Sedimentary Rocks on the Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau is one of the World's great show places for sedimentary rocks. Precambrian and all Phanerozoic periods except Ordovician and Silurian are represented. Especially well exposed are Permian through Jurassic sedimentary rocks that were deposited in mostly tropical desert sedimentary environments. These sedimentary rocks provide the focal point for the greatest concentration of National Parks in the World. The Grand Staircase, the southwestern escarpment of the Colorado Plateau, exposes one of the finest and most complete sedimentary sections anywhere!Studies on the Plateau involve numerous NAU Geology faculty and their students. Hundreds of publications and dozens of MS theses have resulted from these studies.
Permian Startigraphic Sequences and Isopachs, Colorado Plateau
A list, by stratigraphic age, of NAU MS Theses that deal with Sedimentary Geology
A partial list of my recent publications
Global Plate Tectonics and Paleogeography
Paleogeography and Geologic History of North America
These maps centered on North America are arranged into 41 time slices from Late Precambrian to Present. During times when Africa and Europe are close to North America, their history is also shown. This is a stand-alone presentation and is not linked to other parts of this web page.
Detailed global paleogeography
These large globes are arranged into 27 time slices from Late Precambrian to Present and are presented in spherical, rectangular, and mollewide projections. This is a stand-alone presentation and is not linked to other parts of this web page.
Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift: Regional Paleogeographic Views of Earth History
Includes Mediterranean Region, Asia, North Atlantic-Europe-North America, and new global views
Paleogeography of Southwestern US
Includes several interpretations for some geologic periods
Paleogeography and Tectonic Evolution of Late Paleozoic Sedimentary Basins, Southwestern North America
Basins, uplifts, tectonic evolution, and paleogeography of the Greater Ancestral Rocky Mountains
Mesozoic Paleogeography of Western North America
Terrane accretion and tectonic evolution with accompaning paleogeography
Tertiary Paleogeography and Tectonic History, Central Arizona
Geologic and paleogeographic maps, sections, and diagrams presenting the geologic history of a dynamic region of the Southwest
Paleogeographic Maps arranged as Time Slices
Various maps and globes arranged by geologic period
My Research Activities
Presented here is a collection of technical data from my research activities including isopach and facies maps, stratigraphic cross sections, paleogeographic maps, outcrop photos, and references. Most of the material has been published although many of the graphics here are in a more artistic and colorful format than those previously published. See my list of publications for reference citations.Middle Jurassic Page Sandstone
Eolian Sequences and Sequences Boundaries
Permian Ergs
Triassic Fluvial Systems
Jurassic Ergs
Teaching and Course Materials
Cross section of Rocky Mountain (Laramide) uplift showing geologic evolution in Paleocene and Eocene
Historical Geology GLG 102 ...includes cross sections of North American Orogenies
Oceanography GLG 307 ...( hey, we aren't that far from the Sea of Cortez or the Pacific, and in our stratigraphic record we've been under the sea many times!). Includes comprehensive photo coverage of marine environments, deposits, and rocks from around the World.
Regional Tectonics GLG 561 ...features a sequence of 40 paleogeography maps that illustrate hypothetical sequences of plate tectonic evolution and mountain building
Regional Geology: maps, panels, cross sections, and photos
Geologic evolution of Grand Canyon Region (see Grand Staircase for details)
The Grand Staircase: a Geologic Guide to one of Earth's Showpieces ...features panels showing geologic evolution of Grand Canyon Region
Sedona-Verde Valley Region: a Geologic Guide to the geology of Central Arizona ...features a stratigraphic section, geologic map, and lots of photos
Stratigraphic columns of the Southern Western Interior ...columnar sections showing stratigraphy of the southwest
Other Links