Explore the geological evolution of the West Coast, the Sierra Nevada, the Basin and Range, the San Andreas Fault, the Southern Cascades, and the Coast Ranges.
Quick Facts
Where: California: West Coast, the Sierra Nevada, the Basin and Range, the San Andreas Fault, the Southern Cascades, and the Coast Ranges.
When: May 2025 - June 2025 - Dates TBD
Who: Student do not need to be Geology majors to apply; the course is open to any student interested in earth or environmental science.
What: Geology of the Western United States will give students the opportunity to explore and experience the incredible diversity landscapes, environments, and solid earth features of California firsthand. Students will receive a broad survey of geologic and environmental systems by visiting landscapes bound by active tectonics and shaped by desert processes, as well as investigating emergent coastlines and volcanoes, young mountains and growth forests. Students will be responsible for preparing reports on and synthesizing scientific literature on topics related to the sites explored on the course and presenting the information they have assembled to their peers. They will keep detailed field notebooks over the three weeks of the course and will learn to make detailed and incisive qualitative observations and interpretations about geologic features from the field. Finally, students will collect, analyze, and interpret geologic data in the field.
Cost: $3,700* (Non-Sewanee students pay a $300 deposit in addition to this $3700)
Trip Leader: Max Dahlquist, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Geology for the University of the South
Contact for Additional Information: global@sewanee.edu
How to Apply: Set up an account and apply through VIA
Program Overview
Academics
Students will earn the following class credit:
- GEOL 323 Geology of the Western United States Field Trip (4 credits) - Taught by Max Dahlquist
This three-week travel course around California focuses on the geological evolution of the West Cost, thte Sierra Nevada, the Basin and Range, the San Andreas Fault, the Southern Cascades, and the Coast Ranges. Additional focus is placed on geologic issues and society, and the impact of geology on the living environment. It will involve some collection and analysis of field data and extensive use of geologic maps and periodicals. Prerequisite: Only open to students who have completed GEOL 322 and been admitted to the Geology of the Western U.S. Field Trip program.
Housing
Participants will stay at established campsites, rent camping gear or staying in bunkhouses/cabins.
Student Support
- Airport pick-up
- On-site orientation
- 24/7 emergency support
- Crisis-management preparedness
- Fully-trained on-site staff
2023 Program Itinerary
May 15: Fly into LAX early morning, rent vehicles, load, buy groceries and other supplies
- Sierra Madre Fault, Debris Dams, Landslides, Anorthocites, Proterozoic Igneous & Metamorphic Rocks - the San Gabriel Mtns
- Camp at Jackson Flat Group Campground in San Gabriel Mountains near Wrightwood
May 16: Owens Valley
- San Andreas Fault sites near Wrightwood
- Garlock Fault
- Fossil Falls - geomorphology, outburst floods, basalt, cinder cone
- Camp at Lone Pine Campground
May 17: Death Valley
- Death Valley - Mosaic Canyon, Dunes, Badwater, etc.
- Manzanar internment camp - Historical site
- Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the White/Panamint Mountains
- Return to camp at Lone Pine Campground (night 2)
May 18: Bristlecone Pines
- Bristlecone Pines - White Mountains
- Drive to Convict Canyon
- Hike around Mt. Morrison, see roof pendants
- Stay in bunkhouse, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory
May 19: Bishop Tuff Scenic Loop
- Bishop Tuff - ignimbrites, volcanic rock, pictographs?
- Hot Creek Geological Site - Hot Springs, hydrology, geochemistry
- Long Valley Caldera overview
- Obsidian Dome, Devil's Postpile
- Stay in bunkhouse, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory
May 20: Mono Lake
- Mono Lake - Tufa Towers, Paleoshorelines
- Moraines at Lundy Canyon - Glacial geomorphology
- Hike Lundy Canyon Trail - 6 mile out & back
- Camp at Lundy Lake Campground
May 21: Lake Tahoe
- Travertine Hot Springs near Bridgeport
- Tahoe and Northern Sierras
- Stay at Zephyr Point (if there's availability, otherwise camp)
May 22: Twin Bridges
- Glacial geomorphology, Sierran granites, Horsetail Falls, stunning but strenuous hike into Desolation Wilderness
- Camp at Scout Hill Group Campsite near Placerville
May 23: Lassen Volcanic
- Gold Bug Mine
- Bumpass Hell Hydrothermal Field
- Devastated area - 1915 eruption
-Camp at Manzanita Lake Group Camp
May 24: Mt. Lassen Area
- Complex volcanic history
- Lava flows, cinder cones, tubes, and buttes
- Camp at Manzanita Lake Group Camp
May 25: Mt. Shasta Area
- Pluto's Cave Lava Tubes
- Magmatic/eruption history of Shasta, flank collapse features, other lava flows, etc.
- Camp at Red Fir Flats Campground
May 26: Russian Wilderness - Klamath Mtns
- Forks of Salmon, CA
- Hike in Russian Wilderness, explore Klamath Mtns.
- Miracle Mile - Incredible tree diversity in small area
- Camp at Trail Creek Campground
May 27: Klamath Mtns
- Marble Mountain Wilderness
- Camp at Trail Creek Campground
May 28: O'Brien, OR, then on to Hiouchi, CA
- Exotic terranes, few stops along the way
- Josephine Ophiolite sequence
- Swim & relax along the Smith River
- Stay in cabins around Hiouchi or Crescent City
May 29: - Jedidiah Smith Redwoods
- Ophiolite sequence
- Smith River marshes, lagoons.
- Camp at Jedidiah Smith Redwoods
May 30: NorCal Coast & Coast Ranges - Redwood Highway
- Sea stacks, coves, coast range geology
- Mattole Road to Petrolia
- Coastal geomorphology, landslides (at Cape), longshore transport, marine terraces
- Cape Mendocino - Mendocino Triple Junction
- Camp at Arthur W. Way County Park
May 31: King Range
- Eel river - 1964 flood landmarks
- Coastal erosion near Ft. Bragg
- Point Arena
- Marine terraces, coastal geomorphology
- Franciscan Complex
- San Andreas Fault at Bodega Bay
- Camp at Doran Regional Park
June 1: Bay Area
- San Andreas at Point Reyes
- Franciscan Complex at Marin Headlands
- Heyward Fault, Fresno
- Camp at Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey
June 2: Central CA Coast - Morro Strand
- Big Sur
- Southern Coast Ranges
- Elephant seal rookery
- Camp at Morro Strand State Park
June 3: Los Angeles
- Transverse ranges
- Montecito debris flows/Thomas fire sites
- Beach day
- Stay in hotel
June 4: Fly back to Tennessee
