16 sketches

Cenozoic Era

L if e E

v e n ts

( c h

o o s e 1

)

 Aftermath of the Great Dying: the results of this event, creatures that were affected, and how it enabled later creatures to flourish

 Rise of early Cenozoic mammals: what the main types were, where and how they lived, and their variation in characteristics with time

 Evolution of horses: how horses originated, how they evolved over time, and when they were or were not present on different continents

 Origin of grasses: the characteristics and classification of grasses, when they appeared in the rock record, and the significance of their appearance to landscape evolution

 Pleistocene megafauna and their extinction: the types and characteristic of large creatures that lived during the Ice Age, when they became extinct, and different theories for why they disappeared

 Panama connection: when and how North America and South America became connected in the Cenozoic, how this connection changed the distribution of animals on either continent, and what animals migrated across the connection

 Hominids and other primates: early ancestors of humans, apes, and other primates, when they lived, evidence for them, and how they evolved over time

 Florissant National Park (CO): what and where it is, how old the rocks are, and the incredible diversity of fossils that are found

G e o lo

g ic

E v e n ts

( c h o o s e 1

)

 Eocene Thermal Maximum: what it is, when it occurred, how it is expressed in rocks and isotopes, and possible causes

 Ice Age: when the recent Ice Age started and stopped, what areas were affected, and how glacial and interglacial periods alternated over time

 Roman and Medieval warm periods and the Little Ice Age: when these occurred, the evidence for them, the temperatures compared to modern ones, and some ideas about the causes

 Formation of Himalaya: when and how the Himalaya formed, and how it is interpreted to have changed global and regional climates, including the South Asian monsoon

 Eocene erosion surface: what it is, the many areas of the western United States in which it is recorded, and how it formed, including the events that preceded it and followed it

 Big Bend National Park (TX): the location and main types of rocks that form the scenery of this region, the tectonic setting in which these rocks were formed, and some of the more interesting geologic features

 Bryce National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument (UT): the age and sequence of rocks exposed in these parks, the environment in which the rocks formed, and the later events that resulted in the scenery

 Ogallala Aquifer: what and where it is, the age of the rocks and how these rocks were deposited, change in the aquifer in the last century, and implications for agriculture in the Great Plains

 San Andreas fault: where it is, what type of movement occurs along it, its plate-tectonic setting, the types of features related to it (including mountains), how different segments of the fault move, and the history of earthquakes along different segments of the fault

 Basin and Range Province: where it is, the characteristic landscapes and geologic structures and how they formed, and the overall age and tectonic setting

 Wasatch Front: where it is, its current expression and types of geologic structures, and its position relative to tectonic features in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic

 Mid-Cenozoic extension: the characteristic structures associated with this event, including metamorphic core complexes, detachment faults, and tilted fault blocks, how these features formed, and how they are expressed in the geology around Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona

 Snake River Plain and Yellowstone: the volcanic history of these places, including the progression with time, the features formed by volcanism (e.g., Craters of the Moon and the Yellowstone calderas), evidence for current activity, and possible implications of a future eruption from Yellowstone

 Mid-Cenozoic volcanism: the distribution and characteristics of middle Tertiary volcanic rocks in Arizona, including calderas in the Superstition, Chiricahua, and Kofa, Mountains, and the Oatman area

 Volcanoes of Arizona: location and types of volcanoes in Arizona, including the associated rock types and interpreted style of eruption

R e s o

u rc

e s (

c h

o o s e 1

)

 Large salt deposits of Arizona: location and age, how they formed, and how they are used as a resource or for storage of natural gas

 Detachment-related mineral deposits: location, age, and characteristic minerals, and how they are interpreted to have formed during extension

 Volcanic-related gold and silver deposits: location, age, and characteristics of volcanic-related precious-metal deposits, such as those near Tonapah (NV), and Oatman (AZ)

 Hot springs of the western United States: location, age, and geologic settings, how they formed, and which ones are used for geothermal energy

 Cascade Range (CA, OR, WA, and BC): location, age, and characteristic types of volcanoes, tectonic setting, and history of eruptions in the last several thousand years

 Sand and gravel in Arizona: location and age of the most used mineral resource in Arizona, the many ways in which they are used, characteristics of a satisfactory sand and gravel, and main geologic setting