ECIMN May CE Seminar "The The Geology of Illinois… a Brief History " with Scott Elrick, ISGS

ECIMN May CE Seminar
 
DATE: May 18, 2026
TIME: 7 PM
LOCATION:  Zoom
Zoom Link provided in registration confirmation on email to you!

Title:  The Geology of Illinois… a brief history. (and resources too!)

 

Speaker:   Scott Elrick, Illinois State Geological Survey

 

Summary: Take a journey through the deep past as the Illinois landscape changed from an ancient ocean, to emergent land, drifted across climate belts, and felt the near and far-field effects of global plate tectonics. This talk brings the state’s buried history to life using paleogeographic maps that reveal how the rocks and geologic resources of Illinois formed over hundreds of millions of years. By connecting landscapes of the past to the resources we rely on today—coal, oil, limestone, sand, soils—this presentation shows how Illinois became the place we know now.

 

Bio: Scott Elrick is head of the Bedrock Geology Section at the Illinois State Geological Survey, where he has worked for 27 years.  Born and raised in Champaign, IL., Scott has a BS in geology from the University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign, and MS in Geophysics from the University of California, Riverside.  His research interests include the stratigraphy, paleoclimate, paleobotany, and depositional history of the Pennsylvanian period and late Paleozoic ice age, geologic history of the Illinois Basin, coal geology, coal mine disturbances, coal mining and coal mine history in Illinois, digital data archiving, and development of public access portals to geologic information.

Should you require accommodations or have questions, please email Karla Griesbaum, kherzma2@illinois.edu or Melissa Berg, mkberg3@illinois.edu as early as possible.