ABSTRACT The Erie lakeshore in Pennsylvania, west of the city of Erie, has many geological features that are ripe for study, teaching, and use as a vehicle for public science outreach. Features and processes on display include rapid slope failure and erosion of lakeshore bluffs, Pleistocene till in the bluffs, well-developed ancient sandy beach ridges atop till, and thin Upper Devonian sandstones that were deposited by storms. A wide variety of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks can be found among cobbles eroded from till and rounded on lakeshore beaches, providing opportunities for teaching the identification of rocks, minerals, and Paleozoic marine fossils. Small fans at the bases of lakeshore bluffs have morphologies derived from distinct modes of sediment transport and deposition, with the potential to serve as analogs in better understanding large submarine fans. In winter, ice volcanoes can occur on the shoreline. Opportunities for teaching about geologic time are provided by localities where recent sedimentary processes, Pleistocene deposits, Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks can all be seen.

Abstract Northwestern Pennsylvania was glaciated by the Grand River sublobe of the Erie Lobe. Glacial advances occurred at least three times during the pre-Illinoian (Slippery Rock, Mapledale, and Keefus), once during the Illinoian (Titusville), and four Late Wisconsinan (Kent, Lavery, Hiram, and Ashtabula) tills have been identified. While the area was studied for over 50 years by George White and associates, there are numerous details that remain unknown. The Titusville Till, which comprises the bulk of the glacial sediment, contains up to five separate sheets separated by sand and gravel. The origin of the numerous sheets is still not clear. The Kent glaciation resulted in extensive deposition in proglacial lakes and caused numerous local drainage diversions. Interpretations of the surficial geology around Conneaut Lake have changed a couple of times. Originally interpreted to be formed by a lobe of Hiram ice, it was later determined to be part of a widespread area of Lavery ice. Recent work supports the original Hiram interpretation. Since glaciation, streams in northwestern Pennsylvania have incised into the glacial sediments and have developed fine-grained floodplains within glacially scoured valleys. Lake sediments and alluvial stratigraphy suggests that general climate amelioration during the Holocene epoch was interrupted by episodes of landscape instability. Deforestation by European settlers is the most recent event appearing in the stratigraphic record and resulted in deposition of as much as 2 m of post-settlement alluvium.

Abstract Northwestern Pennsylvania was glaciated by the Grand River sublobe of the Erie Lobe. Glacial advances occurred at least three times during the pre-Illinoian (Slippery Rock, Mapledale, and Keefus), once during the Illinoian (Titusville), and four Late Wisconsinan (Kent, Lavery, Hiram, and Ashtabula) tills have been identified. While the area was studied for over 50 years by George White and associates, there are numerous details that remain unknown. The Titusville Till, which comprises the bulk of the glacial sediment, contains up to five separate sheets separated by sand and gravel. The origin of the numerous sheets is still not clear. The Kent glaciation resulted in extensive deposition in proglacial lakes and caused numerous local drainage diversions. Interpretations of the surficial geology around Conneaut Lake have changed a couple of times. Originally interpreted to be formed by a lobe of Hiram ice, it was later determined to be part of a widespread area of Lavery ice. Recent work supports the original Hiram interpretation. Since glaciation, streams in northwestern Pennsylvania have incised into the glacial sediments and have developed fine-grained floodplains within glacially scoured valleys. Lake sediments and alluvial stratigraphy suggests that general climate amelioration during the Holocene epoch was interrupted by episodes of landscape instability. Deforestation by European settlers is the most recent event appearing in the stratigraphic record and resulted in deposition of as much as 2 m of post-settlement alluvium.

Abstract A detailed study of the Venango district conducted during the past 5 years by the Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey has shown that all the oil-producing areas of that district are primarily stratigraphic. They may be classified, on the basis of shape and trend, into three types, each of which is confined to the upper, middle, or lower sandy formation of the Venango group. The first type is characterized by small irregular pools tending to be aligned approximately perpendicular to the ancient shore line. The second type is characterized by more uniform, sheet-like sands which pinch out abruptly along a smooth and fairly straight edge parallel with the ancient shore line. The third type is characterized by long, narrow, and in many places very pebbly bars which are either single or multiple and approximately parallel with the ancient shore line. Pools typical of each of these types are described.