The stratigraphic section of the Hills is unusually complete, varied, and well-exposed. The geomorphology is classic. Opportunities for paleontologic study are also numerous, with excellent examples of the use of paleontology as an aid to geologic mapping. The course is run for 5 to 6 days a week. In addition, evenings are used for informal as well as formal lectures and discussions about the mapping projects currently under study.
Stratigraphic studies constitute the initial work in the Black Hills.
While students become familiar with the rock units they will subsequently map, they are also instructed in the methods and techniques of describing stratigraphic sections. The geologic column of the Black Hills presents a virtually complete sequence of both Paleozoic and Mesozoic formations representing almost all sedimentary rock types and environments of deposition found in mid-North America. By these stratigraphic studies, the students are presented with an excellent opportunity to examine many aspects of sedimentation, sedimentary petrology, and stratigraphy. In stratigraphic studies, as well as in all other aspects of the program, emphasis is placed on both field techniques and the way field observations should be recorded. Thus, the student does much more than simply look at rocks.