Mercyhurst University Geology Department

Hello all,

Today, we are saying farewell and sending our best wishes to Dr. Rebecca Matecha as she moves on in her career from Mercyhurst.

Dr. Matecha was the Assistant Geology professor and advisor at Mercyhurst for 2 years, during her time she graduated multiple seniors and did research in the surrounding area of Erie. Taking her classes was a pleasure always, any student would agree. She helped many students get to where they are today, and without her we wouldn’t have had as much as a successful 2 years as we did here at Mercyhurst.

Thank you, Dr. Matecha for your service to your students, colleagues, and Mercyhurst University as a whole, you will be deeply missed.



The Geology Department Bake Sale is here!!!

Come get delicious cookies, cupcakes, and rock candies made by students.

Where: Zurn Lobby at Mercyhurst (In front of the cave bear)

When: Thursday, March 19th between 1pm - 4pm

Why: Because rocks and dinosaurs are super awesome!🪨🦖

(Pictured is Peanut butter cookies!)

Another beautiful day in the field for our Geomorphology class! We went out to Erie Bluffs State Park to record the different layers which compose the bluffs. Students will be making cross sections of the bluffs based on what they recorded today. It was very windy and cold right on the lake, but the students pushed through. We also had a lovely little hike to and from the bluffs through the fall foliage.

Have you visited the bluffs before? What is your favorite place for fall foliage around Erie?

Stop by the lobby of Zurn to do some cool geology demos today! We have a Petrographic microscope out to look at thin slices of rock, our UV lamp for looking at fluorescent minerals, and lots of cool minerals to check out! Here until 2pm.

We have a bunch of awesome events happening on campus this week for Earth Science Week! Check out our schedule below. We’ll have geology demos, a scavenger hunt around Zurn, a rock sale, movie night, and more! Want to learn more about the Geology Major/Minor at Mercyhurst? Stop by any of these events to chat with Dr. Matecha and some of our current geo majors.

Don’t let today’s gloomy and rainy weather get you down. Last Thursday we had beautiful weather for a trip out to Presque Isle with our Geomorphology class to look at beach accretion and recession. Channel those warm sunny vibes to get you through.

Our Geomorphology class took advantage of the beautiful weather today and went out to Shades Beach to look at weathering/erosion and mass wasting along the bluffs. The students will be creating maps showing where different types of erosion and weathering occur along the beach. Later in the term they’ll be working on a larger geomorphological map of Erie. It’s always a good day when you get to spend it outside in the field as a geologist in great weather. Know of any interesting locations around Erie where erosion/weathering are occurring? Comment below!

Welcome back to all of our geology and environmental geology students! I am so excited for classes to start tomorrow and I hope you are too. Keep an eye out for info on Geoclub coming soon.

Our major board has been updated and our rock table is ready and waiting for you to come trade a rock. Don’t forget to visit me (Dr. Matecha) in my office! Just look for the human sized amethyst to find the office!

I also wanted to post a few pictures of the awesome places our students visited for classes the last year. Geology can take you anywhere in all sorts if weather, as our students are learning!

Want to learn more about Geology at Mercyhurst? Send us a message!

Wow! Our last few days of Field Camp flew by faster than we could imagine. We had the chance to see the Shenandoah Caverns, an amazing talus slope of quartzite, and some really cool greenschist with a granitic intrusion! These students really impressed with their field skills and learned tons throughout the last week and a half. We did also get chances for relaxation and fun like dinner and s’mores on a fire (thanks fire master Cal) and staying up to stargaze (those stars were insane!). Congrats to our graduated senior Aden on officially finishing his geology degree! Best of luck in grad school! We hope everyone has a great summer and we’ll see you in the fall!