Geology ROCKS!
Geology ROCKS!
By Ellie Hilliard
On a hazy Friday morning, Professor May and his Geology 1500 students set out on a field trip to the Carrizo Plain. The Carrizo Plain, located deep in the hills between the California Highway 46 and the city of San Luis Obispo, contains highly geologically influential landmarks. Some of these landmarks include the Carrizo Plain National Park, the San Andreas Fault Line, and Soda Lake. The Geology 1500 class set off down the winding road that is traveled to reach their destination with excitement and finally reached their first stop at the San Andreas Fault Line. The San Andreas Fault Line runs up the length of the state of California and marks the sliding boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. The geology class spent their time at the San Andreas Fault Line measuring distances of geologic shifting, evaluating rock samples, and just enjoying the general nature surrounding them. Professor May led the excursion and shared loads of geologic information; he even shared the story of his painful encounter with a tarantula at the same location the previous year.
Geology student surveying the San Andreas Fault Line
Carrizo Plain San Andreas Fault Line
After leaving the San Andreas Fault Line, the class then moved on to explore Soda Lake, a lake not far from the San Andreas Fault Line which is located in the valley of the Carrizo Plain. This lake, however, did not share the appearance of most other normal lakes. Soda Lake is in fact a shallow alkali lake with a high content of salt crystal growth. Professor May and the Geology 1500 students hiked out onto the sandy lake to get a better look at the salt crystals that layered the ground. The lake was covered so heavily in sodium deposits that when the students looked around them it almost appeared as if they were standing in snow. After spending a fair amount of time trekking through and around Soda Lake and its boardwalk, Professor May decided it was time for all of the students and their very muddy shoes to move on to their next destination.
View of Soda Lake
The final destination on this geologic adventure took place in Parkfield, California. Just outside of the city of Parkfield, running adjacent to the California Highway 46 resides the location at which a very famous 1950’s era actor, James Dean, was killed in a car accident. Dean was traveling down the California Highway 46 in his 1955 Porsche Spyder on the afternoon of September 30th, 1955, when he got into a collision with a pick-up truck traveling in the opposite direction. Dean’s car was destroyed in the accident, and as a result, he did not survive. This location marks a quite influential moment in Hollywood’s history and takes place not far from the actual San Andreas Fault Line itself. Professor May ended the field trip by sharing his knowledge of James Dean and his life and death with his Geology 1500 students. The entire group then stopped for lunch at the Parkfield Café to discuss all that they had seen on their geologic excursion before heading home. The field trip as a whole was regarded by many of the geology students as both informative and interesting with many agreeing that their favorite stop on the trip was the opportunity to tromp around on Soda Lake. The Geology 1500 students are now looking forward to their next field trip but are skeptical that they can have a better time than they already have with Professor May and his geologic adventures.
Geology students adventuring on Soda Lake