Mud volcanoes are one of the most fascinating (and dirtiest) things around the Salton Sea area. Geohazards students stood on these gurgling, mud-spewing vents to observe a rare phenomenon caused by geothermal activity.
Students attending the annual Woodford-Eckis lectureship and dinner leave their field gear behind for a night and enjoy the chance to interact with alumni and other friends of the department.
Seniors in the department explore a research topic of interest to them for their year-long senior thesis , and at times the collaboration involves faculty from other departments and institutions. Here a geochemistry major talks with Profs. Grosfils and Hazlett about his senior thesis work studying biogeochemical recycling of arsenic within the Long Valley caldera of California.
Professor Harold Magistrale took his Environmental Geology class on a tour of the San Andreas Fault, just a short drive from campus. Morman Rocks was a great place to stop for a class picture!
Colton Quarry is a great place for Mineralogy students to make observations and collect samples. Students were given a tour of the facility, which produces Portland Cement, and allowed time to study freshly-revealed outcrop.
No Geology class in Southern California is complete without a trip to the beach! Students here visited San Onofre State Park in San Deigo County to study marine terraces.
Instead of bringing rocks to the students, Professor Lackey brought his Mineralogy students to the rocks. Their final involved identifying minerals in outcrop instead of samples. Looks like too much fun for a final!
Mecca Hills is a unique below-sea-level setting near the Salton Sea. These poorly lithified outcrops expose numerous geologic features in a small area, most of which are the result of deformation from the San Andreas Fault.
Vasquez Rocks State Park provides incredible exposure of tilted sedimentary beds. Professor Reinen's Structure students break for lunch on one of the spectacular outcrops.
What’s life for a Pomona College geology major without a trip or two to Death Valley National Park in California? And you thought playing football on Astroturf was tough…