Geology Lesson #3

It's been a while since Pasadena Daily Photo's resident geologist paid us a visit. Earlier this week, Becca brought her geology students to the Arroyo Seco on a field trip. I asked her to tell me about it:

"The students are enrolled in physical geology at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC). This field trip to Hahamongna was to get their feet wet (no pun intended!) before going on their overnight field trip next week to the Mojave Desert. Some of them had never seen a fluvial system (river) before. Several of them were super-sunburned in class [the next day]. They did a great job--I really enjoy working with them."

Boz and I met the group out on the northwest reaches of the flood plain in Hahamongna Watershed Park, where they'd spent the previous hour in the riverbed identifying the many different types of rocks washed down from the mountains in last winter's storms. Then we guided them southwest to this location:

This semester, the class is writing a feasibility study on the proposed athletic field at Hahamongna. Boz and I were invited along to show them where the field is going to be. That's the spot, right there.

I enjoyed meeting the students. They were interested, inquisitive, polite, smart and just generally pleasant to be around. According to Becca, most of these young adults are from the city and get their first taste of nature from these field trips. I hope they had a good time in the Arroyo and, more importantly, I hope they learn an appreciation of nature and its preservation.

While we stood on the shore, Becca quizzed her students about the topography and geology. They asked questions of her and of me. Boz strained at his leash. The water's kind of smelly because at this spot it's standing water. The only thing Boz likes more than stinky water is stinky water with mud.