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Paleozoic Era

L if e E

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 Cambrian explosion: what it was, when it occurred, and the types of organisms that arose

 Burgess Shale: what it is, how old it is, and the unique types of organisms that are preserved

 Graptolites: what they are, where and how they lived, their variation in characteristics with time, and importance for determining the ages of early Paleozoic rocks

 Trilobites: what they are, where and how they lived, and their variation in characteristics with time

 Brachiopods: what they are, where and how they lived, and their variation in characteristics with time

 Conodonts: what they are, what type of creature they are interpreted to be from, their variation in characteristics with time, and importance to determining the ages of Paleozoic rocks

 Paleozoic extinctions: when they occurred, what types of life each extinction affected, and possible causes for each

 First land plants: when they appeared, what types of plants they were, and how they are expressed in the fossil record

 First land animals: when they appeared, what types of creatures they were, and how they are represented in the fossil record

 Early amphibians: when they appeared, what types of creatures they were, the environments in which they lived, and how they are represented in the fossil record

 Paleozoic trees: when they appeared, what types of trees they were, how they are expressed in the fossil record, and how they differ from modern types of trees

G e o lo

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)  Cambrian transgressive sequence: when it occurred, how it is expressed

in the rock sequence at any one place, and how its extent in the western United States changed during the Cambrian and early Ordovician

 Paleozoic rocks and history of the Grand Canyon: the sequence of rocks, including the name and age of each formation, the environment interpreted for each formation, and the time recorded by breaks between formations

 Paleozoic rocks and history of southern Arizona: the sequence of rocks, including the name and age of each formation, and the environment and tectonic setting interpreted for each formation

 Paleozoic rocks and history of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado: the sequence of rocks, including the name and age of each formation, and the environment and tectonic setting interpreted for each formation

 Ancestral Rockies: what and where they were, how they are expressed in the sequence of rocks, and what larger tectonic event they are interpreted to be related to

 Famous red rocks of the western United States: the age, names of formations, and environmental and tectonic setting of red rocks in Grand Canyon (AZ), Sedona (AZ), Monument Valley (AZ-UT), Canyon De Chelly (AZ), Canyonlands (UT), Red Rocks Amphitheater and Garden of the Gods (CO), and Maroon Bells (near Aspen CO)

 Paleozoic transgressions and regressions in North America: the times when seas were advancing or retreating across the continent, times when the seas were at their maximum extent, and the names given to the main sequences of transgressions (e.g., Sauk sequence)

 Mississippian carbonates of the western United States: names of the main Mississippian limestone unit in southern Arizona, Grand Canyon, southwestern Colorado, and the northern Rocky Mountains (e.g., Montana), what types of fossils they contain, and the environment in which they are interpreted to have formed, including paleolatitude

 Post-Mississippian carbonate paleokarst event: what occurred after deposition of the Mississippian carbonates, how it is expressed in the top of the Mississippian carbonates, and the names, if any, assigned to the resulting rocks (e.g., near Durango, CO)

 Guadalupe reef complex: where it is, how old it is, and how different parts of this ancient reef are expressed in the preserved rocks

 Carlsbad Caverns: the rock units in which the cave developed, the origin of the cave, and the processes that formed each main type of cave formation (e.g., stalactites)

R e

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1 )  Oil and gas of the Paradox Basin: the location and age of the basin, its

interpreted tectonic setting, the sequence of rocks, and the origin and geologic trapping of petroleum

 Oil and gas of the Permian Basin: the location and age of the basin, its interpreted tectonic setting, the sequence of rocks, and the origin and geologic trapping of petroleum

 Limestone resources of the southwest United States: the location, age, and formation names of the main sources of limestone used in the production of cement and lime in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and southern California