This document summarizes Erin Whitlow's field project at Emerald Bay, which explored the area's geology. It describes how tectonic plate movement 2 million years ago formed the Tahoe basin, and glaciers 10,000 years ago carved out Emerald Bay. Samples were collected of granite formed during mountain building, sandstone containing quartz, ferns representing early vascular plants, and lodgepole pine representing modern gymnosperms. It also describes how snowmelt water erodes the landscape over time.

1. Field Project
Emerald Bay
By: Erin Whitlow
GEL 103

2. Background
• 2 million years ago there was a shift in tectonic
plates, and the Tahoe basin sank between the
Sierra crest and the Carson range.
• 10 thousand years ago glaciers formed at the
highest elevation on the north, west, and south
sides.
• The movement of the glaciers is what formed
what we now call emerald bay.
("History of tahoe," )

3. Granite
• Granite is an igneous rock
made up of crystallized
minerals from felsic magma.
• Consists of potassium,
feldspar, plagroclase, and
quartz.
• Granite is the most common
plutonic rock.
• This granite was formed during
the Mountain building of the
Sierra crest.
• A normal fault can be seen
near the top.
(Monroe & Wicander, 2012)

4. Sandstone
• Sandstone is a
sedimentary rock.
• It is created when
detrital sedimentary rock
made of solid particles of
sand is compacted over
time and becomes
sandstone.
• This sandstone has a line
of quartz going through it.
(Monroe & Wicander, 2012)

5. Fern
• The fern is classified as a seedless
vascular plant.
• They evolved from non-vascular
then vascular seedless.
• They evolved during the
Devonian and Carboniferous
periods.
• They have a flagellated sperm
that must swim through water to
get to the egg.
• The vascular plants could grow
taller than non-vascular because
they could transport food and
water more efficiently.
(Reece, Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Mino
rsky & Jackson, 2011)

6. Lodge Pole Pine
• The lodge pole pine is a conifer
and classified as a gymnosperm.
• They evolved from non-vascular,
then seedless vascular, and finally
seed plants.
• The seed plants evolved pollen
and ovules, so they no longer
needed water to reproduce.
• They evolved when the
Carboniferous changed into the
Permian period because the drier
conditions favored the seed
plants.
(Reece, Urry, Cain, Wasserman,
Minorsky & Jackson, 2011)

7. Water Outlet
• This water is snow melt
from the top.
• The water is making it’s
way down the mountain
and eroding the land.
• Overtime this water has a
very strong effect on the
landscape and can erode
the rock into sediment
where it can then be
compacted and start the
process all over again.

8. References
• Monroe, J., & Wicander, R. (2012). The changing
earth exploring geology and evolution. (6th ed.).
Belmon, CA: Brooks/Cole.
• Reece, J., Urry, L., Cain, M., Wasserman, S.,
Minorsky, P., & Jackson, R. (2011). Campbell
biology. (9th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson
Benjamin Cummings.
• History of tahoe. (n.d.). Retrieved from
www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detail
• All photos are taken by author