December 2008

Conner

Ceara

Kaitlyn

Dakota

Brayden

Deidra

Meghan

Allison

Cheuvu

Emilea

Sarah

Jessie

Serena

Angie Morgan 5th grade teacher

Owen Hopkins 11/19/08

May 2007

Freddie

Elias

Alejandro

Giovanni

Erik

Sencirally:Jason (phonetic spelling is OK)

Tony

David

Destiny

Gabriella

May 2007

I am very excited that the 11th annual Family Fossil Hunt is again scheduled this year at the Wright Brothers’ Gravel Pit and Quarry. This is a tremendous opportunity for students, parents and geologists to find bones of a diverse number of extinct Pleistocene mammals in our own county. The species diversity of fauna compares to the La Brea Tar Pit in Los Angeles---the same animals they find there, we find here and all are referred to as the La Brea Fauna.

So come out on May 19th and see what everyone finds at the pit—see why I am so excited about my Phase II— Safari in South Texas. One of these bones, a drawing of the skeleton of the animal, an artist’s rendition of the animal and a paleographic map of the Nueces River 11,000 years ago need to be in the Trophy cases of each school in the Coastal Bend. Come out and be a part of a Safari in South Texas. Dr Jon Baskin and Mr Ronnie Thomas of TAMU-Kingsville will be on hand to identify the discoveries.

April 2007

Phase I - Fifty-one USGS Time and Terrain Geologic Maps of the US are on the walls of local schools thanks to the efforts and donations from many members of our society. The goal of getting 100 of them placed by the end of this school year is on track.

Phase II - Safari it South Texas has started with donations of extinct Pleistocene mammal bones (collected by Ronnie Thomas TAMUK and me in December) to Ella Barnes Elementary and to Kostoryz Elementary during Public School Week March 5th to March 9th. A flyer about the movie Ice Age has been prepared that indicates that the animals depicted in that movie lived in south Texas and our fossil assemblages here are similar to those from the La Brea tar pits in California.

March 2007

The Phase I--Maps in School Project 2006-2007 to place the USGS Time and Terrain Geologic Map of the US in 100 schools in the Coastal Bend before the end of this school year is on track.

The Phase II--Safari in South Texas
Texas A&M University Kingsville (TAMU-K) has collected bones from more than 20 species of extinct animals from a gravel pit just west of Corpus Christi over the past 16 years. The diversity of animals rivals that from the La Brea tar pit fauna and also of the Anza-Borrego fauna in California. The plan is to prepare a permanent display for each middle school that contains:
1- large, actual bone from an extinct mammal that was collected in Nueces, County
2- drawing of the skeleton of the extinct animal with the displayed bone highlighted
3- artists drawing of what the animal looked like when alive with reference scale
4- a map showing the Nueces River flood plain as it looked 18,000 years ago
5- an artists rendition of the Corpus Christi Bay “Serengeti Plain” showing the diverse
flora and fauna

This plan includes cooperation of the TAMU-K and the Corpus Christi Geological Society. We had this incredible diversity of animals and we think all the students in our area should be aware of this. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History is in the process of changing its emphasis and being renamed the Corpus Christi Museum of History—so all the more reason to get these displays in the schools because they won’t get it in our local museum.

Funding for a project like this will be considerably more than for Phase I, but I think it is worthwhile. And like Win Sexton has always said, “good ideas will get drilled”—so I am hopeful this will get drilled also. I have been in contact with two foundations that have suggested that we submit a written proposal—should be done by April. And I am attending an AAPG leadership conference in Tulsa with other society presidents where I hope to get some ideas. And I would like input from the membership on any ideas or comments or suggestions.

Owen Hopkins 2/08/07
Picture at the top was taken at Sal de Atacama in the Atacama desert in northern Chile—this 1300 square mile closed salt field is 7500’ above sea level. A smoldering, 18,334’ Lascar Andes volcano is in the background.