Nevada's Participation in National Earth Science Week Website
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Annual Earth Science Week field trip "Life's A Beach" National Earth Science Week (ESW) 2011 encourages people everywhere to explore the natural world and learn about the geosciences. The Nevada Bureau of Mines & Geology (NBMG) welcomes you to participate in its fourteenth annual Earth Science Week field trip. In keeping with the National ESW theme, “Our Ever-Changing Earth,” this year’s trip will focus on the Cenozoic geology of the region around Grimes Point and the Lahontan Mountains, including evidence for a large Pleistocene lake in the area; volcanism related to crustal extension in the Basin and Range Province of the western United States; hydrothermal (hot water) activity associated with volcanism; tilting of volcanic and sedimentary rocks related to faulting and extension; and production of electricity using geothermal power, related to hot water that gets close to the surface along extension-related faults. Many of the features we will explore are related to ongoing geologic processes that continue to alter the face of the Earth. Frequent reference will be made to recently published NBMG geologic maps of the Lahontan Mountains Quadrangle and the Grimes Point Quadrangle, by NBMG geologist John Bell and others. We will leave from the Fox Peak gas station, on the north side of U.S. Highway 50, 0.5 mile east of downtown Fallon, at 9:00 a.m. each day. Field trip participants wanting a tour of the Great Basin Science Sample and Records Library (GBSSRL), the new building for information, publication sales, geologic and topographic maps, and geological samples of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, can meet there, 2175 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512 (on the west side of the Desert Research Institute campus) at 7:15 a.m. Directions and a map to this facility are at this link: http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/Departments/GBSSRL/docs/GBSSRL_map_directions.pdf. We will leave the GBSSRL location in Reno at 7:45 a.m. Come visit our publication sales office anytime between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. on the day of the field trip. All of the guidebooks described in the link below will be on sale for $20 each for October 15 and 16 only: To get this discount, bring four or more food items for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada donation bin located in our office. Of course, your gift to our Food Bank bin will be greatly appreciated even if you do not make a purchase. Here is a list of most needed items: While visiting our office, you can also celebrate National Fossil Day (October 12) by picking up some free games and activities on fossils.
This year's field trip will appeal to people of all ages. Please sign up to attend on either Saturday, Oct 15th, or Sunday, Oct 16th (the same field trip is repeated on two consecutive days). You must sign up (sign-up) online prior to the trip and sign a waiver form: (waiver). Please print out a paper copy, sign and date, and submit prior to the field trip or bring to the field trip meeting place.
We will make a few geologic stops on our way. There will be several geologists along on the trip to help answer your questions about geology and identify a variety of rocks. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about Geocaching and EarthCaching—a high-tech treasure hunting game using GPS devices. If you have a hand-held GPS unit, bring it, so you can find the Geocaches and EarthCaches located near some stops.
All are welcome to come on the Earth Science week tour. Bring your own insured high-clearance vehicle, lunch, and the usual safety equipment for a day out in the field —WATER, hat, sunscreen, sturdy walking shoes or boots, first aid kit, collecting bags, and rock hammer if you have one. Please carpool with friends or come prepared to carpool with new acquaintances to save fuel. The complete road log for the field trip will be available at this site: (road log).
Questions about the field trip? Call Monique at 784-6694 or D.D. at 682-8772. For more information about educational activities during Earth Science Week, go to the national Earth Science Week website at: http://www.earthsciweek.org/.
Be sure to check out our geologic tourbooks!
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