Scenes from the Mt. SAC Conference, April 17-19

Many thanks to Wendy Van Norden! Some sights from the Mt. San Antonio Canyon field trip at the recent conference of the Far West Section at Mt. SAC in Walnut, California.

I wasn't able to attend, but I recognize a few of the features, and hope Wendy or others will correct any misinterpretations in the comments. The top photo is the Hogback, a rather large rockslide in the upper canyon. When I was growing up, this was the hill that challenged my 1965 VW Bug, and I was always intensely curious about why the road went so steep over the top, when it made more sense to go around it. The answer is in the second photo: the road used to do that, but was wiped out in the catastrophic floods of 1969. San Antonio Canyon was always a difficult place to try living in or developing. It seems the only places flat enough for buildings are on the top of landslides, or on sediments backed up behind landslides. These are steep mountains!

The remaining photos show faults and dikes exposed in the upper canyon. The bottom photo is a great exercise in crosscutting relationships! I see at least two dikes and two faults. Which came first and what was last?? (click on the images for a slightly larger view)

Thanks again, Wendy.

Latest Far West Section Field Guide Available: Geologic Diversity Around Los Angeles and Vicinity

The latest geologic guidebook from the Far West Section is now available for purchase at http://nagt-fws.org/publications.html. The guide was developed for the just-completed Spring Field Conference at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Sales of these guides supports the yearly scholarships awarded to geology/earth science students by the Far West Section of the NAGT.

The guide is called Geologic Diversity Around Los Angeles and Vicinity and includes five field trips and a walking tour. It was edited by Mario Caputo of Mt. SAC. Trips include:

• Evidence for Tertiary Floodplains, Oceans, and Volcanoes in the Santa Monica Mountains by A. Eugene Fritsche
• Martian Analogs in the Mojave Desert by Nathan Bridges
• Geology of the Conejo Valley and Western Santa Monica Mountains, Ventura County by William Bilodeau
• Natural Hazards, Past and Impending, in the Eastern San Gabriel Mountains by Jonathan A. Nourse
• Major Landslides of the Southern Palos Verdes Hills, Los Angeles County by Edward A. Steiner
• Walking Tour of the Wildlife Sanctuary at Mt. San Antonio College: Biologic, Ecologic, and Geologic Features by Kathryn Sanchez and David Munoz
  

These guides are a great way to learn about the geology of California, Nevada and Hawaii! Check them out. Cost of the new guide is $25.