SHOW US YOUR ROCKS: THE HISTORY OF GEOLOGICAL FIELD CONFERENCES IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Northeast state and regional geologic field conferences have a long history, dating back to 1901 when William Morris Davis led a field trip to the terraces of the Westfield River in Massachusetts to initiate the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference. This was followed in 1925 with the New York State Geological Association, 1931 by the Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists at State College, 1934 by NE Friends of the Pleistocene in the Merrimac Valley, NH, and in 1984 with that of the Geological Association of New Jersey in the Newark Basin, plus numerous local societies. The purpose of all of these conferences was not only to review ongoing research, but also to become better acquainted with other geologists working in particular areas. NEIGC and NYSGA conferences have tended to cater to academicians and students, while FCOPG, FOP, and GANJ have appealed more to professional geologists.

FCOPG, FOP, and GANJ conferences usually concern one major topic (e.g., the Taconic unconformity of the 2012 FCOPG), while NEIGC and NYSGA run 6 to 20 field trips on a range of topics over a 2- or 3-day period (e.g., the 2012 NEIGC in Keene, NH, with14 field trips ranging from metamorphic geology to the effects of Hurricane Irene). Organization has never been rigid, but has become somewhat tighter—but much more open—since the early days. FCOPG is now run by all women officers, something out of the question 40 years ago.

Topics for regional field conferences in the Northeast are diverse, encompassing surficial, bedrock, and environmental geology. Since conferences generally focus on active research, they have become vital sources of up-to-date information on the areas through which the field trips pass. This is reflected in the changes in the guide materials. Early trips had very informal guides, often only handouts limited to road logs and brief stop descriptions. This has now changed to include numerous, stand-alone technical articles, as well as multipage stop descriptions, and very informative road logs. Thus, guidebook size has grown considerably.

In these days of professional registration of geologists, it is important to note that NEIGC, FCOPG, and GANJ grant continuing-education credits for participation. NYSGA and FOP leave it up to the individual geologist and his accrediting agency.