Week One

I cannot believe that we have already completed a whole week of field camp! I didn’t know how quickly a week could pass until coming here. We are constantly learning and building upon our field skills. Many of us mapped for the first time this week, which was challenging yet rewarding once we started to get the hang of it. Here’s a run down of our first week of field camp.

On Monday we had a practice day on the soccer field of Snow College. The purpose of this was to learn/relearn how to take strike and dip measurements, as well as bearings.

Our first mapping assignment was on Tuesday just outside of Ephraim. We spent a day in the field learning how to map a marker bed, as well as write lithologic descriptions of outcrops. Bearings, sightings, eye heighting, and pacing were all introduced to us (who knew the Bruton could do so much!). I have never been talented at finding myself on a map without GPS, but after learning how to pay attention to key objects on the map, such as fences, trails, gullies, and ridges, I can now locate myself with much more accuracy.

Wednesday consisted of working on our first mapping project, as well as using a software program called Surfer to map our marker bed from the field. The program required us to input points of location and elevation so that it could run a 3-point problem to produce a strike and dip of the bedding. This was then compared to our own data.

Thursday- Saturday was spent on a field trip to Ninemile Reservoir, Salina Canyon, and Capital Reef National Park. The purpose of the trip was to follow the stratigraphic column of South-Central Utah as well as reconstruct depositional environments, describe various sedimentary rocks, and observe fault related folding.

 

As you can see, it was a busy week! And we have another very busy week ahead. Stay tuned for more details about Field Camp 2017!

-Becky Anderson

Photo taken by Jasper Mitchin

2 thoughts on “Week One

    • It’s Nick, Peter, Laura, and Gus. I’m glad that I’m doing this too! I hope people are enjoying it!

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