How Geologists Interpret Ancient Environments. 1 Getting started

You are confronted with rock formations that might look something like this…

The local geologist tells you that the rocks you see here originally were deposited as sands and muds in shallow seas, where beaches and broad coastal tidal flats passed seawards to deeper waters, and landwards to marshes and scrubby coastal plains across which rivers and streams coursed. How did our geologist figure this out? What is it that geologists see in the rocks that help them paint this picture of an idyllic world that existed so many millions of years ago – a world beyond memory, where, in a different eon, a summer cottage would have been rather nice. Continue reading →