STUDENT’S VOICE
Geology 373: Extreme Water Sports and the History of the Earth
Franklin Wolfe, SA-6334,
wolfef16@mail.wlu.edu Faith Meyer, Gabby Kitch, and Marshall Woodward
The following is excerpts of our adventure during Washington and Lee’s Spring Term Geology Course: Regional Geology of the Colorado Plateau and Grand Canyon. We began our our- ney with one week on campus reading and discussing primary literature and becoming familiar with the stratigraphic column of the American Southwest. We also refreshed our introductory geology knowledge through memorizing the geo- logic time scale, honing rock and mineral identification skills, and reviewing basic sedimentary geology concepts. For the eight seniors in the course, who knew each other well after four years together in the department, this was a fantastic opportunity to get to know and embrace our younger peers. And after living and learning together for four weeks, we became a very close group.
The first six days of the trip were spent traveling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Las Vegas, Nevada, making frequent stops at road cuts and learning about geologic wonders along the way. Hiking up to Delicate Arch at Arches National Park, exploring the erosional remnants of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains at Fisher’s Tower, putting our relatively tiny hands inside giant dinosaur foot- prints of the Cedar Mountain Formation, and completing a geologic mapping assignment of an eroded anticline in the Purgatory Flats near St. George, Utah were highlights. However, it was no secret that everyone was counting down the days until we began our raft- ing ourney down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
After six days in Utah, we arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada, the base camp for our guide company, Grand Canyon Expeditions. The bright lights and bustle that bring millions to this city each year were ust background noise for a group so eager to begin the next part of our adven- ture. And while early mornings were not exactly our group’s specialty, the
excitement of finally laying eyes on the Grand Canyon after two weeks of learn- ing about historical canyon explorations, such as the Powell Expedition of 1869, and reading Science review articles and excerpts from Edward Abbey, ensured that all 15 of us made our 4:30 A.M. call time, on time.
We arrived at Lee’s Ferry put-in, 14 miles downstream of the Glen Canyon Dam, where our belongings for the 8-day ourney down the Colorado River were packed into 20-liter dry bags and ammo cans. In front of us, our rafts, the Hakatai and the Emily, floated against a backdrop of the Chinle and Moenkopi rock formations. Our remarkable river guides Emily, Den, Cleeta, and Laurie introduced us to river life and briefed us on the dry climate, bathroom etiquette, and the probability of encountering a rattlesnake. We pushed off early after- noon and began our 277-mile rafting ourney through 1.7 billion years of the Grand Canyon rock record.
Beginning the first afternoon and continuing all eight days, our time on the river was a mix of drenching rapid rides and discussions on the resistant cliff and less-resistant slope-forming rock formations of the canyon walls we floated through. Each student became an expert on specific formations and described to the class the characteristic lithology, depositional environments, and structures (sedimentary, structur- al, and metamorphic) associated with each. However, our discussions were not restricted to ust the rocks. Our time was also spent learning about western water rights, industrial tourism, and what it means to protect our national parks.
Each night at our campsite after dinner, students gave 10-15 minute short-courses to refresh the class on their respective rock formations. It was exciting to incorporate into our lec- tures many other eager listeners from among the 15 non-student participants
on the expedition. Teaching these ‘non- geologists’ not only helped us hone our knowledge and ability to communicate geologic concepts, but also fostered rela- tionships between us students and the rest of the group.
With so many wonderful experiences, in addition to the amazing geology, we all came away with ournals full of memo- rable stories. Some of the most exciting parts of our ourney occurred during side-trips up the many slot canyons. We would dock the giant, 14-person rafts onto the shore and explore ancestral Puebloan villages for pottery remains or hike up to see the Paiute cliff draw- ings, or our incredible stop at The Diving Board for 30-foot cliff umping! All of these activities were unexpected, as many of us had not thought much about what we would be doing aside from con- quering breathtaking rapids down the Colorado River.
The most memorable experience for many of us was when we reached the confluence of the Little Colorado River (LCR) and the blue-green Colorado River. The LCR was visibly different, a vivid turquoise in color due to the cal- cium carbonate content it acquired by flowing through calcium carbonate-rich Redwall and Muav limestone. Here, we readusted our life vests to resemble dia- pers and body-surfed the LCR, maneu- vering past travertine boulders and gliding down small drops in river level. As soon as we reached the end of the run, we hurried back up the shoreline to start again. Four or five times we ran the LCR, linking legs under armpits like bobsledders to make chains of 3-4 people floating together at once.
After a few “warm-up” days in Marble Canyon, which were actually quite cold and rainy, we hiked a short distance to the Great Unconformity at Blacktail Canyon. It was a marvelous spot in the Grand Canyon’s stratigraphy, the boundary between a well-understood
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