50 Geology and Environmental Science students joined Geology teacher Jane Kelson on a field trip to Mount Diablo on Friday, May 23.
“In Geology, we study the geologic history of Mount Diablo, and we look at the rock layers and the structures,” Kelson said. “There’s a really interesting history there because the oldest rocks are on the top, which is the opposite of what it’s supposed to be.” She explained that this was due to rocks being “folded and faulted” on to the top.
The group started at the summit of the mountain and hiked on a fire trail. They also looked at the view, which according to Kelson is the second best unobstructed view in the world. They were able to see Mount Tamalpais and Mount Hamilton as well as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. “You can see as far as the horizon will let you,” Kelson said.
“You could see pretty much all of the bay,” junior Alannah Buyce said.
Later, the group took the bus to Camp Pioneer and hiked from there to Rock City. They hiked along the threshold across a gap in the rock record. “My favorite part was seeing Rock City because the rocks were formed in so many cool and different ways,” sophomore Betty Galindo.
“The really fun part about this year is there was a fire that burned up to the top in September and that fire opened up the ecosystem to wildflowers that they haven’t seen for 30 years on Mount Diablo that only grow on Mount Diablo,” Kelson said.
According to Galindo, they talked about water and the drought and how certain objects contain more water than it seems. They gained knowledge about how to save water as well. “We could use that to help our drought,” she said.
“I learned a lot about the history of Mount Diablo,” Buyce said.
