The Quality of Education:
02 | Geology Students Sum Up Their Work at Field Camp
Geology students cap off their course work at a geology field camp, where they apply the skills and techniques they’ve learned to a set of projects that involve collecting and interpreting data, making geologic maps and cross sections, and writing comprehensive reports. The camp is based in Dillon, Montana, on the campus of the University of Montana-Western, a world-class location for geologic field studies because of its ideal combination of facilities, accessible field areas, fascinating and varied geology, and climate. As part of the expedition, students also visit several geologically important national parks and tour an active gold mine.
In addition to this capstone course, geology students take field trips to mountains, deserts, and other important geological sites – about 75 days in all, estimates department chair Diane Clemens-Knott. Students love the trips, she says. “For many, though not all, it’s the reason they become geologists.”
