ON THE ROAD: GEOLOGY OF THE AMERICAN WEST AT UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA WESTERN

At the heart of discussions of Earth Science teaching methods is the understanding that the best geoscience teaching resource is still the field. Field experiences naturally integrate knowledge and concepts and are the source of most of our “Ah Hah!” moments. At UM Western, I attempt to teach the geology of Western North America (Mexico to Alaska) in one 3.5-week immersion class, to a group of students whose only prerequisite is an introductory geology class. Impossible? Try a weeklong camping field trip from western Montana, across southern Alberta and British Columbia and back.

For all it’s complexity, Western North America is conveniently composed of a few, generally north(west)-south(east) trending, provinces that incorporate broadly similar rocks, structures, and geologic history. A field trip that begins and ends in the basin-and-range of SW Montana and includes a cross section from the Cretaceous Seaway in south-central Alberta to the Kootenay Arc in British Columbia incorporates much of the Archean to Holocene history of the entire region. In addition, after the trip, it is easier to discuss what we missed (western accreted provinces and the current volcanic arc and plate-edge tectonics.).

Student attention is focused by requiring individual photographic journals of the trip and assigning small groups of students to summarize the geology of the day around the campfire each night. Food is communal; all students take a 2-credit camp cooking class run by a different instructor who accompanies the class and organizes that essential element of a successful camping excursion.

The class begins with a week of lectures, readings, map exercises, and local field trips to prepare students for the main trip. Our textbook is Ben Gadd, 2009, Canadian Rockies Geology Road Tours: Corax Press, 576 p, with additional readings from primary sources. After the trip, students assemble their journals and summarize the trip, then go on to major features of the geology of Mexico, westernmost USA and Canada, and Alaska. Students also provide presentations on one highlight of the trip, for them that includes literature research. It works.