Podcast: Central PA Rock & Mineral Club president talks about geology of the river and its impact on basin

Andrew "Rockhound" Eppig checks out layers of rock below the Shikellamy Overlook near the Snyder-Northumberland county line.

President of the Central PA Rock and Mineral Club and vice president of the Keystone Treasure Hunter's Club, Andrew "Rockhound" Eppig loves studying rocks and geology across the state. 

He chronicles these adventures through his own "Dirtman Report" shared on YouTube regularly. 

"I grew up in Baltimore County, Maryland, surrounded by lots of soapstone and native American artifacts," he said. "I worked at our family nursery, so when we would be putting plants out in the field to grow them throughout the year, we'd come across all kinds of different minerals such as quartz and sometimes tourmaline as well as arrowheads and soapstone bowls."

His love of rocks started there and grew over the years, especially the geology of the greater Susquehanna River basin.

"It covers all the bases. It is one the oldest rivers in the world and the fact that it starts basically in both New York and western Pennsylvania, it crosses so many different geological provinces," he said. "We break it down into four major areas of the Susquehanna: the New York, the northern Pennsylvania, the Appalachians and the Great Valley south of Blue Mount."

In the most recent episode of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcast, we chat with Andrew about the history of the Susquehanna River and how its geology has played a major role in the waterway's creation and flow.

We also discuss some of the unintended impacts of our geology on the river (such as acid mine drainage), as well as some of the rocks and structures that people can explore today and how to get involved with some of the regional rockhound groups and clubs.

Listen to the full podcast conversation here:

For the full list of Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcasts, check out our podcast page or on popular podcasting channels such as Amazon Audible and Spotify.