Initial Publication Date: December 12, 2013

Geology of Westchester County, NY

Thomas McGuire
Cave Creek Digital, Cave Creek, AZ

Intended Audience:
These trips would be appropriate for students in grades 7-12, introductory college students, teachers and the general public. More advanced students may find individual sites ripe for more use.

Location:

Westchester County, NY

Summary:

The Westchester Geology web page is an entry port to a number of local resources including half a dozen themed field excursions and about a dozen other locations of special interest. The core of this information is my 1991 book, "10^9 Years, A Guide to the Geology of Westchester County, NY" (Rochester mineralogical Symposium, 1991) Although out of print, the Westchester public libraries have several copies. The text file, without diagrams, can be downloaded at the web site.

Context:

Individual excursions center upon the local stratigraphy, features of glacial origin, evidence of Cameron's line (a former plate boundary), features of Croton Point, etc.

Goals:

The major goal is to correlate the lithology and geologic setting to unraveling the geologic history.

Design:

Each trip has a specific focus. I have selected sites with features of interest and geologic value.

Notes and Tips:

As mentioned above, a pre-excursion by the trip leader is very important. This is a heavily populated area with many narrow roads. "The best surprise is no surprise at all."

Assessment and Evaluation:

I have conducted these trips with both students and fellow teachers. The interest level and evaluations have been excellent.

Materials and Handouts:

Copies of text and diagrams from the book may be distributed freely. CHECK FILE

References:

See the bibliography page at the Westchester Geology web site. Others have placed excellent resources on-line including:

USGS Guidebook - Geology of the New York City Region
'Harriman State Park Virtual Reality Field Trips'
Geology of New York State, by Gail and Bret Bennington, Hofstra University
Geology of Long Island, by Steve Engelbright and Glenn Richard, Stony Brook University
New York Geology - Map of New York from geology.com