Location:      Alpine Visitor Center, Rocky Mountain National Park

This course will meet at AVC and conclude on the west side of RMNP.  Participants from the east side who wish to car-pool to AVC from the Rocky Mountain Field Seminars Conference Center should indicate this at the time of course registration.

Time:               8:30 AM – 4:00 PM

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The western part of Rocky Mountain National Park offers a grand opportunity to see some of the oldest rocks in Colorado as well as some beautiful examples of very recent (geologically speaking) glacial features. In this course, participants will learn how geologists interpret the nature and history of the rocks they study, as well as the processes that created and deformed the rocks. We will be looking far back in time and deep into the earth to understand how metamorphism changed sediments that may have been more than 2 billion years old into the 1.75-billion-year old schists and gneisses that dominate western RMNP's bedrock. We will examine the effects of tremendous tectonic forces that began over 69 million years ago and caused these rocks to be heaved over 2 miles above sea level. The extensive volcanic activity that occurred just 25 million years ago in the Never Summer Range on the west side of the park will be another topic of our investigation.

Ever since the present day Rockies were uplifted to their highest elevations, erosion has been at work demolishing these majestic mountain ranges.  Glaciation was a principle agent of erosion that began its work about 300,000 years ago and continued until about 12,000 years ago. We will investigate the glacial features produced during the two major periods of glaciation during that time. The western side of Rocky Mountain National Park displays many wonderful examples of both erosional and depositional glacial features. 

In this course, our time will be spent in the field examining features of geological interest. The goal is to provide both a general knowledge of the geologic history of this region and the thought processes and geologic tools used by geologists to decipher this history. Much remains to be learned about some of the geologic processes that shaped the geology of the western part of the Park.

Whereas most of our observations will be made from roadside stops, we plan to take a few short hikes, time permitting. Our hikes will not be strenuous, but you will need to bring raingear, good shoes for hiking, water, and a lunch. Since part of our day will be spent above tree line, it would also be advisable to bring a warm layer or two of clothing.

Course Level:  III

Some of this seminar will be at elevations exceeding 11,000 feet.

Brief Instructor Biography (additional information available at www.rmna.org):

Keith Graham is a former high school teacher from Illinois who is currently a volunteer on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.  He has B.A. and M.A.T. degrees in geology and has enjoyed 35 years of teaching geology and other earth sciences. He is actively involved in the study of the geology of RMNP and other parts of the Front Range. He leads a weekly tundra geology hike for RMNP visitors during the summer months. He has conducted many geology field trips throughout the Park, is actively involved in the study of RMNP geology, and has co-authored several papers pertaining to Park geology.

Expectations:  Professional conduct will be expected from participants at all times.  Individual ideas will be respected.  Except during course breaks, cellular phones, pagers, and personal entertainment devices are strictly prohibited in the classroom and during field sessions.

Car-pooling:  Rocky Mountain Field Seminars courses utilize car-pooling to limit vehicles traveling into the Park.  Car-pooling makes it easier to keep the group together, reduces transit time, and allows courses greater access because fewer parking spaces are required at destinations.  In addition, it provides an opportunity for participants to discuss course material in small groups during transit.  Typically, a few participants from each course volunteer the use of their vehicles for car-pooling to course locations.

Tentative Course Schedule:

We will start our day at the Apline Visitors Center. Please meet at the flagpole in the parking lot at 8:30 AM. We will spend the morning on the tundra. Here we can readily study rock types along with features of tectonic and volcanic activity. We can also see how erosional and weathering processes have affected the tundra region. The afternoon hours will be spent driving down into the Kawuneeche Valley where we can experience the depositional features of alpine glaciation.  Some stops will include short, easy hikes to examine geologic features.

  8:30 AM         Alpine Visitor Center: Introduction

  9:00 AM         Gore Range Overlook:  Overview of uplift, volcanism, glaciation

  9:30 AM         Rock Cut:  Short hike to examine mushroom rocks and patterned ground. We will also examine pegmatite for comparison with pegmatite at Milner Pass..

10:35 AM         Pullout just west of Rock Cut:  Examine schists/gneisses.

10:45 AM         Lava cliffs: Easternmost sample of volcanic material, cirque/tarn. Examine volcanic rocks.

11:10 AM         Medicine Bow Curve: Never Summer volcanics, Specimen Mountain glacial valley, solifluction

11:30 AM         Lahar deposits: Slickensides, inclusions, possible downwash of volcanics

11:45 AM         Sheep Rock:  Continental Divide. Short hike to pegmatite spires to compare pegmatite with Mushroom Rock pegmatite.        

Lunch

12:50 PM          Beaver Creek:  V-shaped valley

 1:05 PM           Farview Curve:  Glacial erosional features, Grand Ditch, pegmatite intrusion into gneiss/schist complex

 1:20 PM           Fault below Farview Curve

 1:50 PM           Kawuneeche Visitor Center: Erratics, moraine

 2:20 PM           Grand Lake Lodge:  Pinedale, Bull Lake moraines

 2:40 PM           Tunnel Road: Till exposure

 2:50 PM           Hike East Inlet if time permits: Adams Falls, meadow above Adams Falls overlook.

Evaluation forms         

What to Bring:

·         Sack lunch, snacks, energy bars,  Water                          

·         Notebook                        

·         Pen/pencil                                                                          

• Binocular (optional)
• Hand lens (optional)

Remember to Bring the 10 Essentials:

Rocky Mountain National Park recommends that hikers always carry the 10 essentials in their daypacks.

     Raingear                                     Map and compass                      Flashlight or headlamp

     Sunglasses and sunscreen            Candles                                      Matches or other fire starter

     Pocketknife                                First-aid kit                                 Extra layers of clothing

     Sack lunch, snacks, water             

Note:  Rocky Mountain Field Seminars recommends that participants for all courses dress in layers and wear comfortable, sturdy hiking boots/shoes.  Participants should be prepared for sudden changes in temperature and weather conditions.

Recommended Reading:

Vincent Matthews, Katie Keller Lynn, and Betty Fox Mess, Eds. Message in Stone

Omar Raup.  Geology Along Trail Ridge Road

Bernor and Dixon. The Practical Geologist

Teacher Recertification Credit: 

Most courses are eligible for teacher recertification credit through the Centennial Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES).  The fee is $25.00 per seminar (.5 unit) or $25.00 per series of threaded seminars (1.0 - 3.0 units).   A list of threaded seminars can be found online at www.rmna.org.  Participants must enroll in all seminars of a threaded series in order to qualify for the $25.00 multi-unit fee. Please be prepared to pay for this credit with a check, made payable to BOCES, on the first day of a seminar or on the final day of a threaded series of seminars.