Check the box next to the “Canyonlands” placemark. Double click to fly there. We can see three distinct layers in this valley (a gray-base, pink-middle, and light tan-top). Match the geologic principle to a fact it tells about this landscape:

What is a likely protolith for this rock?

What is a likely depositional environment during this time?

Zoom out! What kind of river cuts through Canyonlands?

Check the box next to “Acasta Complex, Yellowknife, Canada”. Double click to fly there. Click on the placemark to view the sample taken from this location. This rock sample was collected from an outcrop revealing the Canadian shield (which is part of the North American craton) What kind of rock is this?

Turn on the photos database in the Layers panel. Fly to each of the locations in the Question 13 folder. Each outcrop seen is dated 2.4-1.8 Ga. Explore the images in the area by selecting the icons indicated in the descriptions below each location in the folder (If you don’t see them immediately, try zooming in/out). What do they all have in common?

Check the box next to the “Lone Pine Fault” folder and double click to fly there. Zoom in a bit to better see the fault scarp where the placemarks are. The scarp is slightly darker gray than its surroundings. The red line illustrates the base of the scarp. Based on the locations of the “Hanging wall” and “Footwall” placemarks, what type of fault is this?

Cenozoic Era

Fly to “Moenkopi/Chinle Formation, Virgin Utah”. Two formations, the Moenkopi (Early-mid Triassic) and the Chinle (Late Triassic), make up the majority of Triassic deposits in the midwest. Explore the photos in the area and click the name of the placemark to see three images. The first rock sample is from the Moenkopi formation and is a very fine-grained clastic rock; the second is from the lower Chinle formation and is made of pebbles and cobbles.  What is the rock type sampled from the Moenkopi formation?

What well known event occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period?