Geology Camp 2

In the summer of 2014 I was able to go on another G-Camp adventure, called G-Camp 2, where about 30 G-Camp veterans once again embarked upon a two-week trip to geologic sites throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. It was coordinated and led by the same geology professors from Texas A&M University, in the interest of giving teachers experiences to use in inspiring their students about the geologic world.

Once again we traveled in a large tour bus, and stayed in a different town/hotel virtually every night. Here are some of the highlights of our studies, in the order we experienced them:

In Texas we went to Palo Duro Canyon to study erosional features. Then we drove on all the way to Trinidad, Colorado, to collect samples at another K/T Boundary (see G-Camp 1) - this one with a noticeable streak of iridium.

Outside of Trinidad we studied the Teepee Buttes. They were once methane vents at the bottom of a shallow sea, visible now as small hills protruding up from the surrounding fields.

We took the cog train to the top of Pikes Peak, and also visited the nearby Garden of the Gods where erosion has left some spectacular jags of rock rising high above the ground.

More studies of canyon topography, at Colorado National Monument.

Exploring the mountaintops and alpine meadows around Telluride, Silverton, and Ouray Colorado.

Testing mountain stream water near Ouray, Colorado, and checking out the Tent Rocks in New Mexico, where hard igneous rocks ejected from a now-extinct volcano have prevented the underlying sedimentary rock from eroding.

Hoping to go again one year...!