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LOUISIANA Rocks and Minerals
Rebecca Tedford and Dr. Sophie Warny
The Mission of the
LSU Museum of Natural Science



Acquisition,
Preservation, and
Study
of research collections to generate knowledge of:


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Regional and global biodiversity,
Geological history, and
Human history and prehistory
for the benefit of the people of the state, the nation, and the world.
Divisions of the LSU MNS

7 main fields of RESEARCH
 Ornithology (Birds)
 Genetics
 Ichthyology (Fishes)
 Mammalogy
 Herpetology (Reptiles and Amphibians)
 Paleontology
 Anthropology (Archaeology and Ethnography)

EDUCATION
1.THE PALEONTOLOGY
COLLECTIONS
Invertebrate Paleontology: Palynology
Dr. Sophie Warny
What is palynology?
Palynomorphs =
- both plant and animal structures
- microscopic in size (from about 5 µm to about 500 µm)
- made of compounds that are highly resistant to decay
- abundant in most sediments and sedimentary rocks
- can be extracted by chemical processing (acids digestion & sieving)
Spores
Pollen grains
Dinoflagellate cysts
Acritarchs
Leiospheres
Vertebrate Paleontology
Dr. Judith Schiebout
Collections:
- Over 17,000 specimens from over 1000 localities with
emphasis on Louisiana.
Research statement: Dr. Schiebout's focus is on:
 Paleoecology
 Biostratigraphy and paleogeography of southern North
America and China in the Tertiary
 Early and middle Tertiary mammals
 The Cretaceous-Tertiary and Paleocene-Eocene transition
 Louisiana fossil vertebrates, particularly in the Miocene
•Large collection of Tertiary
fossils including this whale:
Vertebrae and ribs of the
Eocene whale Basilosaurus
at Montgomery Landing,
Louisiana.
•Large collection of middle
Tertiary mammals from the
Fort Polk region
•Large collection of Tertiary
mammals from Tunica Hills,
such as early elephant,
rhino, hedgehog and camel
relatives.
2. Associated Collections: Minerology And
Petrology and Louisiana Geological Survey
Mineral and
rock collections
On-line
resources
Rock and Mineral Collections located
in Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex
Available upon request:
• LSU Geology Loan trunk
Louisiana Geological Survey (LGS)
on-line resources
Down-loadable
Stratigraphic and
Geologic maps
3. FIELD TRIP: PRACTICAL DETAILS
General Info
& Tours
Monday-Friday
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
FREE!
Scheduling
Materials
Rules
Parking
5. BACKGROUND AND
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITIES:
1. Making a Geologic Map of
Louisiana
2. SOAR Activities
•
Rocking Out
•
Sand Secrets
3. Mining for MMM…Minerals
4. Investigating the Layer-cake
earth
Geology: The Basics
What is Geology?
Study of the origin, history, and stucture of the Earth
as recorded in the rock record.
The Earth is composed of different types of rocks and
minerals.
Geologists are the scientists
who study these rocks and
minerals.
MINERALS
• Naturally occurring
-man-made substances would not be considered a
mineral
• Inorganic solid
- Inorganic substances are those that are not living or
formed by living processes
• Specific chemical composition
• Unique crystal structure and properties
-Atoms are arranged in a orderly, repeated pattern
-Physical properties include color, luster, streak,
cleavage, etc.
Rocks
Rocks- An aggregate solid of one of more minerals
in different proportions.
Chocolate chip cookie analogy
Cookie = rock
Ingredients = minerals
Oven= Earth’s heat
Rocks are divided into three different types based
on how they are formed:
Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary
Igneous
The word, igneous means from fire or heat.
Igneous rocks form when molten lava (magma)
cools and turns to solid rock. There are two
typesIntrusive- cools slowly inside the Earth (Examples=
Granite). They have large mineral grains
Extrusive- Magma that reaches the earth’s surface and
cools relatively quickly. (Examples- Basalt, obsidian,
pumice). The mineral grains are small.
Note: MAGMA- inside the Earth, LAVA- outside
of the Earth
Metamorphic
These are rocks that have changed (Examples- marble, schist)
From the Greek words “meta” and “morph” which means to
change form. They were originally sedimentary or igneous
rocks that changed due to heat and pressure often from eh
movement of the Earth’s crust.
Sedimentary
Rocks composed of grains of clay, mud, sand, and dirt.
(Examples- sandstone, limestone)
These form when sediments are weathered and deposited
as layers into streams, oceans, rivers, and lake. After thousands
and millions of years the weight and pressure of all these
sediments eventually turn them into sedimentary rocks!
Activity 1: Making a Geologic map of Louisiana*
GEOLOGIC MAPS
Definition: Map designed
to show the distribution
of geologic features such
as different rock types
and faults in the area.
• Only show geologic units that are exposed on the surface
• Different colors symbolize a different geologic unit
* This activity can be used in conjuction with the Fossil gravel activity
Generalized Surface Geology of Louisiana
http://www.lgs.lsu.edu/deploy/uploads/gengeotext.pdf
Holocene Alluvium (= youngest rocks)
These are the abundant sand and clay riverine deposits deposited by the
Mississippi, Ouachita, Red, and other rivers within coastal
environments. These represent over 50% of surface exposed rocks.
Pleistocene terraces
These deposits consist of sand, gravel, and mud that are remnants of
preexisting riverine flood plains. They are found near modern rivers
and coastal plains. ~25% of surface exposed rocks.
Tertiary rocks (= oldest rocks)
These are associated with rver flood plains, coastal plains, and shallow
sea environments that occurred due to fluctuating sea levels. Oldest
rocks are Late Cretaceous marine rocks (70-82 million years old)
outcrop in Bienville parish. These are highly fossiliferous marls and
chalks.