Description

This field trip was scheduled for October 2018 but was cancelled courtesy of Hurricane Michael. So, we will try it again! This county in the central Florida panhandle has some surprising geological variety.

The Friday evening dinner and presentations in Chipley will review the geomorphology, geology, and archaeology of the area.

The Saturday field trip will first explore the poorly known area called Rock Hill—a very high erosional outlier with “Stonehenge-like” residual boulders. Rock Hill is scarcely mentioned in the geological literature…and is difficult to get into—but we have access through the Florida Nature Conservancy.

The second stop is the must-see Falling Waters State Park, with its 70-foot high waterfall that drops through a solution pipe and into a swallet and cave system. There are also excellent views of many cover collapse sinkholes. Falling Waters is the location of one of the early oil test wells (1920) in Florida and some of the drilling equipment remains. The well reached into the Late Cretaceous (but no oil). Falling Waters was hit hard by Hurricane Michael, but has recovered nicely, with new boardwalks and scenic overlooks. And, the park was recently designated a state geological site!

We will also discuss the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Bridgeboro Limestone, a fossiliferous and rhodolith-rich facies, equivalent in part to the Suwannee Limestone of the Florida peninsula. The Chipley area has the only Florida exposures of the Bridgeboro. “New” exposures of the Bridgeboro have recently been discovered by the Florida Geological Survey using LiDAR and we will visit some of these outcrops.

Itinerary

6:00 PM (Central Daylight Time), Friday, 17 April 2020

Enjoy presentations on the geology and geomorphology of the area at designated venue in Chipley (TBD; check website/email for updates).

8:00 AM (Central Daylight Time), Saturday, 18 April 2020

Assemble at designated location in Chipley (TBD; check website/email for updates). Convoy to designated area and use 4WD vehicles (only) to enter the Rock Hill property. Depending on the number of 4WD vehicles available, we will have to make a couple of runs to get everyone in (the entrance is ~2.5 miles from town). After Rock Hill, we will return to Chipley to retrieve any vehicles, and convoy to Falling Waters State Park on SR-77A (Falling Waters Road, ~6 miles). Lunch at FWSP.

Age and Safety Restrictions

The sites that we’ll visit are active industrial facilities. Safety glasses (sunglasses), shirts, and closed-toe shoes are required. Drinks, sunscreen, and insect repellent are recommended. Minors welcome with waiver and accompanying adult.

Registration and Fees

• The price is $40 for current SEGS members and guests of attending SEGS members.
• A hardcopy guidebook, Subway box lunch, and site entry is included with your fee. Guidebook #34 from a previous trip can also be downloaded.

Electronic Registration

Please check all the appropriate options above and click “Add to Cart” to e-register for the trip. You will be routed to a waiver you can sign electronically, and then to the registration and payment form. Since every participant needs to complete a waiver, you can only register one person at a time, but registration takes just a few minutes. If you have trouble with the e-registration below, you can register manually using the PDF in the “Manual Registration” section.

Manual Registration

If you have trouble with the electronic registration, you can manually register by completing and sending this this PDF to segsfieldtrip@gmail.com and then using the information at this link to pay. You can also contact us about paying via check or on-site.

Download manual registration packet.