GESC Course Field Trips

The Paleontology class camps at Taghannock Falls State Park, New York.

Classmates gather for a group photo at the campsite.

The field geology class maps igneous bodies at Andrews Point, Rockport, MA.

Field Geology students map the rock structures at Dana Hill, NY.

Combined Mineralogy and Petrology classes poses at the Gore Mountain, NY.

A Mineralogy student examines the large garnet crystals in Gore Mountain rock.

Geochemistry Class analyzes an acid mine lake near Nanticoke, PA.

The Geochemistry class analyzes an acid mine lake near Nanticoke, PA.

A Paleontology student splits dolostone for sea scorpion fossils.

Lucky find on the Paleontology trip: multiple "sea scorpion" fossils.

Dr. Titus explains the local strata during Stratigraphy and Sedimentation lab.

Stratigraphy and Sedimentation students explore limestones at Ingham Mills, NY

A petrology student poses with metamorphic structures near Gouverneur, NY.

Petrology students hike to the summit of Kearsarge, White Mountains, NH.

Mineralogy student touches a giant feldspar crystal at Lord Hill, ME.

Hydrology students perform well tests in a nearby park in Oneonta, NY.

Hydrology students canoe from water sampling at Hartwick's Pine Lake

We cover new (and old) ground!

Outdoor adventures and hands-on learning are common components in most of our geology and environmental sciences courses.

Our department is dedicated to giving our students the very best field-based education. Why such a focus on field study?

Every geoscientist must understand the context of their data…and the data comes from the field.
It develops a better understanding of 3-dimensional relationships found in nature.
Complex phenomena are easier to understand when observing them directly.
It’s fun!

We take every opportunity to get students out of the traditional classroom and into the field to experience geological and environmental science phenomena firsthand. Nearly every upper-level geology course has a field component where students learn to make direct observations, collect and record data to be used in course-related research projects. Many of the field trip destinations during our course field trips, our off-campus J Term field courses and our conference trips are truly spectacular, textbook examples of major geologic phenomena that are commonly on the “Life Lists” published by geologists.