Shoshone Education & Research Center—SHEAR
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating field trips and research visits to the Death Valley region. We offer inexpensive lodging for students and faculty in the village of Shoshone, California, between Death Valley National Park and Las Vegas. SHEAR is primarily used by geology groups, but it is open to all.
July 2023
A brief history of SHEAR
In the early 1990’s, Susan Sorrells of Shoshone Development, Inc., generously agreed to let Terry Pavlis and Laura Serpa use some unoccupied buildings in Shoshone as a field station. The buildings formerly housed the labs of Pfizer, Inc., which was exploiting industrial talc deposits in the region. In 1999 Terry, Laura, Marli Miller, and Darrel Cowan along with Susan Sorrells formed a California non-profit corporation with the title "Shoshone Education and Research Center" or "SHEAR center" with the primary objective of providing low-cost housing for educational groups and researchers traveling to the Death Valley area. In 2000 SHEAR was recognized as non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Susan leased the buildings to SHEAR at no cost. Since the early 1990’s, our group, with the generous help of many others, has continually made improvements and expanded the capacity. The present board of directors consists of Darrel Cowan (President), Marli Miller (Vice-president), Terry Pavlis (Secy/Treas), Laura Serpa, Susan Sorrells, Monica Argandona, and John Caskey.
Institutions & organizations that have recently used SHEAR
Augustana College
California State University Bakersfield
Caltech
California State University Long Beach
California Wilderness Coalition
Carleton College
Colorado College
DePauw University
Geologic Mapping Foundation
Lawrence Academy
McGill University
Mt. San Antonio College, Pomona, CA
Northern Virginia Community College—Professor Callan Bentley wrote in March 2020, "SHEAR provided a funky, safe place to stay for our academic group when investigating the geology of the Death Valley region. Full of character and utterly informal, SHEAR is steeped in the history of decades of geologists learning about the rocks, structures, and landscapes of the western Basin and Range. My students loved it, and I'd have my class stay here again in a heartbeat."
Pasadena City College
Piedmont Virginia Community College
Rites of Passage
Salisbury University
Slippery Rock State University, PA
Sonoma State University
South Dakota School of Mines
SUNY Oneonta
Tulane University
University of California Berkeley
University of California Riverside
University of California Santa Cruz
University of Hawaii
University of Memphis
University of Oregon
University of Ottawa
University of St. Thomas
University of South Florida
University of Texas El Paso
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin River Falls
Western Washington University
Wheaton College
Rates in 2023
Rates as of April 2023 are $12.50 per person per night for a maximum of $125/night for main buildings and bunkhouses. The trailer is $100/night and is reserved for faculty or graduate-student researchers only. Please be aware that renters also need to pay a 12% Inyo County occupancy tax. In addition, we ask that each person using the facilities read and sign a release and assumption of risk form, which we will e-mail to reserved groups before arrival.
Reservations
To reserve SHEAR, please contact Darrel Cowan in the Department of Earth & Space Sciences, University of Washington: darrel@uw.edu
Please indicate your organization, the requested dates, and the number of students, faculty, and TA's. If you are a graduate student or individual researcher, please provide the same information. We will contact you regarding availability and provide more information about the facility and billing before your arrival.
We recommend making reservations several months in advance of the busiest months: November through April.