The African Connection: A Geology Field Trip

On Sunday, I traveled with the Adult School back millions of years on a geology field trip with Dr. Warren Manspeizer.  We learned that most of Metropolitan New York and New Jersey is located in an ancient rift valley that formed more than 200 million years ago.  We learned how the Watchungs were formed and the Palisades.   We visited close to the site of the oldest copper mine in the country and stopped on the site of the Granton Quarry where dinosaurs roamed about 215 million years ago. We ended at the Great Falls in Paterson which rises 77 feet above the Passaic River and carries the second largest volume of water east of the Mississippi.  Even though the day started off foggy and cold, the trip exceeded our greatest expectations and as we travelled New Jersey we became a congenial group of lifelong learners.

Dr. Manspeizer has agreed to do another trip for us next fall.   But there are many other opportunities for travel and learning at the Adult School in the spring.  Check out our offerings in early January on our website at www.somadultschool.org.