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Black Hills South Dakota, June 19-21, 1998
Image from http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/
The Denver Chapter will be holding a field trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota on Father's Day Weekend--June 19-21. This area is dominated by an uplifted central core of Precambrian rocks, as old as 2.2BY. Surrounding this structural high are excellent exposures of sedimentary rocks from the Cambrian Deadwood formation up through the Cretaceous, as well as igneous intrusions. Riddled with caves, the Paha Sapa (Madison) limestone encircles the uplift, and provides an important aquifer for a large region.
Starting at Edgemont, SD, we'll be visiting the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, where the fossil remains of more than 100 mammoths and other fauna have been found preserved in a sinkhole. The site has been developed as a working paleontological research lab, and has been recognized by SVP as having an exemplary interpretive program. We'll also visit Wind Cave or Jewel Cave. We'll take a look at the Homestake gold mining district, a metamorphosed banded iron formation. We'll end up at the northern margin of the Hills, near Spearfish Canyon and Bear Butte about two hours from Devil's Tower. We hope to visit some collecting localities, particularly for pegmatites and possibly agates. There are many points of interest along the route and nearby involving Native American history and the soldiers, scouts, miners, and settlers who came to the area, mostly after the discovery of gold by Custer in the 1870s.
We'll try to keep costs low--camping and picnic lunches are planned. Motel names and numbers can be supplied for those who would rather not rough it. As always, members family and friends are welcome at any event. The field trip should be especially kid-friendly, and Dad-friendly, too! The Denver Chapter invites any and all AWG members and friends, and we extend a special invitation to the Lincoln, Minnesota, Osage, and Salt Lake Chapters, and At-Large members in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions. If you are interested, contact Kata McCarville, kmccarvi@silver.sdsmt.edu, 605-394-6197, fax 605-394-5177.
