The UNM Volcanology Field Camp

A picture of me at shiprock on sacred Navajo land.

     University of New Mexico offers a summer field course in volcanics every other year. It is currently taught by Dr. Tobias Fischer, and Dr. Fraser Geoff. This course is open to students all across the world. It allows them to see first hand the results of a volcanic eruption. This includes calderas, lava flows, and ash falls just to name a few. For a general overview, each day started with breakfast at 6:30am. At 7:30am there would be a brief introduction of the geology which we would see that day and then we would head into the field. Depending on the weather we would stay in the field until 3 or 5pm. Every night we would have a delicious dinner at 6pm. From then on we could either relax or work on our projects. However there were a few nights with lectures. The lectures were usually less than an hour long, but they were filled will useful information that we needed in the field the next day. I can honestly say that this course was worth every penny! It solidified my interest in volcanics, introduced me to wonderful people, got me addicted to spicy food, and showed me that I can survive without television, telephones and even computers!

Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions about the course or any comments on my website at patric3@uwindsor.ca.

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