Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: A Geoheritage Prototype for the Lower Rio Grande Valley
The Ancient Landscapes of South Texas project was developed by the CHAPS Program at UTRGV as a Geoheritage initiative designed to fuel positive publicity, educate residents, and attract visitors to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
The trail incorporates the geologic events that shaped south Texas over the last ~43 million years, as seen at easily accessible outcrops including, the old shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, a 20 m thick volcanic ash deposit, and evidence for a petrified forest. The trail will have multiple components including a foldable map, a picture book, a short documentary film, educational tools, and website.
Roseann Bacha-Garza (MA, University of Texas-Pan American) is a Lecturer of Anthropology and serves as the Program Manager of the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) Program at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is dedicated to cultural heritage preservation and community engaged scholarship along the US-Mexico borderlands.