AHS 307 is one of the required courses for the Geology Minor and the Earth Science Environmental Geology Concentration, as well as for the Earth and Space Science Teaching Program. This is the course where students apply their lab and textbook knowledge to the field, and learn about the geology of Minnesota in the field, through examination of rocks and sediments in the field. The course also focuses on building the core range of skills required in order to ‘do’ field geology (note-taking, observations, descriptions, interpretations, mapping, section-measuring, and yes, lots of field report writing). It is offered every other fall, in odd-numbered years.
Link to pdf of AHS 307 Syllabus and Schedule for Fall 2015
Logistics
The class meets 2-3 pm on Wednesdays, and from 2-5 pm on Fridays. Fridays are always spent in the field – we do not get back to campus until 5pm. We do three mandatory weekend field trips, where we leave at 2pm on Friday, and we aim to return to campus by 6-7 pm on Sundays.
Weekend Field Trip Schedule for Fall 2017 – More details will be posted here soon
Friday Sept. 8th – Sunday Sept. 10th – Northern Minnesota
Friday Sept. 22nd – Sunday Sept. 24th – Southeast Minnesota
Friday Oct 13th – Sunday Oct. 15th – Southwest Minnesota
Equipment / Supplies
We camp for most of the overnight field trips, so you will need to have a sleeping bag and thermarest-type mat, good closed-toe boots with ankle support, raingear, and cold-weather clothes (yes, it has gotten below freezing a couple of times), as well as a daypack. It is easiest for us if you have a duffel bag of some kind for your overnight stuff. There is no required textbook for this course, but you must have a hand lens and you must purchase a field notebook from our AHS office.
Dr. Kate Pound 