Geologists and students of geology are blessed to live in states like Arkansas and Colorado because the bedrock there is exposed, often revealing all its secrets and beauty amid a glorious panorama.  Students and geologists in mid-continent states like Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas aren’t always so lucky.  Bedrock usually lies buried beneath recent sediment such as found in corn and wheat fields.  What is a geologist to do?

As a student at Northeast Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Monroe), we had to improvise.  A professor once led us on a field trip though campus, identifying fossils in the building stone of the University’s library and classroom buildings.  Other places of interest were cutbanks of rivers and large streams, and even ditches.  Yep!  I’ve waded around in many a muddy ditch just to examine a small ledge of weathered rock.  Luckily for geologists, our taxpayer dollars are largely responsible for the most prime geologic locations in mostly flat states.

Yes, the highway department often creates beautiful geologic exposures known as roadcuts when they construct highways and roads.  In Oklahoma, perhaps the most spectacular roadcut is near the intersection of US Hwy 77 and Interstate 35.  This is part of the highway traverse through the heart of the Arbuckle Mountains.

The Arbuckles are the oldest mountains in North America, already eroded as the Appalachians became uplifted.  At the I-35 Roadcut near Turner Falls, the exposed geology is spectacular.  Proterozoic crytallines and Paleozoic rock, peneplaned to the old mountain range’s very core, are exposed in all their glory.  Paleozoic fossils and even seeping oil are readily visible in the rock.  I highly recommend a detour next time you are driving from Oklahoma City to Dallas.  You’ll see a lot of wonderful, totally naked geology and I promise that you won’t regret it.

Photo date 11/90, © J.S. Aber

http://www.ericwilder.com