Geologists Day
Geology is the study of the earth, what it is made of and how it works. The earth has been around a very long time and has changed immensely over the years. Geologists are those individuals who work to understand where the earth has been and where it is going. Much like a detective putting together pieces of evidence to solve a mystery, Geologists put together pieces of the earth’s history, such as fossils and rock formations, to learn how it formed billions of years ago. Ever wonder why mountains are so tall and the coast so flat? The earth is in constant motion and Geologists study the patchwork quilt that is the earth’s crust to see where new islands will be born, landslides may happen, when and where an earthquake may occur or where the next volcano may erupt.
Geologists also locate mineral deposits that are used to make important everyday items such as cell phones, houses, gas for vehicles, and even your vitamins. Anything made of metal or plastic has to be mined from the earth. We use drilling rigs to dig under the earth’s surface to see what lies below. The reward is seeing rocks that haven’t seen the light of day in thousands, millions or sometimes even billions of years! The rocks tell us a story of what was happening on earth that long ago.
For example, a piece of limestone with shell fossils means an ancient sea was present or a sandstone with cross bedding means the sea may have changed to a windblown desert. Drilling also shows us where the earth has moved in the past along fault lines. Can you imagine the force it takes to move and fold rocks? Those same forces are continuing to shape our earth today and Geologists recognize how they work. There are many different disciplines of geology like structural, mining, mineralogy, volcanology, oceanography, petrology, geophysics, planetary, petroleum and so on, each with an important role in understanding the earth.
At Westward, our team of Geologists have many years of experience in various subsurface exploration methods, reserves estimates, mine planning, assessments and 3D modeling capabilities that help identify target mineral deposits. Our Professional Geologists are currently licensed in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming and have performed geological work in more than half of the U.S. as well as in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Argentina.