MEA599 – Regional Geology of North America (1 credit)
Field Course Dates: OCTOBER 1 – 5 (FRIDAY TO TUESDAY) (extended NCSU Fall Break)
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA
Theme: Pacific-North American Plate Boundary Zone
Airports: Raleigh-Durham to San Diego
Accommodations: Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center, Borrego Springs, CA (https://anzaborrego.ucnrs.org/)
This field-learning course is open to any MEAS Graduate Student and MEAS B.S. Geology Majors and Minors.
Highlights are likely to include:
1. An awesome experience with fellow geoscience students who enjoy exploring the natural world in beautiful locations
2. Snapshots of 500+ million years worth of Earth History on beautiful display in and around Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
3. Straddle the Pacific-North American Plate Boundary along the San Andreas Fault
4. Explore active mud volcanoes up close and personal (they are safe, mostly).
5. Explore an obsidian flow on the edge of the Saltan Sea
6. Visualize amazing desert landforms and geomorphic processes in action
7. Hike through bedrock canyons cut across anticlines and synclines.
No prior experience is required, other than MEA101, MEA110 (Intro geology & lab or equivalent) plus a good attitude and willingness to learn in a team-like setting and travel as part of a group.
The course is only 1 credit. We will have up to 4 one-hour evening class meetings before the fall break trip. Students, working in small groups typically choose a topic that they are interested in and become the local “experts” on that topic, which they present as short 10 to 15-minute introductions when we are on location. During the course trip, your deliverable is to make observations and take field notes about the geology, landscapes, and geoscience processes we are observing and learning about. We will describe, demonstrate, and practice good field note-taking skills.
There are costs associated with the trip. Students have to provide their airfare, and the Dept. covers the rest (ground transportation, lodging, group meals, etc).
For this trip, we will be flying in and out of San Diego and will be staying at the Steel/Burnand Desert Research Center in Borrego Springs, CA https://anzaborrego.ucnrs.org/.
Interested students are encouraged to contact Prof. Karl Wegmann (kwwegman@ncsu.edu) with questions.