Geology, Climate and Ecology of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada

ALLEN FRANZ, Marymount College-Palos Verdes

 

June 5-8, 2008 at Fresno, Yosemite National Park and Lee Vining, CA                                                      Apply: UWA

 

Note: This course has a participant fee of $250 (in addition to the application fee) and a logistical fee of $300 to cover transportation, lodging, permits and some meals.

 

             California’s Sierra Nevada range is the product of tectonic processes at the continental margin, including intrusion of an 80 to 140 million year old batholith. The comparatively recent uplift of the batholith has created distinctive climatic conditions, which have in turn shaped hydrological and ecological patterns.  Today the landscape of Yosemite and the Sierra preserves a record of that past, including the fluvial and glacial processes that helped carve the famous Yosemite Valley.  Rain and snow fall, concentrated on the western slopes, have washed sediment down to the otherwise dry Central Valley, while leaving the region east of the Sierra crest in a rain shadow.  Ecologically, these processes have produced habitat zones ranging from alpine tundra, lakes and riparian corridors to steppe, and including an elevation-keyed sequence of forests, woodlands and meadows.

 

            This field-based course will transect the Sierra Nevada from west to east, and back.  We will travel from Fresno in the Central Valley to Yosemite Valley, then cross the high Sierra and descend the eastern escarpment to Mono Lake, the Round Valley caldera and the Mammoth Lakes region in order to examine first hand the evidence for the Sierra’s ongoing geological, climatic and ecological evolution. 

 

            A sub-theme of the class will be the integration of field study activities as a course component in natural sciences and other appropriate fields.  The final session will be an open-ended discussion exploring how participants can incorporate course process and content into their own classes.

 

            Course participants should be in reasonably good physical condition and able to hike up to four miles over variable terrain.

 

For college teachers of: all disciplines, but particularly natural sciences.  Prerequisites: none.  Limit: 14 participants.

 

Dr. Franz is a Professor of Anthropology, Ecology and Physical Geography at Marymount College, Palos Verdes.  He is an advocate for interdisciplinary studies, and for the incorporation of field studies into the curriculum.  Dr. Franz’s fieldwork has centered in the American West/Southwest and in Mexico, particularly Zacatecas and the Sierra Huichol.  2008 will mark the 51st anniversary of his first trip to Yosemite.

 

Email: afranz@marymountpv.edu

 

Itinerary

 

            June 5

                        9:00     Introduction of participants

Overview of course content and itinerary

Orientation to the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada, and Basin and Range provinces

Interplay of geology, climate, and ecology

Incorporating field study in college course work

11:00   Departure to Yosemite (lunch provided en route)

San Joaquin River; western foothills of the Sierra Nevada

Sequoia hike; biotic zonation

Sentinel Dome hike; Glacier Point

4:00     Arrival in Yosemite Valley

Valley tour; geology, waterfalls, meadows (short hikes)

Yosemite Village Visitor Center

Check in to Yosemite Valley tent cabins (dinner and breakfast on your own)

 

June 6

            8:30     Valley tour; Vernal Falls/Mist Trail hike

11:00   Depart for Tioga Road across the Sierra Nevada (lunch provided en route)

Olmsted Point, Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadow (short hikes)

4:00     Lee Vining/Mono Lake

Mono Lake Visitor Center

South Lake Tufa formations (short hike)

Mono craters (short hike)

7:00     Mammoth Lakes (dinner on your own)

Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (dorm for nights of June 8 and 9)

 

June 7

            8:00     Depart for Mammoth Lakes (breakfast on your own)

9:00     Depart for Minaret Summit

Devil’s Postpile, upper San Joaquin River/Rainbow Falls hike; fire ecology

Mammoth Mountain; Horseshoe Lake (lunch provided)

Long Valley Caldera

Mammoth Lakes (dinner on your own)

Convict Lake

Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

 

June 8

            8:00     Depart for Mammoth Lakes (breakfast on your own)

9:00     Begin return to Fresno (lunch provided en route)

Obsidian Dome

Bennettville hike (conditions permitting)

2:00     Yosemite Valley

Incorporating field study in college course work

Course evaluations

6:00     Fresno (Please don’t schedule a flight out any earlier than 8:00 pm!!)

 

 

Important Logistical Information

 

            This is a field study course which will involve van travel and a number of hikes of various lengths (up to several miles), at elevations from 4000 to 8000 feet above sea level.  After an initial orientation session in Fresno, lecture/discussion sessions will take place at field sites including Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadow, Mono Lake, and Devil’s Postpiles, and at lodging sites in the evening. 

 

            Because of space limitations in our vans, participants are asked to pack light!  We should be able to get by with what we wear on the morning of the 7th, plus three changes of socks/underwear, one or two pairs of pants (or one pair of pants and a pair of shorts), two or three shirts/blouses (preferably long-sleeve), a non-bulky (e.g., fleece) jacket and /or vest, a hat or cap, sunscreen, repellant, towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo, hair brush/comb, and toothbrush/paste.  For footwear, bring one pair of sturdy walking/hiking (not too heavy and bulky–we’re not backpacking!) and some lightweight shoes or sandals (for comfort in the van, evenings, and wearing to the shower facilities).  Please also remember to bring any prescription medications, contact lens supplies, etc., that you may need; we will carry a basic first aid kit, but not a pharmacy.  You will need  a compact sleeping bag (our accommodations on the evenings of the 8th and 9th will be at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL), which provides beds but no linens, blankets, towels, etc.).

 

            Additional suggestions include a small hydration pack for hikes; a fanny pack or light knapsack; a camera (with ample film/memory); a loupe or magnifier for mineralogists; lightweight/compact binoculars; and perhaps a compact naturalists’ guide such as the National Audubon Society Field Guide to California or Tracy Storer et al’s not-so-compact Sierra Nevada Natural History (I will be providing a selected bibliography to class participants).

 

If you bring more clothing or other items that you plan to use before or after our course, we should be able to arrange to store them at FSU on the 5th, and pick them up on the 8th.

 

The participant fee for this course covers van transportation throughout the four days of the course, site admission fees, lodgings for the nights of June 5, 6 and 7, and lunches, snacks and beverages each day while on the road.

 

Prior to the course, participants will be required to sign and return liability waivers for the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory.

 

Participants are responsible for transportation to Fresno (and back home!), any lodging before or after the formal time line of the course (9:00 am on June 5 to 6:00 pm June 8) and all breakfasts and dinners during the course.

 

Participants are encouraged to arrive at our starting point, Fresno State University, on the evening of June 4.  A block of rooms at FSU’s University Courtyard have been tentatively reserved, at approximately $20 a night, for both the night before our course (June 4) and the night after its formal ending (June 8).

 

Lodgings in the University Courtyard at Fresno Sate University for the nights of June 4 and 8 are not covered by the course logistical fee, but have been arranged as a convenience to course participants.  Participants should contact the instructor as soon as possible to confirm whether or not they plan to stay at the University Courtyard for either, or both, of the dates reserved (individual participant’s room reservations will be canceled if they are not confirmed in a timely manner).

 

Also, please confirm whether you intend to dine in the Residence Dining Facility (breakfast 7:00-8:30 am, lunch 11:00-1:30, dinner 5:00-6:30).  There are, of course, numerous off-campus dining alternatives.

 

Free parking is available in Lot G, adjacent to the Courtyard complex, for those who drive to Fresno.

 

Fresno Yosemite International Airport is less than five miles from the Fresno State University campus.  Taxi cab service is available from Bulldog Cab Co. ((559) 485-6000) or City Cab Co. ((559) 298-8058).