Iconic landscapes serve as textbook for field study

It began like any normal college course with a classroom dotted by groups of students led by a professor’s lecture. A week later, the class ended up traveling nearly 2,500 miles to spend a 12 nights camping under the stars and closely study some of the country’s most picturesque geological sites.

In the end, it was anything but normal.

“This class was definitely a highlight of my college career,” said Myra Nethery, a senior environmental geoscience major. “I made so many new friends, as well as created great relationships with my professors. If anything, this class has made me more passionate about my major and proud to be a part of the (Department of Environmental, Geographical and Geological Sciences).”

EGGS 330 Field Geology brought 10 students and three department faculty — Brett McLaurin, Cynthia Venn and John Hintz — together just after spring graduation for an early summer learning experience. After spending the first week on campus learning the basics of camping and setting the stage for their field work, the group flew out to Las Vegas and then rented different vehicles to drive to various sites in northern Arizona and southern Utah, which itself turned out to be another phase of the learning experience.

According to Nethery, the group switched cars every few days so they could all spend time with each professor and hear their interpretation of the landscape.

“Dr. McLaurin and Dr. Venn had vast knowledge of the geology of the area, whereas Dr. Hintz was very knowledgeable about BLM land,” said Nethery, who is also pursuing a spatial analysis and GIS minor. “It was great having professors with diverse backgrounds attending the trip.”

The students each researched two topics and prepared posters on those topics that first week to present to the rest of the class in the field, according to Venn. They also learned to keep field books while in the field, then had both a final exam and a synthesis paper due after they got back, she added.

The group visited dozens of geological sites with some of the most memorable views along the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Horseshoe Bend and slot canyoning near Escalante, Utah.

“When we were slot canyoning, we had to hike through very narrow canyon walls which got pretty claustrophobic after a while,” Nethery said. “There was one section of the canyon where the walls were too narrow to hike through, so we had to drop down about 10 to 15 feet into the canyon. It was a pretty scary drop, so we all had to work as a team to get everybody down safely. It was some pretty wild hiking for a college course.”

And that was just one day.

“This class taught me way more than any other semester-long course sitting in a classroom,” Nethery said. “I saw some of the most iconic geology in the world, learned to interpret different types of landscapes and learned all about the geological history of the area, as well as ancient civilizations of the Colorado Plateau.”

According to Nethery, she came away with one lasting lesson.

“This class has really made me more passionate about my major and has made me beyond excited to enter the field after college,” Nethery said. “This class has also made me realize I really love geology, so I am considering getting a M.S. in geology after my undergrad (degree).”