PHYSICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

SCI 203 - Field and Laboratory Geology in Washington and Oregon - 4 Lab Science Credits

July 31-August 12, 2010

Costs

Travel cost will be $3,095.00 (based on a minimum of 10 students, double occupancy). Single occupancy available, rate upon request. Final number of approved students will determine final price, odd numbers may cause triple occupancy.

Deposits by check or money order only payable to Your Travel Lady: Deposit of $500.00 by check or money order only by June 17, 2010. Airfare may be paid by credit card. Inquire with travel agent. Balance of payment due by July 1, 2010 by check or money order only (except airfare as noted above).

Cost includes: Round trip airfare, 12 nights hotel accommodations, 12 breakfasts, 8 boxed lunches, 2 dinners, deluxe motor coach, all park admissions, and full-time tour escorts.

Tuition

In addition, students must be enrolled in SCI 203. Tuition and fees are additional, as follows:

All fees are due prior to departure.

• Penalty fees will be incurred due to cancellation.
• Costs subject to student enrollment.

Eligibility

This is a four credit course open to all freshman, sophomore, junior and senior level college students. Prospective students will be interviewed by the faculty and must have a minimum 2.5 GPA, have completed all remedial courses PRIOR to application and have completed 15 credits.

Notice:
This course is under the supervision of NCC faculty. Students must comply with all rules and regulations of NCC, particularly the Student Code of Conduct. The rules of the State University of New York are also in effect. Students who do not comply with the Student Code of Conduct will be sent home at their own expense.

Students should take into consideration that the format of this trip can be physically rigorous at times and you should expect to do a lot of walking on paved and unpaved trails. Also, the remedial and support services available on a campus can not be provided. Any special health issues must be indicated to the instructor during the interview.

Orientation

In Mid-December there will be an on campus introduction and orientation program. This orientation will give you information about the trip, including detailed itinerary, course requirements and description of daily activities. It will inform students about what to bring and how to prepare and will offer an opportunity for questions and answers. Parents, guardians, and spouses are invited.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

SCI 203 – Field & Laboratory Geology - 4 credits

July 31-August 12, 2010

Jul 29 At NCC for introductory lecture and laboratory.

Jul 31 Depart from JFK for Seattle's SeaTac Airport. Welcome dinner and overnight in Seattle at Hotel Decca.

Aug 1 - We will have a half-day tour of the city, visiting the Space Needle, Pike's Place Market or Pioneer Square. Leave for Port Angeles, gateway to the Olympic National Park. Overnight at Olympic Lodge.

Aug 2 - Today explore the Dungeness Spit. Stretching into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it is the longest natural sedimentary spit in the United States. It is more than 5½ miles long and contains a wildlife sanctuary and a lighthouse. Overnight at Olympic Lodge.

Aug 3 - Olympic National Park-Hurricane Ridge. Here you will the find the glacier capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains, the 73 mile Pacific Ocean Wilderness Coast and temperate rain forests. Roads provide access to the outer edges of the Park, but the heart of Olympic National Park is wilderness. Overnight Olympic Lodge.

Aug 4 - Drive down the Pacific Coast to the Hoh Rainforest via Lake Crescent. Lake Crescent is one of the deepest lakes in the state of Washington at over 624 feet deep. It was carved by a glacier during the last ice age. Lake Crescent is known for its brilliant blue and amazingly clear water. The HOH Rainforest is one of few temperate rainforests in the world-and one of the largest. Located on the western side of the Olympic Mountains it is the wettest area in the continental United States. It is also home to some of the largest trees in the world. We then travel on to the Wilderness Coast where forest meets the wild Pacific Ocean. Overnight at Forks Kalaloch Lodge.

Aug 5 - Ruby Beach: here you will see some of the most spectacular scenery on the Pacific Coast. We'll hike through a wind blasted maritime forest down a small bluff to a scene that will take your breath away. Sea Stacks rise out of the ocean, huge logs litter the beach-and-if we are lucky we may spot some bald eagles circling overhead. Overnight at Forks Kalaloch Lodge.

Aug 6 - Lake Quinault on the way to Aberdeen. Overnight in Aberdeen at the Guest Inn and Suites.

Aug 7 - Drive into Oregon: Mt Hood + Columbia River Gorge. Mt. Hood is considered to be a potentially active volcano by the U.S. Geologic Survey and is the most active volcano in Oregon. The Columbia River Gorge was created by a series of flood basalt lava flows stretching over 164,000 square kilometers. At the end of the last ice age, the Columbia River Gorge was carved by the great Lake Missoula floods. The Gorge is home to many waterfalls including Multnomah Falls, the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States. Overnight in Troutdale Oregon at the Holiday Inn Express.

Aug 8 & 9 - Mt. Rainier National Park. Mt Rainier is the largest of the Cascade volcanoes and is considered a sleeping giant. It looms over the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue in Washington as well as Portland, Oregon. Mt. Rainier is covered in old growth forest, lush vegetation and is the most heavily glaciated peak in the continental U.S. Overnight at Nisqually Lodge.

Aug 10 - Columbia River Gorge +Ape Cave. Ape Cave is located just south of Mt. St. Helens in WA State. It is the longest continuous lava tube in the United States. Lava tubes are unusual in the Cascade Range because these volcanoes don't produce the kind of lava that runs through tube formations. In the last eruption of Mt. St. Helens, debris from the lahars (mud flows) ran through Ape Cave. Overnight in Kelso at the Comfort Inn.

Aug 11 - Mt. St. Helens National Monument (below) is the most active volcano in the Cascade Range. It erupted explosively in May of 1980, producing the largest landslide ever recorded in the U.S. when the entire top of the mountain collapsed onto the valley below. Today we can visit St. Helens and stand on Johnson Ridge, right in the blast zone and hike along the Hammocks trail through the valley floor. Overnight in Kelso at the Comfort Inn.

Aug 12 - Leave for SeaTac and flight home

This course is accepted towards New York State Earth Science certification

The Olympic Peninsular is the location for the Stephanie Meyers Twilight book series: "I pulled up maps of the area (the Olympic Peninsula) and studied them, looking for something small, out of the way, surrounded by forest... And there, right where I wanted it to be, was a tiny town called "Forks." It couldn't have been more perfect if I had named it myself. I did a Google image search on the area, and if the name hadn't sold me, the gorgeous photographs (of the Hoh Rainforest) would have done the trick. In researching Forks, I discovered the La Push Reservation, home to the Quileute Tribe. The Quileute story is fascinating, and a few fictional members of the tribe quickly became intrinsic to my story."