FROM WOOLLY MAMMOTHS TO A SUPERFUND SITE: A PLACE-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY COURSE IN SALTVILLE, VIRGINIA

Environmental geology students at Emory & Henry College spend many laboratories exploring nearby Saltville, Virginia, a place with rich history, active industry, and significant environmental challenges, all of which are linked to the geology of the area.

Saltville provides a unique opportunity for a place-based approach to teaching in the geosciences. In addition to being the type location for a major thrust fault in the Valley & Ridge, the area is home to paleontological and archeological excavations and is also the site of Civil War battles. Saltville has historically been a company town because of the salt and gypsum found in the Maccrady Formation, which is thickened in the footwall syncline of the Saltville Fault. Olin Corporation’s chlorine gas plant operations in the mid 1900s resulted in mercury contamination and subsequent designation of a 125-acre Superfund site. Since 2000, United Salt Corporation has been extracting salt and Spectra Energy uses the resulting salt cavities for natural gas storage.

During the first field laboratory, students are broadly introduced to the geology, paleontology, archeology, history, socioeconomics, ecology, and environmental issues in Saltville. The students then split up into groups based on similar interests and pick a topic or question on which to focus their research. Students then design a research project and spend several laboratories independently collecting data. Projects have included paleontology, gypsum mining, current salt extraction and natural gas storage, environmental remediation, and water chemistry. Students present the results of their research orally and are evaluated by both faculty and peers.

The environmental geology course at Emory & Henry College has been designed with a place-based approach to take advantage of the resources in nearby Saltville.