Students take Summer Field Course in Wyoming
Several students are making the most of their summer this year on the Summer Field Course in Wyoming. The students flew into Denver and drove to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains to visit Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the nearby Dinosaur Trail in the famous Morrison Formation. They will be staying in Casper, WY, for a few days on the banks of the Platte River, where they will study rock and mineral identification, stratigraphy, paleontology, structure, topographic and geologic mapping.
A day's drive will take the students northwest through the Wind River Canyon and Thermopolis to Cody, home of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and its five world-class museums. After one night in Cody, the students drive into Yellowstone via the east entrance, the most spectacular way to arrive by auto. They get to stay in cabins in Canyon Village, within walking distance of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. During this time, students will have the chance to study hydrothermal activity, volcanism, ecology, and environmental policy.
Next the students travel to Colter Bay Village, on the shore of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton NP. Seismology, glacial activity, mass wasting, stream processes, hiking and gawking will be the focus of their study while in the Tetons. The students will have a chance for some free time before turning back east for a two day drive to Denver. A stop in Kemmerer, WY will allow them to collect 45 million year old fish fossils. A discussion of tectonics and its effects on the country they drive through will lead to the synthesis of final paper discussion topics.
For more pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiahighlands/sets/72157654208174409/with/18851744691/