Catskill "Delta" of New York

DAY 1: Wed., Sept. 18th - We drove north to I-71, then northeast to I-76, east through Akron to I-80 and then east to Clearfield, PA.

DAY 2: Thurs., Sept. 19th - CATSKILL MOUNTAINS
East on I-80, then northeast on I-81 to I-84, I-84 to I-87, and finally I-87 north to our first stop, northwest of Kingston. Our first stop provided an expansive view to the east across the Hudson River Valley. Here we introduced the main themes of the trip and began discussing the significance of the Devonian sedimentary rocks preserved in the Catskill Mountains. At the next stop(s), we examined the oldest sedimentary rocks in the area and began interpreting the paleo-environments they represent.

DAY 3: Fri., Sept. 20th - CATSKILL MOUNTAINS
We continued upsection in the Devonian rocks of the Catskill sequence observing the lithologies, sedimentary structures, fossils and evidence of brittle deformation (folding & faulting) present and interpreting how both the paleo-environments and tectonic setting changed through time. We stopped at roadcuts on Rte 23, Kaaterskill Falls, the Gilboa Dam and Power Plant museum, and the Gilboa tree stump exhibit. We then drove south to a motel on the west side of the Hudson near the Palisades Sill in Nyack.

DAY 4: Sat., Sept. 21st - CENTRAL PARK & AMNH
We rose early, drove east across the Tappen Zee Bridge to Tarrytown where we boarded a commuter train to Grand Central Station in Manhattan. In Manhattan, we boarded an uptown subway to east 77th Street, walked across Central Park and examined glacially polished outcrops of ca. 1.1 Ga deformed supracrustal rocks cut by granite and pegmatite dikes. We emerged from the Park near west 81st and the American Museum of Natural History where we checked out the world-class exhibit on Phanerozoic fossils. After a couple hours in the Museum we traveled to southern Manhattan and to the space formerly occupied by the twin towers of the World Trade Center where we discussed the mechanics of their collapse. After a quick dinner we headed back to Grand Central, boarded a train back to Tarrytown, and began the long drive back to Granville.

DAY 5: Sun., Sept. 22nd - We drove across PA and OH on I-80 and arrived back in Granville at about 3pm.