Map of Calvert County, MD:
Map of sampling locations:Maps courtesy of the Palentological Research Institution (http://www.priweb.org/)
The first step in any scientific study
is the
identification of a location that will best serve the purpose of your
research. For her doctoral dissertation at Harvard University,
Patricia Kelley selected the rocks exposed on the shoreline of
Chesapeake Bay, Maryland to collect her fossils. Calvert County
is located
on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay, and is
an ideal place to study the evolution of mollusk fossil communities due
to good outcrop exposure, abundant fossild to sample, as well as well
defined local stratigraphy. The best sampling locations are
located in the large sea cliffs along the western shore of the
peninsula. These cliffs
contain three distinct rock formations, from which samples were
extracted and studied. The following section of
the module discusses these three formations, their age, composition,
fossil content, and how paleontologists have used the clues preserved
within
them to study evolutionary relationships over time. For more maps
of Maryland, and Calvert County, check out the links below. To
continue on the field trip click the Next button.