"Field trip Geography/Geology of course 1eb1 (grade 12) to the Elm/Harz-Region. Geographisch-geologische Exkursion des Kurses 1eb1 (Klasse 12) in die Region Elm/Harz.
Bild 2: The course with the topic "Germany in Europe" starts with an overview of the country's physical landscape which is largely determined by the geological conditions. As there are no solid rocks to study in our area we agreed on planning a two-day field trip (Sunday/Monday) to an area where these can be found: the Elm/Harz region in the southeast of Lower Saxony.
Bild 3: The first day was focussed on the Mesozoic rocks (Gesteine des Erdmittelalters) of the Elm mountains . After a brief visit of the Geological Museum of the Geopark-Information Centre in Königslutter we were picked up by one of its guides, Dr. Kosma, and followed him to our first location, a quarry of "Muschelkalk"-rock.
Bild 4: Ready for some decent field work ...
Bild 5: ... with hammers and safety glasses (compliments UEG chemistry department).
Bild 6: After a brief theoretical overview of the Elm-geology by Dr. Kosma ...
Bild 7: ...we started our hunt for fossils.
Bild 8: Whatever you find here is at least 200 million years old.
Bild 9: A little taste of what gold diggers must have felt.
Bild 10: You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
Bild 11: The second day began with a visit of the Rammelsberg mine in Goslar.
Bild 12: Erik was promoted deputy pit foreman (stellvertretender Obersteiger).
Bild 13: Off we went into the depths of the Rammelberg.
Bild 14: Then we were met by Dr. Müller, geologist at the University of Clausthal. At the foot of the Brocken mountain he gave us an interesting introduction to the geology of the Harz mountains.
Bild 15: With the help of geologic maps we got an idea of the complicated structure of the area.
Bild 16: After theory, once again practice: folded Palaeozoic rocks (gefaltete Gesteine des Erdaltertums) with fossils.
Bild 17: Some initially unspectacular rock at the side of a road turned out to be "pillow lava", once formed by volcanic activity at the bottom of the sea, more than 350 million years old.
Bild 18: Finally it was time to head back, but not without thanking Dr. Müller for his generous help and instructive talks, and his daughter for her assistance as a scout and driver. A UEG-shirt may remind them that there are some more geology fans in Leer now.
Bild 19: Ca. 4 p.m.: Ready to board the bus for the return trip home.
Bild 20: Souvenirs that dragged our backpacks down.