Mineralogy Field Trip to New Mexico 2011

Welcome to the home page for the University of Michigan Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences 315: Mineralogy Field Trip. The cornerstone of the class is for students to produce a research paper about a topic selected from the localities we visit while in Taos County, New Mexico. Throughout our five-day trip, we saw many spectacular geologic features, ate much delicious Mexican food, and collected the specimens for the papers found here.

Taos County--and indeed, most of New Mexico--is within the Basin and Range formation, which stretches from Eastern California to Central Utah and Southern Idaho to Northern Sonora in Mexico. The mountain ranges and valley basins within the formation are caused by crustal expansion. The geologic features we visited included the Harding Pegmatite Mine, Valles Caldera, the Rio Grande Rift, the Jemez Mountains and River valley, and shattercone impact formations in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. We also enjoyed some activities not directly related to our research: a stop at the Puye Cliff Dwellings, to learn about the interaction of the area's geologic features and its native people; a free afternoon in the capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe; and a visit to an old student of Professor Ewing's, the famous santero Charles Carrillo.

 

Special thanks are given to:

Shell Oil, for their generous and continuing support of the University of Michigan's department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

The University of New Mexico Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, for the use of their hard hats

University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus Barry Kues, for his expertise about Valles Caldera

University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus Cornelius Klein, for writing our textbook and very kindly signing some

University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus Wolfgang Elston, for coming into the field to show us shattercones

The Griego family: Gilbert, for taking us on tours of the Harding Pegmatite, and Bernabe and Evelyn for graciously feeding us twice daily

Alex Garza, for performing the duties of photographer, food steward, and tour guide

University of Michigan Earth and Environmental Sciences Professors Jackie Li and Udo Becker, for joining us with their expertise

Our Graduate Student Instructor Sandra Fernando, for her knowledge and patience

and Professor Rodney Ewing, for taking his classes out here year after year.