University hosts Earth Science Week Field Trip October 12 and 13

The University of Nevada, Reno’s Bureau of Mines and Geology invites the public to take part in the annual Earth Science Week to learn about local geology. This year’s event is a two-day earth science discovery hike on the terrain around the University’s Great Basin Sample and Records Library, the Desert Research Institute and Truckee Meadows Community College.

The hike will start at Great Basin Library, 2175 Raggio Parkway, where participants can choose to join at 8 a.m. on either Saturday, Oct. 12 or Sunday, Oct. 13.

Three hiking sessions of varying intensity, from 0.75 mile to 2.4 mile hikes, will be offered throughout the day with regular breaks for refreshments. The field trip is free to the general public and space is not limited. Participants must bring their own food, water, sunscreen and necessary supplies. Each day’s activities wrap up around 3 p.m.

“People are going to have an opportunity to sample interesting volcanic rocks including some altered by hot water similar to what makes our geothermal fields and come of our gold and silver deposits,” Jonathan Price, state geologist emeritus and coordinator of the Earth Science Week field trip, said.

Participants will be guided by local scientists around the hillside where they will locate and identify plants and rocks and make a geological map. They may also bring rocks and minerals from home for geologists to identify, and they can take samples from the Bureau’s rock garden.

A full list of expected minerals to be found and a map of key locations are available in the field trip guide, found here: http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/e53.pdf. All rocks collected can be taken home.

“The field trip will show people what geologists do when mapping,” Price said.

The field trip is part of Earth Science Week, a weeklong international celebration of geology. Various events are held across the country, including National Geologic Map Day and National Fossil Day. These events encourage learning about geology and exploration of the natural environment. This year’s theme is “Mapping Our World.”

Those interested in rock collecting and participating in the field trip can sign up athttp://www.nbmg.unr.edu/ESW/ESW_13/signup8.php. For more information on the field trip, visithttp://www.nbmg.unr.edu/ESW/ESW_13/index.html. For more information about the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, visit http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/.