Carrizo Corridor and the Imperial Seaway
12/03/2011 – 8:30am – 4:30pm
Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Instructor: Paul Remeika
Level: Mildly strenuous – hike will be up and down slickrock with steep drop-offs and over loose shells
Discover the fascinating geology and paleontology of the Anza-Borrego region on this driving tour with retired Ranger Paul Remeika, who spent close to thirty years studying and writing about the geologic history of this area. Study the late Miocene Epoch of the northern Imperial Seaway when bygone tides and associated marine life of the ancestral Sea of Cortez once held center-stage. It happened during a dynamic time of crustal extension, faulting, erupting volcanic fields, uplifting mountains and collapsing basins, followed by the introduction of the ancestral Colorado River into the northern Gulf of California during the Pliocene Epoch.
Spectacularly exposed sedimentary and volcanic layers with a smathering of fossil shell beaches, reefs, and oyster beds millions of years old highlight this special field trip along the western edge of the Vallecito Badlands, Coyote Mountains, and into the Yuha Buttes. We will decipher these natural-heritage sites containing unique geologic formations and paleontologic resources in Fossil Canyon, and within the Yuha Badlands.
Bring: adequate water, lunch, and a camera; wear sturdy hiking shoes and be prepared for short adventure hikes along the way.
Meet: Butterfield Ranch on Highway S-2, Mile Post 29
$70 / $60 for ABF members
4WD required; Limited to 10 participants.
Salton Sea: The Neglected Treasure
12/04/2011 – 8:00am – 4:00pm
Location: Meet at ABDSP Visitor Center Flagpole
Instructor: Paul Johnson
Level: Easy, 3-4 short, easy walks
The Salton Sea is a treasure of abundant wildlife and mysterious geology. On this trip we will see thousands of white geese which spend their winter at the sea; a hill made entirely of volcanic glass; a salty field with miniature mud volcanoes that produce strange plumbing noises; a fascinating clay mountain that one man has been painting for more than 20 years; and a wide variety of birds along the shore of the Sea.
Lunch at the Salton Sea Wildlife Refuge, look for burrowing owls, and learn about the history and natural history of this fascinating place.
Bring lunch, water, sturdy shoes, binoculars and camera. There will be 3 or 4 short, easy walks. If you have old paint that you would like to donate, bring it along – the man painting the mountain works almost entirely with donated paint.
2WD OK
$70 / $60 for ABF members
Limited to 16 participants
Source: Anza Borrego Foundation