On Line Geology Courses/Information

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

It seems like too, too often our threads become steeped in controversy so here is my humble attempt at something constructive.

First of all, for all of you Ph.D and Masters level geologists, please accept my apology. You folks don't know how much I envy your education! I'll trade a few hours of psychology for some in geology. Maybe two hours of psych for one in geology?

But to the rest of us....................... this new topic was started as an exchange of information to where we very, very amateur geologists can become better educated.

I'll start with a free on line course I ran across a couple of years ago. While I am not promoting anything and it has a 'slight' religious connotation, it is an excellent high school level 'home school' course in geology. Most of the links work and it was a lot of fun to complete.

Again. you pros out there would probably laugh until your sides hurt, but for budding geologists, it's a good start.

I am sure that even our professional EarthCachers have sites they know of which may or may not be a course, but has a lot of useful research information. Please contribute and maybe we can keep this thread as a useful reference tool for the development of ECs.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, here is the link to the course:

 

On Line Geology Course

 

Let me know what you think and please jump in! Thanks.

Edited February 18, 2010 by Konnarock Kid & Marge

[+GEO WALKER]

I'd rather help than giggle...

 

Here are a couple of useful links from the PA Geological Survey:

 

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/field/index.aspx

 

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/pub/pa...geolonline.aspx

 

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/pub/pgspub.aspx

 

I would imagine that other States here in the USA would have something similar. So check the Geologic Surveys w/in the State. They are usually associated w/ Departments of Natural Recourses or sometimes Environmental Resources.

 

Hope this helps???

Edited February 18, 2010 by GEO WALKER

[+Arby Gee]

Just took a look at it and it looks pretty interesting. I have to admit the religious references made me a little uneasy at first - so often religion can be at odds with science. But that doesn't appear to be the case here. I'll probably try a couple lessons and see how it goes.

 

I don't know of any other online resources, but I thought I'd mention a couple books I use. One is called A Field Manual for the Amateur Geologist by Alan M. Cvancara. A really good practically-oriented book that teaches you how to think like a geologist. Another book, which a lot of Earthcachers probably know about already, is the "Roadside Geology" series. Here in Ohio just about everyone used the Roadside Geology of Ohio by Mark J. Camp. It's chock-full of good candidate sites for Earthcaches and gives some good basic information about the sites to get you started.

 

Then of course there's always online research and on-site signage. You've got to be careful about both of these though - there's a lot of misinformation out there!

 

P.S. - Forgot to mention the Peterson Field Guides. I have the Geology Eastern North America edition. This one has an introductory chapter on basic geology, and then goes on to discuss the geology of different regions of eastern North America. I've found it to be an extremely useful learning tool, but it hasn't been too helpful as a practical, hands-on reference. You might want to save yourself a few bucks and check this one out of your local library. :-)

Edited February 18, 2010 by Arby Gee

[cezanne]

Let me know what you think and please jump in!

 

I think your idea is good.

 

I am wondering whether someone here by chance knows a good free online multi-lingual source for geological terms (not nessarily as complete as a dictionary). When translating Earth caches for other cachers into English I sometimes come quite close to my limits. I do know that there exist specialized dictionaries, but I do not have access to them. I do not have any troubles to understand English texts about geology, but sometimes I find it hard to find the right English technical term actively.

 

Cezanne

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

Thanks to Geo walker, Arby Gee and Cezanne for your quick responses.

I have several of the books mentioned and they are good, but I'll wait a while before listing some of the other books that we use.

I'm glad the religious references in the on line course didn't discourage you Arby Gee. I started not to list it because of those reasons but as you have said, religion and science don't seem to be at odds here. I assure everyone, when you are into the course, there is little to no religion......just plain old geology! By the way, I have no interest, financial or otherwise, in the course. I just found it one day by Google or something else.

Please keep it up folks.

P.S. To Cezanne, I am sorry, but I cannot help you with the "online multi-lingual source for geological terms."

My German language skill stopped about the time I had to strain to hear what my mother was saying to my aunts and uncles when they didn't want us to know. Yes, they spoke German! My brother took German when in college but I didn't!

[+terratin]

Let me know what you think and please jump in!

 

I think your idea is good.

 

I am wondering whether someone here by chance knows a good free online multi-lingual source for geological terms (not nessarily as complete as a dictionary). When translating Earth caches for other cachers into English I sometimes come quite close to my limits. I do know that there exist specialized dictionaries, but I do not have access to them. I do not have any troubles to understand English texts about geology, but sometimes I find it hard to find the right English technical term actively.

 

Cezanne

 

Hi Cezanne

 

Not really. I have a book that translates geological terms between English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish but it's from the 50 or 60s and rather useless for modern terms. What helps me with finding German terms (I'm German but studied in English and Dutch) is to use wikipedia. It's not perfect and sometimes you have to read a whole article to find what you're looking for but there should be an English article (link on left side) for about every German one. And if you really can't find what you're looking for you can also drop me a message.

 

And for this topic: I do have a few links to sequence stratigraphy websites that might or might not be useful for amateurs as well:

 

http://www.uga.edu/strata/sequence/carbonates.html

 

http://sepmstrata.org/seqstrat.html

[cezanne]

 

P.S. To Cezanne, I am sorry, but I cannot help you with the "online multi-lingual source for geological terms."

My German language skill stopped about the time I had to strain to hear what my mother was saying to my aunts and uncles when they didn't want us to know.

 

No problem. My question was more general anyway as the translation issue is one that many Earth cachers are facing. I know quite some nice online dictionaries in some areas, but not in the area of geology.

 

Cezanne

[cezanne]

I have a book that translates geological terms between English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish but it's from the 50 or 60s and rather useless for modern terms.

 

I'm just curious: What is the name of the book?

 

What helps me with finding German terms (I'm German but studied in English and Dutch) is to use wikipedia.

 

I agree. I have used this method as well. My problem often is not so much that I am not able to describe somehow in English, but rather that I am not sure whether the used term is really the right one used in geological terms. I do not think that the visitors of the caches will care much about that, but sometimes it is my ambition which questions a certain formulation.

 

When translating texts containing technical terms I sometimes could make use of this dictionary

http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/SearchByQue....do?method=load

but it is not specialized in any area (it contains however many languages). (I dared to mention it here as

some geological terms are contained as well. The main focus is, however, the European Union).

 

Cezanne

[+terratin]

I just checked. It's English, French, German and Dutch only and not Spanish.

 

Geological Nomenclature

SCHIEFERDECKER, A.A.G. (ED.) 1959. 524 p.,cloth.

Multilingual nomenclature (English, German, Dutch, French)

by the Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands.

[+geowas]

Let me know what you think and please jump in!

I am wondering whether someone here by chance knows a good free online multi-lingual source for geological terms (not nessarily as complete as a dictionary).

 

It seems good old LEO has quite some geology terms included, too. At least for de<->en.

 

dict.leo.org

[+Winstonsmom]

Thanks so much for everyone who shared ideas/sources. This is VERY helpful for a newbie/wannabie ECr.

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

Thanks so much for everyone who shared ideas/sources. This is VERY helpful for a newbie/wannabie ECr.

Me too! Surely there's a lot more out there. Please.

[+Wooden Cyclist]

It seems like too, too often our threads become steeped in controversy so here is my humble attempt at something constructive.

First of all, for all of you Ph.D and Masters level geologists, please accept my apology. You folks don't know how much I envy your education! I'll trade a few hours of psychology for some in geology. Maybe two hours of psych for one in geology?

But to the rest of us....................... this new topic was started as an exchange of information to where we very, very amateur geologists can become better educated.

I'll start with a free on line course I ran across a couple of years ago. While I am not promoting anything and it has a 'slight' religious connotation, it is an excellent high school level 'home school' course in geology. Most of the links work and it was a lot of fun to complete.

Again. you pros out there would probably laugh until your sides hurt, but for budding geologists, it's a good start.

I am sure that even our professional EarthCachers have sites they know of which may or may not be a course, but has a lot of useful research information. Please contribute and maybe we can keep this thread as a useful reference tool for the development of ECs.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, here is the link to the course:

 

On Line Geology Course

 

Let me know what you think and please jump in! Thanks.

 

Now hold on. I got my degree in psych and working in sales. My friend majored in geology and is working in ...sales. Seems to me that the psych credtis are just as valuable as the geology credits.

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

Now hold on. I got my degree in psych and working in sales. My friend majored in geology and is working in ...sales. Seems to me that the psych credtis are just as valuable as the geology credits.

 

Good one!

 

[Narnian Rockhound]

I am wondering whether someone here by chance knows a good free online multi-lingual source for geological terms (not nessarily as complete as a dictionary). When translating Earth caches for other cachers into English I sometimes come quite close to my limits. I do know that there exist specialized dictionaries, but I do not have access to them. I do not have any troubles to understand English texts about geology, but sometimes I find it hard to find the right English technical term actively.

 

Cezanne

 

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but one of the more complete "online geology dictionaries" that I've ever stumbled across is this one:

 

http://www.maden.hacettepe.edu.tr/dmmrt/index.html

 

I would say, however, that ECs are supposed to be written for an audience something like a 14-year-old, so using a lot of these terms would be too technical.

[+kwcahart]

Well, I am taking the free online geology course and I like it. I think it's great. That is a really neat dictionary.

Edited July 6, 2010 by kwhart