Field trips are intended to introduce students first-hand to the geologic processes and materials that have lead to the incredible natural scenery of the Pacific Northwest. Attendance on these guided trips is optional. 

Winter is a difficult season for Seattle-area field trips. We tentatively plan to visit the Carbon-14 Dating Lab (UW), Seismic Station (UW), and Burke Museum (UW) for several hours on one Sunday morning, and to visit the glacial and unstable cliffs of Discovery Park (Seattle) on another Sunday. The time and location of field trips may change if weather warrants it.The two planned in-person trips require you to compose short field reports during the outings and each trip is rewarded with up to 50 bonus points.  Alternatively, a "virtual field trip" can substitute for each of these Sunday excursions as a way to work for bonus points.  Take a "virtual" field trip on the Internet and compose a field report on your experience, (due at the end of that week -- Thursday at midnight).  The number of bonus points will depend on your personal effort with an average score being 25.You might also conduct your own field trip to a Pacific Northwest locale.  Consult with me and we can plan an individualized "trip" that fits your interests as well as the field report requirements.  Collect, identify and send a specimen or two if you like.  

Two such field reports can be completed with a potential to earn 100 bonus points in total for this type of activity.  A cancelled in-person field trip will need to be replaced with a virtual or individualized trip.   As explained in the syllabus, only two extra credit reports of this nature will be scored.

Discovery Park Information

Location: Usually, I would link to other websites' online maps rather than copy them to this website.  But I'm concerned that we all know EXACTLY where to meet!  So I hope the City of Seattle and Yahoo will forgive me for "copying" these maps.