Study Abroad
Take an off-campus geology course during January term!
We offer Geology 260, Regional Geology and Geological Field Methods, to any student that has taken an introductory level geology course. In this course, we travel to southern Nevada (it's warm!) and camp in the Lake Mead and Death Valley areas. The course is designed to acquaint you with the geology of an area very different from Minnesota and to provide you with fundamental field techniques used in the geological and environmental sciences. This course is required for the geology major and it also satisfies the third math and science core area requirement.
Our campsite at Echo Bay, Lake Mead, Nevada
Comments from a student on this course:
Peacefully awoken by the sound of a bubbling brook in the wee hours of the morning, I stirred out of my most peaceful night of sleep yet and added another slight mishap to the list...a water pipe had broken just uphill from our site. But the only true inconvenience on my part was having to step cautiously in the slow morning hours. In a state of mixed emotions, we ate our last camp breakfast, disassembled the tent for the last time, and loaded the vans for the big city. We spent a short time gathering map information and beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but were stopped short by a few drops of rain.
I've decided that I like my therm-a-rest and sleeping pad better than the beds in the hotels or even maybe at home, but I think it is only my fear of leaving. I don't wish to leave the serenity of camping, and I don't wish to return to tell my stories of what I have learned to those who will never understand. I can leave behind the wet and collapsed tents and the infrequent times of showering, but there are some things, memories and inspirations, that cannot be left.
Our maps are done, and we will soon board a plane to the frozen tundra of the northland--there is good and bad to everything.
It is said that some people come into our livers, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. And it is true that every journey owes half of its success to the people. It is you, Tom and Lisa, who have helped to make this journey unforgettable. The mountains and the scenery will be left in the pictures, but the songs, stories, and the laughs have left footprints on my heart. Those footprints will keep on moving, lasting well beyond my years. Thank you.
If you would like to learn more about the GEOL 260 J-Term, please visit the following pages:
J-Term Field Experiences in Nevada and California
J-Term Field Experiences in the Bitter Springs
Or feel free to contact Dr. Thomas Hickson (tahickson@stthomas.edu)
651-962-5241 or stop by his office (OSS 117)
