinorium. Their lithologies and metamorphosed sedimentary structures provide considerable insight into the ancient geologic history of South Mountain. Topographic forms, various surficial deposits, and weathering products provide enticing glimpses of more recent climate/process development of the present landscape.
Conference Hosts: Dickinson College and Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Carlisle, PA
Leaders: W.D. Sevon, N. Potter, R. Ackermann, J.H. Barnes, A.E. Becher, S.W. Berkheiser Jr, D.C. Chichester, G.M. Clark, G. Docktor, H.W.A. Hanson, M.M. Key Jr, S. Lev, L. Pezzoli, R.J. Schott, S.J. Simms, S.I. Root, R.C. Smith II, T. Troy, R.L. Van Scyoc, J.H. Way, C.C. Wilderman, and E.L. Yochehlson
Date: September 26 – 28, 1991
Geology of the Upper Allegheny River Region in Warren County, Northwestern Pennsylvania. Fifty-seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1992.
Warren County was the site of such pioneering geological investigations as John Carll’s oil and gas studies in the 1880’s and Charles Butts’ folio-mapping in the early 1900’s. The Warren Field Conference emphasized 1) some new and exciting regional findings obtained from a concurrent PaGS mapping effort, and 2) the results of a variety of related topical studies (ranging from Upper Devonian stratigraphy to periglacial phenomena and forest ecology).
Conference Hosts: University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and Pennsylvnia Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Warren, PA
Leaders: W.D. Sevon, L.R. Auchmoody, T.M. Berg, S.W. Berkheiser Jr, H.L. Delano, C.H. Dodge, J.A. Harper,E.M. Hopkins, J.D. Inners, W.E. Kochanov, M.E. Moore, A.A. Panah, D.A. Stewart, J.M. Tarantino, D.L. Woodrow
Date: October 1 – 3, 1992
Geology of the Southern Somerset County Region, Southwestern Pennsylvania. Fifty-eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1993.
Several excellent outcrops demonstrated sedimentological interpretations of rocks of Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian age. Newly discovered Devonian fish bone horizons and “fish wallows” highlight one stop. Multiple point-bar and crevasse splay deposits were exposed in an active strip mine. In the Allegheny Mountain section of the Appalachian Plateaus province, the diverse and spectacular erosional topography reflects rock structure differently than in adjacent physiographic sections and provinces. The highest point in Pennsylvania, Mount Davis, was visited.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Maryland Geological Survey, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Conference Headquarters: Somerset, PA
Leaders: J.R. Shaulis, S.W. Berkheiser Jr, J.D. Beuthin, D.K. Brezinski, E.J. Ciolkosz, G.M. Clark, W. Edmunds, J.R. Eggleston, R.T. Faill, J.A. Harper, M.D. Kressel, T.A. McElroy, V.W. Skema, R.C. Smith II, A.E. Wegweiser, W. de Witt Jr
Date: September 30 – October 2, 1993
Various Aspects of Piedmont Geology in Lancaster and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania. Fifty-ninth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1994.
The trip examined carbonates, siliciclastic rocks, metabasalts, and pre-Taconian to Late Alleghanian structures. Attendees also observed the results of Piedmont landscape evolution, and the evolution of Late Cenozoic terraces along the lower Susquehanna River.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, West Chester University, and Concord College
Conference Headquarters: Lancaster, PA
Leaders: R.T. Faill, W.D. Sevon, S.W. Berkheiser, Jr, A.E. Gates, D.B. MacLachlan, R.C. Smith II, G.H. Thompson, D. Valentino, and C.G. Wiswall
Date: September 29 – October 2, 1994
Applied Geology in the Lock Haven and Williamsport Region, Clinton, Lycoming, and Tioga Counties, Northcentral Pennsylvania. Sixtieth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1995.
This trip focused upon the role that earth sciences play in solving some of society’s problems, including treatment of natural hazards, halting environmental degradation, and safe extraction of natural resources.
Conference Host: Lock Haven University
Conference Headquarters: Williamsport, PA
Leaders: C. Carnein, J.H. Way, C.Cram, E.B. Daeschler, N.A. DeLaney, C. Dodge, R. Hershey, G. Lacy, J. Munro, R. Pollock, A.R. Prave, R.A.J. Robinson, N.D. Rowe, J. Rummage, R. Schrock,J. Schueck, M. Smith, T.W. Swanson, A. Traverse, G. Uhl, D.L. Woodrow,C. Xethakis, R. Yowell
Date: October 5 – 7, 1995
Alleghanian Sequential Deformation on the Southwest Limb of the Pennsylvania Salient in Fulton and Franklin Counties, South-Central Pennsylvania. Sixty-first Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1996
Structures of the Ridge and Valley Province, commonly ascribed to the Alleghany Orogeny, did not form simultaneously, but rather, were created in a sequence of stages including: (1) horizontal layer-parallel shortening (LPS) and transport to the northwest along major bedding detachments, (2) imbricate thrusting and major folding, (3) vertical extension on steep fold limbs, (4) steep, out-of-sequence reverse faulting, only found on the southwest limb of the Pennsylvania Salient. During this sequence, the principle shortening direction progressively rotated clockwise on the northeast limb of the Pennsylvania Salient and counter-clockwise on its southwest limb.
Conference Host: Bucknell University
Conference Headquarters: Chambersburg, PA
Leaders: R.P. Nickelsen, H. Delano, W. Edmunds, and W.D. Sevon
Date: October 3 – 5, 1996
Geology of the Wyoming-Lackawanna Valley and its Mountain Rim, northeastern Pennsylvania. Sixty-second Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1997.
Focus of the conference was the Carboniferous stratigraphy and Pleistocene geomorphology of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area of the Northern Anthracite field. Stops of the two-day conference field trip concentrated on the radical changes in thickness and lithology which occur in the Mississippian units (particularly the Spechty Kopf and Mauch Chunk Formations) northeastward around the fringes of the Lackawanna basin, the lithologic and depositional characteristics of Loyalhanna Member-equivalent rocks in the Mauch Chunk Formation, the nature and extent of disconformities beneath the “Loyalhanna Member” and the Pottsville Formation in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the origin and geologic significance of scenic Pleistocene and post-Pleistocene “potholes” and bedrock gorges. Other topics considered at various stops included the complex-and often spectacular-tectonic structures at and near the Pottsville-Mauch Chunk contact, coalbed stratigraphy of the lower Llewellyn Formation, calcretes in the upper Llewellyn, the “infamous” Wal-Mart rockslide at Dickson City, and environmental geology of the Keystone Landfill northeast of Scranton.
Two pre-conference field trips were held, one to Nay Aug Park supplementing the stratigraphic and geomorphologic emphases of the main conference and the other featuring a descent into the Lackawanna Coal Mine.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Luzerne County Community College, Everhart Museum, Anthracite Heritage Museum
Conference Headquarters: Scranton, PA
Leaders: J.D. Inners, G. Ahnell, D.D. Braun, D.E. Costolnick, W.E. Edmunds, J.M. Fabiny, G.M. Fleeger, G. Herbster, N. Houtz, N.M. Gillmeister, W.E. Kochanov, C. Kulesa, A.J. Magnotta, D.K. Perry, R.H. Prosperi, P.R. Scheller , W.D. Sevon, T. Supey, Jr., D.M. Woodrow
Date: October 2 – 4, 1997
Geotectonic Environment of the Lake Erie Crustal Block. Sixty-third Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1998.
Whereas past interpretation of the Erie area included little of tectonic features, this field trip demonstrated the influence of movements along the bounding cross-strike structural discontinuities throughout the Phanerozoic on depositional environments and their resulting sedimentary rocks. The compressional features seen in northwestern Pennsylvania are a result of reactivation of pre-existing major fault zones. These zones are reactivated due to lineation with the current lithospheric horizontal stress field.
Stops on the trip illustrated Paleozoic sedimentation, sequence stratigraphy, oil and gas development, geology of the Lake Erie coastline, and horseshoe crab fossil sites.
Conference Host: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst College, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Erie, PA
Leaders: Loren E. Babcock, M. Raymond Buyce, John A. Harper, Scott C. McKenzie, David J. Thomas, Marilyn D. Wegweiser, Arthur E. Wegweiser
Date: October 1 – 3, 1998
Economic and Environmental Geology and Topography in the Allentown – Bethlehem Area. Sixty-fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1999.
The Field Conference examined two of the active mainstay mineral industries of the Allentown-Bethlehem area – cement and aggregate – as well as a site of the now dormant jasper industry possibly used by Indians for as long as 10,000 years. The conference also examined the Heleva superfund site and a smaller, unheralded environmental site that poses numerous issues. In addition, attendees saw some of the oldest glacial deposits in Pennsylvania and the Ringing Rocks Boulder Field. The trip concluded with the view from the top of South Mountain and a discussion of the controls of the landscape.
Conference Hosts: Eastern Industries, Lafarge Corporation, Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Allentown, PA
Leaders: Duane D. Braun, David A. Bremer, Kurt Carr, Gary M. Fleeger, James H. Fullton, Jr., Dru Germanoski, J.E. Godfrey, Dagmar Llewellyn, Edward Pany, W.D. Sevon, Michael G. Slenker
Date: September 30 – October 2, 1999
Pittsburgh at the Millennium: the Impact of Geoscience on a Changing Metropolitan Area. Sixty-fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2000.
Day one included a brief overview of the Pittsburgh area from atop Mt. Washington for orientation. After a stop to examine the impact of an old coal mine on the construction of the Mon-Fayette expressway, we boarded the US Army Corps of Engineers’ “pleasure barge” for an excursion down the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers from Braddock to Emsworth. Field slowdowns along the way gave conferees the opportunity to view the making of a new dam, the redevelopment of old brownfields, and a variety of geotechnical problems associated with attempting to build and maintain roads on Pittsburgh’s steep hillsides. Day two featured a visit to the Bruce Mansfield Power Plant in Beaver County where conferees had the opportunity to view the process of recycling scrubber sludge to make wallboard. We traveled to northern Allegheny County to examine what purportedly is the oldest documented major landslide in the world (Pennsylvanian age), and the structurally most complex area in Allegheny County. We also visited Fall Run Park, a small slice of native western Pennsylvania which has been severely impacted by surrounding sprawl.
Conference Hosts: Pittsburgh Geological Society, Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Leaders: Reginald P. Briggs, Bruce M. Camlin, Brian H. Greene, James V. Hamel, John A. Harper, John W. Kovacs, Henry S. Prellwitz, Christopher A. Ruppen, Charles H. Shultz, Joseph C. Smith
Date: October 5 – 7, 2000
2001: A Delware River Odyssey. Sixty-sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2001.
Much of the conference took place in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA) (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). Emphases was on stratigraphy, structural geology, glacial geology, geomorphology, paleontology, and geoarcheology—but guidebook articles, field-trip stops, and pre-conference trips also dealt with mineral resources, historical geography, and ecology, among other topics. Day 1 of the conference field trip was mostly in New Jersey and highlighted stops at Delaware Water Gap, the Yards Creek Pump Storage Project, and High Point State Park. Day 2 was entirely in Pennsylvania and featured stops in the Schoharie Formation/Onondaga Limestone, an ice-contact delta, and a Mahantango shale-chip rubble deposit. The trip concluded with a grand synthesis of stratigraphy, glacial history, geomorphology, and geoarcheology at Raymondskill Creek and Falls.
Conference Hosts: US Geological Survey, New Jersey Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, New York State Museum, National Park Service
Conference Headquarters: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
Leaders: Jack B. Epstein, Jeanine Ferrence, Jon D. Inners, Mitzi Kaiura, Donald H. Monteverde, Charles A. Ver Straeten, John Wright, Ron W. Witte
Date: October 4 – 6, 2001
From Tunkhannock to Starrucca: Bluestone, Glacial Lakes, and Great Bridges in the “Endless Mountains” of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sixty-seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2002.
The conference dealt mainly with the bedrock and glacial geology of Susquehanna County. Highlights of the field trip were stops at several active “bluestone,” crushed-stone, and sand-and-gravel quarries, as well as visits to two of Pennsylvania’s most impressive and historic railroad bridges, the great Starrucca (1848) and Tunkhannock (1915) Viaducts. Tying all these various aspects of the trip together is the “Summit sluiceway,” a remarkable valley that cuts across the east-west stream divide in the central part of Susquehanna County. Formed by overflow from the various generations (pre-Illinoian to late Wisconsinan) of Glacial Lake Great Bend, the sluiceway was utilized by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad as its major northward route from Scranton to the Great Lakes—culminating early in the 20th century with the completion of the “Summit cut-off” and the Tunkhannock Viaduct.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Bloomsburg University, Excalibur Group, LLC, Susquehanna County Historical Society
Conference Headquarters: Tunkhannock, PA
Leaders: Debra Adleman, Duane D. Braun, Brett Grover, Jonathan Harrington, Richard H. Howe, Jon D. Inners, William E. Kochanov, Jim T. Kovach, William MacDonald, Thomas A. McElroy, Michael G. Slenker, Donald L. Woodrow, William S. Young
Date: October 3 – 5, 2002
Geology on the Edge: Selected Geology of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, and Somerset Counties. Sixty-eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2003.
For the first time in its history, the 2003 Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists visited the Altoona area in west-central PA. Here, the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province meets the Appalachian Plateaus Province along the Allegheny Front. Stops on Day 1 focused on the Silurian-Devonian carbonates in the lowlands of the Ridge and Valley. We examined excellent exposures of these units and addressed their stratigraphy, sedimentology, and paleontology, as well as their economic potential. In contrast, stops throughout Day 2 addressed the challenges of the geology and the landscape to the region’s history, and blended the past and the present across the Allegheny Front. Highlights included: Fort Roberdeau, a reconstructed American Revolutionary stockade; a train excursion up the Front around the Horseshoe Curve and through Gallitzin’s Tunnel Hill (re-enacting the first Field Conference in 1931); the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site; and an active strip-mine operation.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, The Pennsylvania State University. New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc., Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Mountain Research, LLC.
Conference Headquarters: Altoona, PA
Leaders: Bob Altamura, Edwin Anderson, Bill Bragonier, Arnold Doden, Gary Fleeger, Duff Gold, Peggy Goodman, Peter Goodwin ,Frank Hall ,John Harper, Jon Inners, Steve Lindberg, Todd Lowry, Cheryl Sinclair, Vik Skema, Bob Smith, John Taylor, Keith Van Horn, John Way
Date: October 2 – 4, 2003
Marginalia: Magmatic Arcs and Continental Margins in Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania, Sixty-ninth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2004
For the first time in Field Conference history, we traveled to Delaware to examine the Wissahickon and the Wilmington Complex. A highlight of the Delaware excursion on Day 1 was a ride on the section of the historic Wilmington and Western Railroad that has been repaired since 2003’s pre-hurricane storm rained destruction on the Delaware Valley. We then got a taste of our neighbors’ hospitality with lunch at stop leader Peg Plank’s house where we will also visit her quarry in the “Mt. Cuba” Wissahickon. We headed back through horse country in Chester County, PA to visit a quarry in the Cockeysville Marble and a typical Piedmont roadside outcrop of “Doe Run” Wissahickon. On Day 2, we visited Delaware County, PA to further explore the relationship of the Wissahickon to the Wilmington Complex arc and (finally!) see some “type” Wissahickon. We also looked at the Wissahickon in contact with Grenvillian gneiss of the Avondale Massif. At least we thought it was Grenvillian until zircons from the contact zone in this railroad cut gave a Silurian age.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Delaware Geological Survey, West Chester University
Conference Headquarters: West Chester, PA
Leaders: Gale Blackmer, LeeAnn Srogi, William Schenck, Margaret Plank, Howell Bosbyshell, Gill Wiswall
Date: October 7 – 9, 2004
Type Sections and Stereotype Sections: Glacial and Bedrock Geology in Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer, and Crawford Counties, Pennsylvania, Seventieth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2005
The 2005 Field Conference visited glacial and bedrock sections in the Shenango and Beaver River valleys in northwestern Pennsylvania. The glacial sections included a complex section of glaciolacustrine sediments with a plethora of sedimentary structures at Cochranton. A lake bluff section on Pymatuning Reservoir at Pymatuning State Park addressed problems of glacial stratigraphy, history, sedimentology, and geomorphology. The Booth Run section exposed all 5 of White and others’ (1969) Titusville Till sheets, separated by sand and gravel beds, and displayed some complicated weathering patterns. The bedrock sections include two type sections (Mercer and Homewood) described by I.C. White in the late 1800s. These were compared to modern exposures of the lower Allegheny – upper Pottsville interval, and illustrated why some of the type sections are “stereotype” sections. Also included were a stop at the Vanport Limestone, and an unusual asymmetric fold with multiple thrust faults at New Castle.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Sharon, PA
Leaders: Thomas Anderson, Linda Armstrong, William A. Bragonier, Gary M. Fleeger, William E. Kochanov, Viktoras W. Skema
Date: October 13 – 15, 2005
The Haystacks, “Ricketts Folly,” and the End of the World: Geology of the Glaciated Allegheny High Plateau, Sullivan, Luzerne, and Columbia Counties, Pennsylvania. Seventyfirst Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2006
The 71st Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania took place amid some of the grandest scenery in the northeastern United States, counting among its attractions two of Pennsylvania’s most picturesque and geologically interesting state parks—Ricketts Glen and Worlds End. Ricketts Glen boasts 22 named waterfalls among its many attractions, and Worlds End has two spectacular scenic overlooks and (as far as we know) the biggest Pottsville “rock city” on the High Plateau. Emphasis was on the geomorphological development and glacial history of the region that encompasses North Mountain, Eagles Mere, and the uplands bordering Loyalsock Creek, but STOPS dealing with the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Lock Haven, Catskill, and Huntley Mountain Formations were also be included. Of particular stratigraphic and sedimentologic interest was a pre-Conference field trip to the enigmatic “Haystacks” in the upper part of the Huntley Mountain Formation on Loyalsock Creek. A second pre-conference field trip involved an all-day hike through the Glens and along the Highland Trail at Ricketts Glen State Park. A late addition to the “road log” will be discussions of the damage inflicted by the “no-name” flood of late June 2006.
Conference Hosts: Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Ricketts Glen State Park, Susquehanna University
Conference Headquarters: Ricketts Glen State Park, PA
Leaders: Duane D. Braun, Jon D. Inners, Gary M. Fleeger, Angela C. Dippold, Jennifer M. Elick, Norman M. Gillmeister, Joseph C. Hill, Donald L. Woodrow
Date: October 5 – 7, 2006
1st to 5th order Appalachian Mt. Folds; Folded Thrusts; Ordovician & Silurian carbonates, Silurian quartzites & sandstones, Seventysecond Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2007
The 72nd Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania took place in the scenic and geologically fascinating area near Lewistown, located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s picturesque Ridge and Valley province. The trip emphasized the products of recent geological mapping in the area surrounding the beautiful Kishacoquillas Valley – a locus of Amish and Mennonite farming. Geologic emphasis was on the reinterpreted structural geology of the area, which highlights pre-Alleghenian thrust faults that demonstrably were later refolded during the development of the Appalachian Mountains. Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian stratigraphy of the area was also highlighted with its local variations. The first day included examining the spectacular newly created road cut at the east end of the Lewistown Narrows where the Tuscarora and Rose Hill Formations may be seen in two very different structural settings. The remainder of the day included stops in no less than three quarries, each with structural complexities, including one in semi-consolidated Ridgeley sandstone with fossils. Day one lunch was atop Jacks Mountain featuring panoramic views of both adjacent valleys and ridge top quartzite stratigraphy. The first three stops of the second day examined the structural relationships of the pre-Alleghenian thrusting in the Kishacoquillas Valley starting with a stop at Reedsville to view “Trenton-Black River” stratigraphy and thrust fault structure. Overturned Bald Eagle conglomerate was seen at a stop demonstrating additional structures in the footwall of a refolded thrust fault. Then to road outcrops in the Ridgeley sandstone with a cross-bedded crag and a giant sinkhole in the Tonoloway Formation. Two pre-Conference Trips included a trip to an enigmatic boulder field of Ridgely sandstone that has no apparent source, and an underground excursion through the Rupert Cave in the Old Port Formation.
Conference Host: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Burnham, PA
Leaders: Thomas McElroy, Donald Hoskins, Nathanael Barta, Paul Fagley, Steve Shawver
Date: September 27 – 29, 2007
Geology of the Gettysburg Mesozoic Basin and Military Geology of the Gettysburg Campaign, Seventythird Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2008
The 73nd Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania offered a duel focus: the geology of the Mesozoic Gettysburg basin and the military geology of the battle of Gettysburg. In the history of the Field Conference only one STOP has examined Mesozoic rocks. An entire day was devoted to a geological transect across the Gettysburg basin. The Gettysburg basin is an erosional remnant of the early Mesozoic Birdsboro basin, formed on the roots of the Permian Alleghanian orogeny in the middle of Pangea near the edge of what was to become the Atlantic Ocean in the middle Jurassic. Approximately 7,000 m of mostly terrigenous sediment accumulated in an elongate trough (the Birdsboro basin) during the late Triassic and earliest Jurassic. We visited deposits of the various depositional environments, including the basal fanglomerate, the fluvial playa, the lacustrine and shoreline, and the upper fanglomerates. We also entered a quarry that exposes cycles in the Ordovician Beekmantown, and considered the tectonic implications for its presence within the Gettysburg basin. The second day of the Field Conference was spent entirely within the Gettysburg National Military Park. No famous land battle in all the annals of military history exemplifies the influence of topography and geology on the course and outcome of the engagement more than the battle of Gettysburg. From the Blue Ridge-South Mountain barrier that shielded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from the Union Army of the Potomac both during the movement to and retreat from Gettysburg to the spoke-like road network that led both armies to the fatal field to the rocky diabase fishhook upon which the Union forces anchored their final defensive position, the landscape dominated every phase of the Gettysburg campaign. We visited several of the well-known sites at Gettysburg National Military Park, including the railroad cuts west of town, the Lee Memorial on Seminary Ridge, Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Peach Orchard, and the High Water Mark on Cemetery Ridge-emphasizing at each STOP how topographic and geologic conditions affected military tactics and results.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson College, PA DEP Bureau of Watershed Management
Conference Headquarters: Gettysburg, PA
Leaders: Rodger T Faill, Jon D Inners, Roger J Cuffey, William E Kochanov, G Patrick Bowling, Robert C Smith, II, Gary M Fleeger,
Date: September 25 – 27, 2008
History and Geology of the Oil Regions of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Seventy-fourth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2009
The 74th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists returned to northwestern Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the modern petroleum industry by the successful completion of the Drake Well in Titusville on August 27, 1859.
The first day of the field trip began by looking at an excellent outcrop of the uppermost Devonian Berea Sandstone and adjacent rocks in Oil City. From there we headed north along Oil Creek to relive the history of the early oil days. Stops included: the McClintock #1 well, the world’s oldest producing oil well; Petroleum Centre, the heart of the industry during the early days; an early attempt to mine to the oil reservoirs; Blood Farm, with much of its old oilfield equipment still extant; Pithole, the famous ghost town that provides a sobering look at the rise and fall of an area in the throes of “black gold fever;” and Drake Well Museum where it all started. At the Drake Well, conferees also had the opportunity to examine an outcrop of the Upper Devonian “Drake Well Formation” (informal name) and search for fossils.
The morning of day two was spent at a very complete esker-delta-lacustrine plain complex in northern Butler County. The new lidar images clearly show the complex. The story includes a couple of drainage diversions caused by the delta resulting in a stream that flows across and up its valley. In addition to the geomorphic relationships of the complex, we also had an opportunity to visit an active sand and gravel pit in the delta, and see the type of sedimentation that occurs in that environment.
The afternoon of the second day of the Field Conference was devoted to reexamining the long-studied and long-debated end-Devonian stratigraphic succession in northwest Pennsylvania. Advances in global geochronology, recognition of the importance of the Hangenberg mass-extinction event, plus recent discoveries of apparent end-Devonian glacial activity have raised the stakes for improving our knowledge of the stratigraphy and paleontology in this regional time-slice. The results of extensive fieldwork in Crawford County and surrounding areas, as well as a partial review of the extensive and complex history of stratigraphic investigations of area sections will be presented.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Pittsburgh Geological Society
Conference Headquarters: Titusville, PA
Leaders: John A. Harper, Gordon C. Baird, Gary M Fleeger, Jeffry J. Gryta, Augie Holtz, Jocelyn Lewis-Miller, Scott C. McKenzie, Jerry Knickerbocker D, Jeffery Over, Shirley Pulawski, Amy Randolph, Joseph S. Sullivan
Date: October 8 – 10, 2009
Tectonics of the Susquehanna Piedmont in Lancaster, Dauphin, and York Counties, Seventy-fifth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2010
In 1960 the Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists trip addressed “Some structural and tectonic problems of the Appalachian Piedmont along the Susquehanna River.” Now on the 75th anniversary of the Field Conference and 50th anniversary of that trip, it is time to see what a host of geologists and other scientists enlightened by a half-century’s diligent work and several scientific revolutions have done toward solving some of those 1960 problems. Many of those old problems have been largely solved whereas new data and greater sophistication have generated a new array of questions for the next generation. This trip is designed to take a brief look backwards at what has been accomplished, to provide an update of our present understanding of Piedmont tectonics and geology, and perhaps to provide a new set of problems for geologists of the next half century to puzzle over.
A pre-trip symposium on the afternoon preceding the trip will attempt to cover its basic tectonic themes in ten short talks summarizing different aspects of the region. The sequence of presentations is organized into a four-hour lecture series to give an overview through both time and space of the latest thinking and evidence about the tectonics of the Susquehanna Piedmont. A “map blast” and informal poster session will follow the symposium.
The first day’s trip will be devoted to the early Paleozoic platform and slope deposits near the Susquehanna River. Stratigraphic units will include the Precambrian Accomac (Catoctin) Volcanics, Cambrian Hellam Conglomerate and Chickies Quartzite, the Cambrian transition from platform carbonates of the Ledger Dolomite into the Conestoga slope limestones and olistostromes, the Octoraro (Antietam ?) Schist, and some Beekmantown carbonates. Taconic and Alleghanian-age structures will illustrate several types of cleavage, the infamous Martic thrust zone, enigmatic folds and nappe emplacement mechanics, pirated cleavages at Chickies rock, and boudin mechanics and thick carbonate mylonitic zones produced by the exposed Alleghanian-age Chickies-Oregon Thrust in the Prospect Quarry. That evening the traditional banquet lecture will be given by Damian Nance on “The Rheic Ocean in relation to the Appalachian Orogenic belt.”
The second day’s trip will focus on the Taconic foreland basin mostly in Dauphin and Lebanon Counties. Recent work by Ganis, Repetski and others has produced about 50 sites with high quality graptolite and/or condont dates. With these constraints, new mapping by Ganis and Blackmer has begun to make sense out of the Martinsburg flysch and its allochthons. These are now named as a separate formation, the sub-Martinsburg Dauphin Formation that has been thrust emplaced onto the carbonate platform and folded along with those carbonates and the overlying flysch into the Lebanon Valley nappe complex. These map relationships are at complete odds to traditional views of the Hamburg klippe as an erosionally isolated part of a late stage thrust sheet and suggest the “Hamburg klippe” term should be abandoned. The stops will demonstrate the stages of evolution of the Cocalico-Dauphin-Martinsburg foreland basin from the Myerstown Formation first disturbances of the platform carbonates, through emplacement from some distant deep sea source of the deep water Dauphin allochthons, to deposition of the overlying Martinsburg flysch and ultimately to gross overturning of it all as part of the Lebanon Valley nappe complex.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Lancaster, PA
Leaders: John Barnes, Gale Blackmer, Hal Bosbyshell, Rodger Faill, Bob Ganis, Alec Gates, Jay Parrish, Frank Pazzaglia, Bob Smith, Scott Southworth, John Taylor, Roger Thomas, Dave Valentino, Don Wise,
Date: September 23 – 25, 2010
Geology of the Pennsylvanian-Permian in the Dunkard Basin, Seventy-sixth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2011
The 2011 Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists focused on the Permian- Carboniferous age rocks of the Dunkard Basin in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the northern panhandle of West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio. We looked at the youngest Paleozoic strata of the Appalachians exposed along winding roads built on the steep valley walls of this remote region. We closely examined the various lithologic features and fossils, touched on dramatic north to south facies change in the basin, and considered the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic implications of all of this. We once again asked the question about the age of Dunkard strata – Pennsylvanian or Permian? Attention was also be given to the unique topographic features of the region – the narrow, sinuous ridge tops and deep valleys shaped by strong headward erosion of streams and extensive landslides.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Pittsburgh Geological Society
Conference Headquarters: Washington, PA
Leaders: Bascombe Blake, Jr., C. Blaine Cecil, Helen L. Delano, William A. DiMichele, Nick Fedorko, Richard E. Gray, W.D. Sevon, Viktoras W. Skema
Date: September 29 – October 1, 2011
Journey Along the Taconic Unconformity, Northeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Southeastern New York, Seventy-seventh Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2012
The Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists has in the past visited many sites along the Ordovician-Silurian boundary. The “transitional” contact between Silurian and Ordovician rocks in central Pennsylvania becomes unconformable in eastern Pennsylvania to southeastern New York as the hiatus widens. Following the northeastward decrease in intensity of deformation in the Ridge and Valley through New Jersey, this trip will begin with the high-angle contact between the Tuscarora and Hamburg sequence at the Schuylkill River and proceed for 120 miles along the very low-angle unconformable contact between Lehigh Gap, PA and Ellenville, NY. We will suggest predominant Alleghanian deformation along the contact and, in New Jersey and New York, propose zones of increasing southeastward Taconic deformation away from the contact. We will demonstrate the relative intensities and trends of Taconic and Alleghanian deformation in New York, and will comment on the northeastward dying-out of Alleghanian structures in the Shawangunk Mountains. The perplexing story of events during the Taconic hiatus, lasting perhaps 10-20 million years, will be illuminated by an unusual diamictite in southeastern New York.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, New Jersey Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
Leaders: Jack Epstein, Don Montevere, Christopher Oest, Ron Witte, Greg Herman
Date: October 18 – 20, 2012
A Tale of Two Provinces: The Nippenose Valley and Route 15 Corridor, Seventy-Eighth Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2013. The tale of two provinces examines the Great Amphitheater of Pennsylvania, the Nippenose Valley of Lycoming and Clinton Counties, inside and out on day one. The floor of this breached anticline exposes the Middle to Upper Ordovician, Bellefonte through Reedsville Formations. Just outside of the amphitheater are great exposures of the Marcellus, Tully, and Mifflintown. The second day is along US Route 15 corridor. There we examine excellent exposures of the stratigraphic succession from the Devonian Brallier/Harrell/Lock Haven into the Pennsylvanian Bloss coal complex of Pottsville/ Allegheny age, only to return back to the Lock Haven. It’s a wild roller coaster ride from Williamsport to the New York border as you cross six “time zones” trying to figure out if it is half past the Devonian or a quarter after the Mississippian.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: Williamsport, PA
Leaders: Bill Kochanov, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Brett McLaurin, Bloomsburg University
Date: September 27-28, 2013
The 79th Annual Field Conference of PA Geologists convenes in Carlisle, PA on October 16-18, 2014. A principal emphasis of the meeting is the use of LIDAR in mapping and interpreting regional bedrock and geomorphology.
Ten sites present surficial, bedrock and economic geology, structure and geomorphology of South Mountain, the Great Valley and Blue Mountain, principally in Cumberland County. Of the ten, revisited with new interpretations are four classic sites visited by the Conference (one in 1982 and three in 1991). Five viewed quarries produce sandstone, limestone, shale and colluvium/alluvium. Presented are their diverse economic importance as well as their geologic aspects and interpreted history. Featured at one site are dye tracing of long distance ground water travel to a large springs. Paleontology is a sub-focus at two sites. Viewed respectively at two sites is autochthonous and allocthonous Ordovician Martinsburg sediments and markedly diverse structure. The Friday evening banquet speaker topic is the history of 19th century iron mining. Recent geomorphic investigations using LIDAR imagery provide new interpretations that allow reconstruction of Cenozoic paleotopography. Cretaceous lignite recovered in a core will be available for examination.
Conference Hosts: Pennsylvania Geological Survey and Dickinson College
Conference Headquarters: Carlisle, PA
Leaders: Don Hoskins, Noel Potter, and more
Date: October 16-18, 2014
The 80th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists will be headquartered in Pottsville, PA, and emphasize the stratigraphy, structure, and mining history of the Southern and Western Middle Anthracite fields, particularly in the vicinity of Pottsville and Shamokin. STOPS contemplated at this time include the PA 61 cut in the Pottsville Conglomerate at Pottsville, Wadesville anthracite stripping, St. Clair fossil site, Pottsville Aggregates quarry at Wadesville, Centralia mine fire, Blaschak Coal Co. strippings near Mount Carmel, The Whaleback, and Bear Gap quarry, north of Shamokin.
Conference Hosts:Pennsylvania Geological Survey, PA DEP, Bloomsburg University, Susquehanna University, Kutztown University, Schuylkill County Historical Society, SME Penn-Anthracite Section, Blaschak Coal Corporation, Reading Anthracite Company, Pottsville Materials (H&K Group), and Corson Quarries, Inc
Conference Headquarters: Pottsville, PA
Leaders: Jon Inners, Daniel Koury, and more
Date: October 8-10, 2015
81st Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2016. Energy and Environments: Geology in the “Nether World” of Indiana County, Pennsylvania
The first geological survey of Pennsylvania passed to the right and left of Indiana County leaving it a veritable “nether world” of geology. Since then, the “nether world” has been fleshed out and the 81st Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists will highlight Indiana County and adjacent areas, rich in both energy and non-fuel minerals for over 100 years. We will look at past and present environments–warts and all. Stops and preconference trips currently being contemplated include: Johnstown 1889 flood site, Miss-Penn unconformity west of Johnstown, flint clay locales, Blacklick Gorge Geology along the Ghost Town Trail, Loyalhanna Limestone outcrops, a caving trip, local whitewater rafting and an AMD treatment site.
Conference Host: University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Indiana University
Conference Headquarters: Indiana, PA
Leaders: Joan Hawk, William A. Bragonier
Date: October 6-8, 2016
82nd Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2017. Recent Geologic Studies & Initiatives in Central Pennsylvania.
Conference Host: Penn State University, PA Geological Survey
Conference Headquarters: State College, PA
Leaders: Duff Gold, Charlie Miller, Arnold Doden, Terry Engelder, Will White, Dick Parizek, David Yoxtheimer, Ryan Muther, Roman DiBiase, Sarah Bentley… and many more
Date: October 5-7, 2017
83rd Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2018. Temporal, Tectonic, Climatic and Environmental Context of the Triassic-Jurassic rift system of eastern North America: Emerging Concepts from the Newark Rift Basin
Conference Host: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Rutgers University, Lehigh University
Conference Headquarters: Center Valley, PA
Leaders: Paul Olsen, Martha Withjack, Roy Schlische, Frank Pazzaglia
Date: October 5-6, 2018
84th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2019. Chapter 5: The case of the missing Catskill- Clues from Wayne, Sullivan, and Susquehanna Counties
Conference Host: PA Geological Survey, Bloomsburg University
Conference Headquarters: Carbondale, PA
Leaders: Bill Kochanov, Brett McLaurin, Duane Braun
Date: October 3-5, 2019
85th Annual Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 2021. Geology of Ohiopyle State Park and the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania
Conference Host: PA Geological Survey, Lehigh University, and University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown
Conference Headquarters: Champion, PA
Leaders: Jim Shaulis, Frank Pazzaglia, Steve Lindberg
Date: October 7-9, 2021