NEW YEAR'S AT THE END OF THE WORLD: THE GSA STUDENT GEOVENTURES TRIP TO PATAGONIA (DECEMBER 2004-JANUARY 2005)

GSA's third Student Geoventures trip spent 15 days in South America exploring the geological wonders of Southern Patagonia, including the island of Tierra del Fuego. Twenty-four students from 15 colleges and universities and one faculty leader traveled to the extreme southern part of Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia during Christmas break 2004-2005. Participating students hailed from the United States, Canada, Germany, and Russia. The group camped for 11 nights in national park and private campgrounds.

Upon arrival in Buenos Aires students spent the afternoon exploring the city center. In the evening they were introduced to Argentine culture at one of the city's famous tango clubs. Early the next morning the group took a 4-hour flight to Río Gallegos where they drove across the pampas to El Calafate, a growing city at the foot of the Patagonian Andes and the entrance to Glaciares National Park. After visiting the surging Perito Moreno Glacier and watching icebergs calve into Lago Argentino, an Andean finger lake, camp was set up near the town of El Calafate. A day-long boat trip amongst numerous icebergs and spectacular fold-thrust belt structures highlighted the second day. The next three days were spent hiking from the town of El Chalten near Cerro Fitz Roy and Lago Viedma, where students experienced glacial geomorphology and Andean geology. The group crossed into Chile and spent two days in Torres del Paine National Park in the heart of the Patagonian Batholith. The group spent the following night in a hotel in Punta Arenas, the southernmost mainland city in South America.

The following morning the group ferried across the Straits of Magellan to Tierra del Fuego and crossed back into Argentina. The first night on the island was spent on the shore of Lago Escondido, just south of the plate boundary between the South American and Scotia plates. The final two nights of camping were spent at Tierra del Fuego National Park near Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. Activities included a boat cruise on the Beagle Channel, hikes that examined the stratigraphy of the Cordillera Darwin, bird-watching, and shopping. The farewell dinner was held at a restaurant in Ushuaia. After a final night in a hotel, the group returned to Buenos Aires and boarded their return flight to Miami.