UPPER PENNSYLVANIAN ROCKS AND PERMIAN DUNKARD GROUP ROCKS OF WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA FACILITATE FIELD BASED AND CLASSROOM TEACHING OF INTRODUCTORY EARTH SCIENCE AND GEOLOGY CLASSES

A wide array of geoscience concepts related to the geologic outcrops of Upper Pennsylvanian rocks and Permian Dunkard Group rocks that occur in western West Virginia may be addressed in introductory earth science and geology classes. The geologic time scale may be introduced while explaining that the Pennsylvanian and Permian are the last two periods of the Paleozoic Era. Absolute time and radiometric dating of the geologic column may be addressed here also. The outcrops of this region consist primarily of sandstones and shales, with smaller amounts of coal, siltstone, limestone, and conglomerate. These rocks represent stream channel, floodplain, upper and lower deltaic plain, delta front, lacustrine, and coastal swamp paleoenvironments. In the Upper Pennsylvanian rocks, thin layers of marine delta front sandstones containing marine brachiopods (such as Neospirifer) are sandwiched between non-marine black shale swamp deposits containing tropical ferns (such as Neuropteris). Stream channel sandstones and stream point bar deposits contain casts and molds of ancient tropical plants, such as Calamites. Fossil assemblages and their relationship to ancient depositional environments reinforce to the students that index fossils are used to determine age. Also fossils may be used as indicators of paleoenvironments and paleoclimates. The lateral lithologic changes and vertical stacking of various depositional facies help students realize the dynamic nature of changing earth processes, such as transgressions and regressions of the sea and increases in sedimentation resulting from renewed uplift of the Appalachian Mountains to the east (as Africa approached and collided with North America, thus introducing concepts of plate tectonics). Sedimentary structures that are present in these rocks, such as cross-bedding, ripple marks, and flute casts illustrate to students how paleocurrent directions of streams are determined. In addition, the Burning Springs Anticline may be studied to illustrate structural geology concepts and the relationship of stresses in rocks to plate tectonic concepts. The Burning Springs Anticline also served as an important hydrocarbon trap for significant reserves of petroleum. Production of coal, petroleum, and other natural resources can easily be brought into the discussion.