Next Field Camp Offering

Summer 2009

June 17 - August 7, 2009

8 credits

We feel that field geology in Alaska offers students a geological experience that few places can match. We will next be conducting camp in the summer of 2009. If you are interested in our camp for 2009, please contact Bill Witte, Field Camp Director, fnwkw@uaf.edu or phone 907-474-7565.

Where is the UAF Field Camp going in 2009? Download the file below and open in GoogleEarth to get a general idea of the location of our field sites.
_2007fieldCampSites.kmz

Limestone Gap Camp

Geology Field Camp in Alaska is truly a unique experience. Members of the department faculty have projects in many remote parts of Alaska, and they comprise some of the most field-oriented earth scientists in the nation. The field geology course takes advantage of this knowledge and experience to provide undergraduate students with studies in a number of different geologic settings. Several members of the faculty share their knowledge and experience with students as the camp travels to different parts of the state. Areas of specialty include gold-bearing plutonic rocks, metamorphic rocks, clastic deposition, regional tectonics, and structural studies. The complex geology of Alaska offers a great variety of geologic settings and the field camp takes advantage of this fact.

Because Alaska offers such a wide variety of geologic terranes and geomorphology, students are exposed to many types of geologic problems and challenges. Ongoing investigations of Alaskan geology by various agencies and academic entities makes Alaska an exciting place to work for geoscientists. This provides students a unique opportunity to study field geology in a place where understanding of the regional geology is rapidly expanding.

The UAF field camp will appeal to students who enjoy wilderness camping. The camp is unique in that the main study area is reached by bush airplane. Many of the fieldcamp projects are remote and will require stenuous hiking to complete. The remote camp settings require a cooperative, teamwork approach to fieldwork and camp life.

Limestone Gap

Small Plane

Small plane that transports students and supplies

Scope of the field camp

The primary focus of the class is geologic mapping. Mapping projects in interior Alaska, the Alaska Range, and the Talkeetna Mountains allow students to develop advanced skills in topographic map reading, geologic observation, and the construction of geologic maps.

We will start with small mapping projects within Interior Alaska to build basic field mapping skills such as:

Pace measurement
Pace and compass navigation
Measuring, recording, and plotting structural data using a Brunton compass
Field identification of major rock types and structures
Use of various-scale topographic maps
Navigating, point location, TRS, & UTM coordinates
Use of air photos and geophysical maps
Effective note-taking strategies

This class fulfills the UAF writing requirement, thus emphasis will be placed on effective report writing, including: organization, clear and grammatically correct writing, and conciseness.

Group Picture

Group Photo of campers

In the Alaska Range students will continue to develop geologic mapping skills in Denali National Park. Working out of wall tents in the Igloo Creek Campground and accessing the field areas by van and back-country hiking, the class will be mapping Cretaceous and Early Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks north of Sable Pass.

The Limestone Gap camp is the capstone portion of the field geology course. The camp is located about 20 miles north of Sheep Mountain, and is reached by bush aircraft. The campsite is located on a meadow at 5000 feet elevation, an area with abundant wildlife (Dall sheep and caribou).

Geology in the Limestone Gap area is well-exposed. The section consists of a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous transgressive marine sequence, including black shales of basin origin, storm deposits, near shore and beach deposits, and lagoonal or non-marine carbonaceous clastics. The section is unconformably overlain by a thick section of Tertiary basalts and volcanics. Basaltic dikes related to the extrusive rocks intrude the clastic section. The sedimentary rocks are highly fossiliferous, with ammonites, belemnites, and pelecypods being common in various parts of the section. This summer, students will start detailed stratigraphic and petrologic studies in the clastic sequence. The area is located near the eastern limits of the Castle Mountain - Caribou Fault system of southcentral Alaska, and the layered rocks are faulted and folded in patterns that are a challenge for students to both map and explain.

Work in the area begins with measuring and describing several stratigraphic sections, defining mappable rock units, and interpreting depositional history. The remainder of work at Limestone Gap is devoted to completing a geologic map of the 6 km x 6 km study area at a scale of 1:12,000. The structure of the area is diverse and complex, but well-defined marker units, good exposures, and easily negotiated terrain mean that the geologic relations are clear and mappable and allow students to focus their efforts on locating and tracing contacts on their maps. Students must map contacts of folded and faulted units, faults, and fold axial surfaces, identify different types of faults, and evaluate whether their maps make geologic sense. Conclusion of the project includes compilation of a complete map, preparation of cross sections, interpretation of geologic history based on the mapped cross-cutting relations, and preparation of a report.

2009 Location and Schedule (APPROXIMATE)

17 June 2009 - 26 June 2009: Interior Alaska mapping projects.

27 June 2009 - 11 July 2009: Alaska Range/Denali mapping projects and travel.

12 July 2009 - 7 August 2009: Limestone Gap mapping projects and final reports.

These dates are fairly firm, however slight changes might be necessary to accommodate weather and other variables. We will retun to Fairbanks on or about August 1. Students should count on at least 4 days of office work to write final reports. A safe departure date from Fairbanks would be August 7.

Logistics

During the Fairbanks portion we will use facilities at the UAF Dept. of Geology and Geophysics for the preparation of field reports. We will travel to the Alaska Range sites in UAF vans. Meals will be provided while in Denali Park/Alaska Range. We will then travel to Sheep Mtn. on the Glenn Highway and fly from there to Limestone Gap on a commercial air charter. Office tents, a cook tent and meals will be provided during the Limestone Gap portion of camp, with students staying in their own personal tents. After the Limestone Gap project, students will travel in UAF vans to finish their projects at UAF.

2009 Cost

$3,300

This includes undergraduate tuition of eight credits ( state and out of state are the same) and Geology department fees and all transportation to field sites. UAF fees, meals and housing while in Fairbanks are the students' responsibility. 3 meals a day during the Limestone Gap portion of field camp will be provided. Students will provide their own tent, sleeping bag and other personal gear. The Geology Dept. will provide a cook, cook tent, and office tents during the Limestone Gap portion of field camp.

For more information, contact Bill Witte.

Applications are due January 19, 2009 for UAF Students and non-UAF students.

The form is designed to allow you to type in all the required information. After you type in your information, print the form, sign your name, and fax or deliver to the department office.

*Non-UAF Students ONLY: Give the evaluation form to a professor who has agreed to serve as a reference for you, and ask them to fax or mail their evaluation to the department. Any questions? E-mail Ellen Craig at fneac2@uaf.edu

2009 Field Camp Application - UAF Student

2009 Field Camp Application - Non-UAF Student

These forms are in Adobe pdf format.