October 2001 Meeting Abstract
The National Park System (NPS) was created by Congress in 1916 to conserve scenery, natural objects, and wildlife so that the parks would be "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations". During the last 85 years there have been many alterations to this goal, some for the good but others that have done a great deal of harm, including the attempt in the 1930s and 40s to remove predators from the parks as a safety factor for tourists. One of the most popular areas with the public are the parks and monuments associated with the Rocky Mountains, the easternmost mountains in western North America, and part of the region known as the Cordillera. The Rocky Mountains stretch from Alaska to Central America and can be divided roughly into three sections based on different rock structures formed during and after plate collisions of the Laramide Orogeny at the end of the Mesozoic Era (150-70 mya). These three divisions are the Northern Rockies, dominated by structures formed originally by thrust faults, the Central Rockies, formed mostly by post-orogenic block faulting and volcanism, and the Southern Rockies, which are generally underlain by large asymmetrical anticlines and synclines. All original structures have been modified by post-orogenic uplifts, as well as extensive stream and glacial erosion.
These divisions will be described using slides from Glacier National Park in the north, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in the central section, and Rocky Mountain National Park in the south.
Dr. Liebe's achievements include a Bachelors from Bates College in Maine, a Master's from the University of Houston, and a PhD from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He was previously a professor for 6 years at College of Wooster in Ohio, and most recently retired, in 1997, from SUNY-Brockport, after having taught there for 30 years. Primarily a paleontologist and stratigrapher, he taught the Geology of National Parks class for about his last 20 years at Brockport.