PRE-CONFERENCE FIELD TRIP

Saturday, September 7, 2019
7:45 - 18:30
 
Have you ever been to an underground limestone quarry and a limestone fabrication facility? Join us for the TSOP 2019 pre-conference field trip!! 

Limestone is a big part of the history of south-central Indiana. Indiana limestone was not only used on many of the Indiana University buildings, but also on other notable buildings including the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and Yankee Stadium in New York; and the Pentagon and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. During our field trip we will learn about the geological conditions that led to forming the limestone, the history of the limestone industry, and take a look at an operational limestone quarry and fabrication facility. The field trip will be led by Todd Thompson, Indiana State Geologist and the director of the Indiana Geological and Water Survey.

Please bring appropriate walking/hiking shoes and raincoats. Be aware that it might be muddy and dusty!

This is an optional event and is not included in the conference registration fee.
The field trip is limited to 38 participants.


MEETING PLACE: Indiana Memorial Union Circle Drive (north entrance to the IMU)
MEETING TIME: 7:45am (please note: breakfast will NOT be provided)
 


7:45
Indiana Memorial Union Circle Drive (entrance to the Biddle Hotel). 
Registration for the pre-conference field trip participants.


8:00 - 9:00
Travel to Bedford, IN


9:00 - 11:00

Visit to Elliott Stone Company, a very unique among limestone quarriers as the bulk of their material comes from an underground quarry. We will also take a look at their limestone fabrication facility.
Photos courtesy: Elliot Stone and A. Drobniak


11:00 - 11:30
Travel to Lake Monroe		  


11:30 - 12:00
 Lunch at the Monroe Lake Dam overlook
  

12:00 - 17:00

In the afternoon we will visit Crown and Maple Hill dimension stone quarries where Salem Limestone, know by the trade name Indiana Limestone, is extracted. We will examine the geological history, internal architecture, sedimentary features, and methods of extraction. We will also visit an outcrop with rhythmites interpreted to have formed from diurnal tides–a rarely preserved sedimentary deposit.


Crown Quarry (photo courtesy P. Sturgeon)

Maple Hill Quarry (photo courtesy IGWS)



17:00 - 18:00
Dinner


~18:30
Drop off at the Indiana Memorial Union Circle Drive (entrance to the Biddle Hotel).



Included in the price of the field trip:
1) Field trip materials
2) Visit to limestone outcrops and quarries
3) Lunch and dinner
4) Transportation