Interested in Earth History? This is where you should learn about it...June 15-29

North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park (yes, Gaelyn, we'll be on the North Rim, hope to see you there!)

There is no place on this planet like the Colorado Plateau. It's hard to find anyplace else on Earth where the crust remained relatively stable for upwards of a billion years, accumulating several miles of horizontal sediments, only to be lifted up rapidly in the last few million. The Colorado River and her tributaries then stripped away much of the sedimentary cover, and cut deep into the underlying metamorphic rocks, which record a violent geologic history of colliding landmasses and mountain-building. The resulting landscape is one of the most beautiful places imaginable.

Angels Landing Trail in Zion National Park, Utah

The plateau country is a training ground for geologists and earth scientists, and has been since the days of John Wesley Powell and Joseph Ives, who were the first to lead research parties into the region (they didn't "discover" the plateau, of course; Native Americans have known the region for thousands of years). If you are curious about learning geology in this incredible region, you might consider joining us as a student (of any age) on our geology field studies course Geology 174, offered under the auspices of Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California.

Goosenecks of the San Juan River, Utah

Our field course will be a grand loop through the plateau country, with investigations of the Mojave National Scenic Preserve, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde and Great Basin National Parks, as well as many monuments, including Natural Bridges, Navajo, Hovenweap, Colorado, and state parks like Kodachrome Basin, Goblin Valley, and Berlin-Ichthyosaur. It will be an unforgettable two week trip from June 15-29, beginning and ending in Modesto. Information can be found at my school website at  http://hayesg.faculty.mjc.edu/Geology_174_Colorado_Plateau.html.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado

It's not a comfortable trip...we travel in school vans (which of course are known for their luxuriousness!), we camp every night, and the days can be hot, windy, cold, stormy, and we are out in the middle of anything that happens. But we are staying in beautiful places each night, and there are even showers and laundry available every third day or so! Extensive hiking is not required, but there will be many chances to explore the parks and monuments that we are visiting.

Double Arch in Arches National Park in Utah

Geology 174 is a 3 semester unit course. By end of the course, you will be able to see the landscape the way geologists do: by identifying rocks, minerals and fossils, and interpreting the geological history of an area by working out the sequence of events as exposed in outcrops. If you are a science teacher, you will come home with a collection of photographs that illustrate most of the important principles of geology, and a selection of rocks, minerals and fossils that will make a great classroom teaching tool (legally collected, of course; there are many localities outside of protected parks from which to collect samples).

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

The cost of the trip is $650.00 plus the cost of tuition (Currently $46 per unit for California residents, and $222 per unit for out-of-state residents). The cost includes transportation, food, camp fees, and entrance fees. Participants would want to bring a few dollars along for showers, laundry, and souvenirs.  The food is tasty and plentiful (everyone helps cook and clean!), and the school vans...are vans.

For those of you who live in the Modesto region, we are having an organizational meeting on Monday, April 22 at 7PM in Science 132 of the East Campus at Modesto Junior College. Attendance is not mandatory (and not binding, either), but will be a chance to learn more about the trip and the class. If you can't make it to the meeting, I will send the class materials to you.

Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation Tribal Park

If you are not in the area, we will be glad to arrange for transportation from nearby airports and train stations (we actually have an Amtrak station in town). Enrollment can be completed online once you are registered with the college (http://www.mjc.edu/index.html). Please contact me through the class website if you have any questions.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Hope to see you out there, back of beyond!

A Trip to the Grandest Geological Locale on Earth

For once I am not discussing a trip I have taken...I am talking about a trip that you can take.

I spend a lot of time on my blog trying to convey the sense of wonder that comes from exploring the wild places of the Earth. I have to say, though, that nothing comes close to the actual experience of being there, seeing the rock, hearing the wind and feeling the heat, watching the night-time skies, and walking within the ruins of villages of people who lived on this land thousands of years ago (and meeting their descendants in the region today).

The Colorado Plateau, encompassing parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, is one of the grandest geological showplaces on the planet, and at the same time it is an archaeological treasure. Our geology department is combining forces with our anthropology department to offer a unique course on the archaeology and geology of the Colorado Plateau and other spectacular sites in the American West. The course (Geology 174 or Anthropology 174, your choice) will take place on June 13-29, beginning and ending at Modesto Junior College in Central California. The cost will be about $160 for registration (for California residents; out-of-state tuition is higher), and $650 for food, transportation, and camping and entrance fees. The only additional costs would be for laundry, showers, and souvenirs. Although these two courses are directed towards geology and anthropology majors, our travelers will also include teachers, life-long learning participants, and anyone who is fascinated in the geology of this stunning region.

What will you see?

Six states: California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.

Eleven national parks: Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Pecos, Chaco Culture, Great Basin, and Yosemite.

Eleven national monuments and preserves: Mojave, Wupatki, Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon, El Morro, El Malpais, Kashua-Katuwe, Bandelier, Jemez Caldera, Aztec, and Hovenweep

and many more state and tribal parks including the pueblos of New Mexico (Zuni, Acoma, Taos, and others!

Sound interesting?

If you are in the Modesto region, we will have an organizational meeting on Monday, April 23, at 7:00 at MJC in Science 132 (East Campus). Previous experience in geology, earth science or archaeology is recommended, but not required. You will need to be healthy enough to camp and deal with rugged terrain, although long hikes are not required (opportunities for hikes will be common, however). If you are not able to attend the meeting, please contact me, or our anthropology professor, Susan Kerr, and we will get in touch with the information that you will need.

The trip itinerary and basic information is on the web at http://virtual.mjc.edu/kerrs/Anthro_174/Anthropology_174.htm (Susan Kerr's page) and at http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/ghayes/coloplat.htm (Garry Hayes' page).

Geotripping on the Colorado Plateau: Archaeology and Geology Summer Field Studies, June 13-29, 2012

There was a constant theme of the images I posted during geo-picture-a-day week: each picture was a locality that we will be visiting on our summer field studies adventure in June of 2012, offered by Modesto Junior College in Central California. I guess it was on my mind, as I had to secure the camp reservations last week...the reservations for groups at the national parks tend to get snapped up quickly.

The class is a hybrid, Geology 174 and Anthropology 174, taught jointly in the field. This is the fifth collaboration between our departments, and will be a two-week expedition that will take us through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. Our route will include Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Great Basin and Yosemite National Parks, and numerous other state parks, national scenic areas, and national monuments.We will be camping out for the duration of the trip, and meals and transportation are provided. The cost will be $650, plus about $150 in school and registration fees.

What will it be like? Imagine yourself on the high plateaus of central Utah hunting for dinosaurs, or on the brink of a 5,000 foot deep canyon in Arizona, or searching for gemstones in the Nevada-Utah desert.  Imagine hunting for Pueblo cliff dwellings in a quiet deserted canyon on the Colorado-Utah border or in New Mexico.  Imagine taking a trip in a time machine to the distant past, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, continental landmasses drifted and collided, and seas covered vast areas of the American west. Imagine a more recent past as we visit two of the oldest continuously occupied villages in the United States.

Obviously, this message is directed mostly to our friends in the central California, but even if you are not from the area, you may be able to travel with us if you can get to Modesto for the start and finish of the trip (and be willing to register for the course; yes, you have to take notes!). You need to be in moderately good health and be ready to put up with rugged and stressful conditions (although no long hikes will be required). It will be hot, cold, wet, dry, windy, sandy and dusty. There may be ghosts, bugs, or other critters. On the other hand, the trip has every possibility of being one of the most spectacular two weeks of your life. If you are interested, check out this informational page, and let us know who you are!