I spent a week in the Desert of Texas without Wifi

No, this is isn’t a story about how at peace I felt without access to the outside world, although it definitely was very peaceful. Rather, I’m going to tell you about my time as a Geology minor in Big Bend, Texas through pictures. And let’s clear up one thing…. Geology is not “rocks for jocks” smh.

It all started when I enrolled myself in GEOL 221- Geology of North America. The class was split into groups. The first half of the semester was spent learning about Big Bend’s geological history and the geological gaps in its history. Each group was given the task to come up with their own research project based on what we had learned. My group’s research question was, “Is there evidence of Rio Grande Rifting in Big Bend National Park?”. We spent the week of spring break camping in the desert of Texas. Given geological maps of the desert, we were asked to plan out an entire research day dedicated to each of our groups’ research questions. The second half of the semester was spent conducting and synthesizing our research. If you’ve read this far, you are probably ready to see some pictures. So here they are.

(Scroll to the bottom for our final poster)

PC: Gabri Mannino, shot on an iPhone

This is a picture I took sitting in the front seat on our way into the National Park. Half of my class is in the van pictured. The van rides were some of the most memorable moments of this trip. We played games and listened to podcasts about the earth. Most importantly we all became closer and that made the trip extra enjoyable.

PC: Gabri Mannino, shot on an iPhone

This is a picture I took looking out from the window of the Van.

PC: Gabri Mannino, shot on an iPhone

This picture was taken while I was sitting on a mountain behind our campsite overlooking the Rio Grande River.

PC: David Greenawald

Dr. Kevin Stewart is explaining the geology of the area we were about to visit.

PC: David Greenawald

Following our Professor Dr. Kevin Stewart to Boquillas Canyon.

PC: Gabri Mannino, shot on an iPhone

This a picture of me taking the strike and dip of a fault surface using a Brunton Compass. The stripes going up and down on the surface are called slicken lines. Slicken lines show the direction of motion of the fault surface.

PC: Hailey Galit

While this doesn’t look steep from the angle it was taken, this is my friend Abby Fancher and I climbing up a gigantic landslide. One of the research groups needed to collect data from the top so we all climbed. Our lives would flash before our eyes each time we stepped on a rock that wobbled ever so slightly. Shout out to David Greenawald, our TA, who stuck by our sides and got us back down safely.