VIRTUAL LECTURE: Geologic Tour of the Ghost Ranch Area
The landscape of the Ghost Ranch area is quintessential northern New Mexico, including broad vistas, high mesas, and multi-colored rocks that line the horizon in all directions. Here on the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau, sedimentary rocks from the Mesozoic Era are particularly well exposed, including deposits from ancient rivers, sand dunes, and oceans.
Join local geologist Kirt Kempter on a virtual geologic tour of the area, including maps, photos, and Google Earth flyovers to help decipher the geologic story. The primary sculptor of this landscape in the past few million years is the Rio Chama, creating the Piedra Lumbre basin and peripheral cliffs of colorful Mesozoic strata. We will also do a virtual hike up to Chimney Rock, looking at the geologic story en route.
Instructors
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Kirt KempterDr. Kirt Kempter is a Fulbright Fellow and Ph.D. graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, where he conducted his dissertation research on Rincón de la Vieja volcano in Costa Rica. Kirt has spent most of his career as a field geologist, studying volcanic provinces in Costa Rica, Mexico, and North America. He has authored numerous geologic maps in his home state of New Mexico and participated in the NASA training program for astronaut candidates. In addition, Kirt has led educational tours for Smithsonian Journeys since 1993, spanning much of the globe, including all seven continents. Favorite destinations include Iceland, Patagonia, East Africa, and national parks of the western United States.