your background in geology?

[Narnian Rockhound]

All EarthCachers-

 

I'm wondering if those of you who are avid EarthCachers would be willing to be open about how much background training you've had in geology prior to ECs. I'm a geology professor at SMLAU (Small Midwestern Liberal Arts University), and I love the whole idea of ECs. GSA & geocaching.com have a great thing going here. I'm interested in them not only as a hobby (I've logged 47 of them in 10 states, minuscule compared to some of you guys!), I'm interested in them professionally from the standpoint of Earth science public education & outreach. And I love it that anyone with a GPS can find a sweet spot on Earth and share it with the world. I've got about 15 different ideas for locations but have just been slow at getting around to working them up & getting them published. But back to the topic.

 

What I'm wondering is, especially those of you who've set up caches for others to find, what your level of background training in geology is. none? a course in high school? just like to read about geology? college level courses? read National Geographic as a kid?

 

Note that I'm certainly not trying to embarrass anyone about what they know or don't know. Like I said above, the great thing about them is that anyone can set one up, regardless. But I'm wondering this: does a prior interest in geology lead people to do EarthCaching, or does doing EarthCaching lead people to have an interest in geology? Or a little bit of both? Appreciate your comments.

 

Best,

N_R

[+Arby Gee]

I've always had a curiosity about geology. Then I took a geology course in college. The most boring teacher in the world! (We called him "borehole" ) That was a long time ago though, and I can honestly say that the only thing I remember from that class was the teacher's nickname. But even so I've continued to be curious about it and have followed geology stories in the news. Then I started finding Earthcaches as part of geocaching and really got hooked. I've done a lot of reading in geology since then. I wonder if my life and career-choice might have been different if I had had a good teacher for that first geology class...

[+terratin]

I have a MSc in geology, though I'm not really a field geologist

 

Mrs. Terratin

[+jeepdelfuego]

Geology 101

 

I know what a rock looks like.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Lapidary by trade. Not a geologist by any means, but it certainly helps (a lot) to know how/why rocks are formed and altered -- and what can happen/occur when that alteration takes place. Especially when a person/customer/friend asks about this or that.

 

Of course, it applies mostly to rocks and crystals that I would utilize, but knowing the hows/whys help.

[+catsnfish]

I had some exposure to geology in Jr. High school, my wife had none. Earthcaches have been a great part of exploring our world and learning more about it.

[+Lostby7]

No background education in geology; I just like to learn about stuff.....and I love the world that has been formed around me.

[+AndrewRJ]

I have a BS in Geology, Currently working as an Environmental Geologist for a Geotechnical firm for the last 5 years in the field. Preparing to take the ASBOG lisensure exam.

 

Grew up with a Geologist for a father and learning about the geology of the PNW.

[+cincol]

I have a love for all things in nature and will read up / research for my EC's that I develop. I have 1st year university [Geology 1].

[+CanDMan47]

I am getting ready to set up my first EC. I have no formal education in geology. Everything I know, which isn't a lot, is what I have learned in the 10 or so ECs I have done since starting last summer. I am reading a lot about the feature I am going to highlight on wikipedia and other sources.

[+GEO WALKER]

I have a BS in Geology (79) and an MS in Earth Science (06) from California University, a small university in SW PA, locally referred to as "Harvard on the Mon". I also have 28+ years experience w/the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection. Hey what can I say... I like field trips!

Edited May 22, 2010 by GEO WALKER

[+tzipora]

Well, my cousin is a geologist...

 

I don't have any formal training, just nerdery and a love of the outdoors.

[+narcissa]

I took several Geography courses during university, but no Geology. I'm just generally nerdy.

[+terratin]

Geolo...?

 

Mrs. Terratin already said she's a geologist in a previous post. I'm just plain interested and always have been in geology, nature, geography, history, basically almost anything

 

No formal training in geology other than some basics i learned in highschool, though i've read quite a lot over the years. Currently reading through 'Earth, an introduction to physical geology'.

 

Mr. Terratin

[+ArtieD]

I hold a bachelor's degree in journalism with minors in public relations and geology.

 

I know...odd combination, right? What happened was that since I love geology so much, I took some classes in the subject in college for my elective credits. When it came time to apply for graduation, they determined I had fulfilled the requirements for a geology minor.

 

Also, being a bibliophile I also own virtually every accessible book on Missouri geology as well.

[+Bullfrog Eh-Team]

My basic Canadian university degree (Queen's) was a major in Physical Geography, and a minor in Geology, earned after I had already entered the teaching profession. I always incorporated the 'outdoors' into all aspects of my teaching at both elementary and secondary classes; such that I was appointed 'Outdoor Education Consultant' by our local School Board. I started formal 'Outdoor Science' credit courses and 'Geology' at the secondary level, and encouraged the interest in those courses for a further 14 years as a Secondary School Principal.

I added to my own related knowledge with a MSc diploma course in 'Conservation' taken while on a one-year sabbatical in England in 1973.

Upon retirement, 'geocaching' became a natural hobby, with a specific interest in ECs.

[+Carbon Hunter]

I did a Geography major in my undergrad. With courses in Geology and soil Science along the way.

Enjoy most things natural and outdoor. Really enjoy landforms more than the geology of the rocks per se.

[+TerryDad2]

I've got a BA in Geology. Been working for environmetnal consultants since I graduated, though we only work with soil and groundwater. I'm a Professional Geologist in California.

[+The Fossillady]

I have a BS in Geology from SUNY-Oswego. I did my field work in CA and am a certified paleontologist and volunteer at Anza-Borrego DSP, with research in Wyoming and Colorado. I have adopted many of TerryDad2's Earthcache and done several of my own.

[+Huntleigh]

Six earthcaches ago I couldn't spel "geologist"

 

Now I is one!

[+Earl B. Fisk]

I've been a coal geologist for the past 19 years. I've got BS and MS degrees in gelogy, and a PhD specializing in paleobotany and palynology. I've found a number of EC, but have yet to put one out (though I have several in progress).

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Six earthcaches ago I couldn't spel speel "geologist"

 

Now I is one!

[+Loony Londo]

I studied sciences at school and have always been interested in astronomy which lead to geology . Two weeks ago I gave a talk to my local astronomy society on fossil hunting on mars and in Cental London.

 

My conclusion was no proven fossils on Mars as yet but plently of fossils in Central London which means Earth caches in the heart of the city to mark them!

 

I wonder when there will be earth caches on Mars and will they be called Mars Caches?

[+GEO WALKER]

I studied sciences at school and have always been interested in astronomy which lead to geology . Two weeks ago I gave a talk to my local astronomy society on fossil hunting on mars and in Cental London.

 

My conclusion was no proven fossils on Mars as yet but plently of fossils in Central London which means Earth caches in the heart of the city to mark them!

 

I wonder when there will be earth caches on Mars and will they be called Mars Caches?

 

We have a "Mars" here in PA it's just North of Pittsburgh. I'll snoop around and see what I can come up with...

[+geodarts]

Somewhere around the Ninth Grade I realized that I would never be a scientist of any kind. Astronomy involved way too much math. Chemistry was so unforgiving. And even being an archaeologist would probably not involve trampling through the jungles to come across ruins of lost cities in a quest to find the secrets of the lost ark. So about that time I left any hope of being a geologist behind and concentrated on areas that were far less exact.

 

So plate tectonics, volcanos, mountain building, canyon cutting, and the larger picture of things were interesting to think about from time to time. But it was hard for me to get excited about a road cut even if it exposed geological features.

 

I became interested in earthcaching in part because many of the ones I did in the beginning took me to great areas -- the "wow factor" at work. And I began to look around my area, in part because there are some interesting places on NPS land where traditional caching is not allowed. But I wondered about how I was going to be able to understand and incorporate geology into this process. Fortunately, there are some very good geological guidebooks to the area where I live, in addition to resources online.

 

Some of the geology remains very technical to me. I will come across a term or a sentence and have no idea about what is being discussed. But I hope that if I can understand some of the geology, then perhaps those who visit my earthcaches will be able to understand it as well. Or at least look at the area with fresh eyes and begin to think more about the geological forces that shaped it, as earthcaching has allowed me to do.

Edited June 10, 2010 by mulvaney

[+AHOLLYS]

I have no backround in Geology. I just like Earthcaches.

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

Hi again. This is my second and last post and also one I couldn't resist. Remember, I have self-imposed ban on my own posts for reasons too numerous to mention.

Anyway, to any the OP's original question, "your background in geology?"

 

I am not a geologist, but I once played one on TV!

See , I told you I couldn't resist!

 

That's it, take care, I doubt it, but maybe we will meet again in a few months!

Edited June 12, 2010 by Konnarock Kid & Marge

[+kwcahart]

I've worked with several gosologist in ND, SD, and WY on PIT projects with the USFS, and learned a bunch from them. I figure a couple more hours in class and I'll be able to spell it. IT! Hey, I did IT! I am taking an online class in gee-o-logy so even though I can't spell it, soon I will be one!! WOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEE!! I really like earthcaches, they are fun.

Edited June 25, 2010 by kwhart

[+jellis]

I have no background in geology. But what Earthcache.org tries to do is not only educate others about it, but yourself too. "EarthCaches all have one fundamental goal — to educate the visitor. EarthCaches need to cater for those people who do not have scientific training. The language should not contain scientific jargon or terms unless these terms are explained. They provide accurate but simple explanations of what visitors will experience at the site. Cache text must assume no previous knowledge of earth science. The educational notes must be written to a reading age of an upper middle school (14 year old) student."

I have 3 I put out and I learned a lot with the research I did on them. Maybe not as much as experts, but isn't that the whole point, to make them easy to understand for eveyone. Otherwise some cachers don't get anything out of it if it is too hard to understand.

Edited June 27, 2010 by jellis

[+yoyo ken]

No background in geology, I just enjoy geology.

[+Lostnspace]

I have had a life-long love for rocks, especially geodes. I began geode hunting and collecting 40 years ago, and Tennessee is a great source for those beautiful, crystal-lined hollow rocks. I started geocaching in '04; When I completed my 1,000th find it was also my 100th Earthcache find. I have created five ECs thus far.

 

I've had no formal training other than a few college science courses, but I did read a lot of National Geographic magazines while growing up.

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

I have had a life-long love for rocks, especially geodes. I began geode hunting and collecting 40 years ago, and Tennessee is a great source for those beautiful, crystal-lined hollow rocks. I started geocaching in '04; When I completed my 1,000th find it was also my 100th Earthcache find. I have created five ECs thus far.

 

I've had no formal training other than a few college science courses, but I did read a lot of National Geographic magazines while growing up.

 

Hey Lostnspace, I also grew up "reading' National Geographic, but I wasn't looking for rocks!

[+kwcahart]

jellis, you are right on. In my humble opinion an Earth Cache is useless if it isn't fun to do, if it doesn't teach you something, and is fairly easy to do by non-professionals.

[+danieloliveira]

Well......

I'm a little suspect in answering this topic because I earn my living from being an exploration geologist and hold PhD's in Economic Geology and Metallogeny, each from a different university and I have a few EC's published.

However, my experience regarding EC's has been that 99% of people enjoy them. They start out by being icon-hungry (a new icon on their profile goes a long way to inflate that self ego) and them the actually start to realise that those cache that are on top of those nice mountains with those nice views actually are there because geology has made that mountain (in a matter of speaking) - tectonics is now a new word in their vocabulary. Then they realise that those rectilinear coastlines are there for a reason - they have now discovered faults and the world is beginning to look different. A few weeks later they see artesian wells and hydrogeology is now a thing they are perfectly comfortable with. Then they travel to Paris for an holiday and see that the Obelisk of Luxor in the Place de la Concorde ignites the knowledge of quarrying and the transformation of stone from rough, dirty outcrops into beautiful slabs - hey!!!!! we might have of that in our buildings downtown!. Alternatively they travel to Brussels and discover that the sandstone plateau that the city has been built on actually teaches them about deposition of loose material - erosion, deposition, diagenesis start to take on a whole new meaning.

 

You see where I'm going with this. We are all basically ignorant until we get taught not only to look but also to see and when that happens the sky is the limit.

 

EC's are the that tip of the iceberg that tell everyone that they must stop looking at the bus as a bus but rather that the bus is made of alluminium, iron, copper, molybdenum, glass, etc. and that has all got there through geology.

[+karstic]

BS in Geology with a minor in Geography from CSU Fullerton.

 

Did my senior thesis on paleokarst (hence my moniker) in the Eureka Quartzite and Ely Springs Dolomite near Death Valley.

 

12 years work experience in the engineering geology field in southern California.

 

I have a thing for maps and rocks.

[+Trekkin' and birdin']

I had an elective class in college. My great uncle was a geologist for the Federal government, working with the copper mining industry out west. Both my family and Trekkin's family have miners in our recent ancestors, so I'm sure those family ties helped shape this interest.

 

And I love to read and learn about the forces that shape our world.

[hoosier guy]

Took some classes in school and read some on my own since I find the subject interesting. For the most part I think EC are a great teaching tool to get my kids interested in the world around them. Sadly we don't have too many in my AO.

[+JBnW]

My Dad was a Petroleum Exploration Geologist by trade...and we WERE going to learn about Geology growing up! We WERE going to get the Geology Merit Badge in Boy Scouts, on the FIRST try! It's all good, though, some of my favorite trips were going out with him to a well for a couple of weeks, him monitoring the drill logs, me wandering around exploring. Cool stuff for a kid. While in college (Colorado State) for my degree, I needed one more "scientific elective" course, and it all paid off when I took Geo101. (Books?? I don't need no stinking books!) Now I'm a biologist and somehow get drawn to hard-rock mining (gold, silver, lead, zinc, cadmium, etc.) sites, and the effects they have on the environment, and get a great deal of "continuing education" about the local geology from them. So, went to school to study fish, and all I get to do now is play with the rocks!

[+TerraViators]

No geology background. I have a lib arts degree, but enjoy science.

[+lachupa]

I took Rocks for Jocks in college (cough) I mean an into to geology but mostly just picked up stuff from watching NatGeo or field research - you know go to a place, study up on it a bit while you're there.

 

I'm a mathematician by trade so I'm pretty left brained.

[+PeachyPA]

The choices for sciences in college were: Bio 101/102, Chem 101/102 or Astronomy/Geology. Took the last set and loved both! I enjoy seeing cuts along roads especially when you can see the entire anticline! Lots of road construction here in Penna., so I have many chances of seeing such cuts. Our astronomy prof was the curator of astronomy (later museum curator) at the Buffalo Museum of Science. I bought a telescope before graduating from college and still use it. My kids have all seen the visible planets through it as well as some comets. I really enjoy earthcaches and the lessons recalled.

[+DresselDragons]

I have a BA in geology/minor in meteorology from Slippery Rock University, and some graduate work towards a Masters in geology from Ohio University...the hubby has a BS in geology from Michigan State and MS from Ohio University (can you guess where we met? LOL).

 

Although we have a strong geology background, we try to keep our ECs pretty straight forward and for the average person with no geology background. It should be interesting and education...I found that my students (when I taught geology 101) learned best when I made it fun.

[+joukkusisu]

No formal geology education. Used to collect rocks as a kid and love geology and the outdoors as an adult. For preparation for my ECs, I work at an academic science and engineering library that houses an extensive collection of GSA, USGS, and Minnesota Geological Society materials. I like to do research, so researching geology topics is a kick for me and easy access to quality information helps!

[+Matthew 7:7 Too]

When I was at school in the 1950s/60s, the science courses were Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Zoology, and Botany! I then went on to University where I failed an Engineering degree.

 

Later, and while at work, I started a degree course with our "Open University" in the UK. This allows you to study course units in the evenings at home and in your own time (with summer schools and day trips to supplement the practical tuition). I had an interest in geology by then and so took their Earthscience course to find myself enthralled by the new discoveries of plate tectonics. I completed this degree in mainly mathematical and science subjects, but retain an interest in geology and fossils.

 

Chris

[+PathfinderMark]

I am a Junior High teacher that has also been a rockhound since childhood. I read geology articles and books when possible. I took one geology class in high school and another in college (earth science), along with science methods education classes of course (how to teach science to kids).

[+BeccaDay]

No background at all. I just like to learn things and visit cool new places. Plus, I like rocks!

[+techiegrl64]

I have absolutely no background in geology whatsoever, not even any courses in college on the subject. I enjoy doing Earthcaches and most of them have been very interesting and informative, and I have had the pleasure of seeing some memorable and scenic vistas as a result. On occasion I have struggled to understand them when they are written in extremely technical terms. I usually try to find Earthcaches in the places where I travel but every once in awhile I pass one up if it so complicated as to require an advanced scientific degree to understand and/or complete.

[+ZSandmann]

I have a BS in Geology, a MS in Geosciences with an Applied Geophysics focus, and work for a major oil company.

 

Needless to say I love Earthcaches!