SCEC INSTANeT News
	SCEC Leads Field Trip for Students from Los Angeles High School

Henyey shares how the terraces formed at Palos Verdes from a combination of uplift and sea level change.  The students learn about the Big Bend and how it has shaped southern California. On June 13th Tom Henyey and Bob de Groot led a field trip for thirty 9th grade students from Los Angeles High School. Richard Redman, their enthusiastic teacher provided his students with the basics of plate tectonics before taking the trip. Redman made contact with SCEC in April during an earthquake education workshop at UCLA (please read INSTANeT article: SCEC Works with LAUSD Educators). After using the materials provided at the meeting Redman contacted SCEC to see how he could expand the experience for this students. The group started at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park where Henyey gave a presentation about the tectonic history of Los Angeles using Machado Lake, an excellent example of an oxbow lake, as a backdrop. He discussed how the region flooded during heavy rains before the construction of the modern Los Angeles River in 1938. Point Fermin’s spectacular cliffs and landslide fascinated the students. A vocal and inquisitive student named Shaunte was particularly interested in how the sedimentary layers of the cliff were formed and subsequently uplifted. When Henyey told the students that the land they were standing on had moved (using the buildings on the coast as a reference) there was a collective sense of uneasiness among the students. One of the students told de Groot that a picture could never explain landslides in the same way he had learned it during the trip. Henyey continuously placed the trip within the context of the evolution of the Los Angeles basin. He skillfully weaved basic geological concepts throughout the presentation to help the students understand complex ideas. In addition, Henyey discussed several geological puzzles in Palos Verdes that earth scientists are still debating over; scientific processes at work in a real life natural laboratory. Jesse inspects the areas near a fault at Ladera Linda Park. Jose ponders the formation of the fossil he found in the Miocene sediments. The trip concluded with a stop at Ladera Linda Park (formerly Forrestal Quarry) where the students experienced several examples of faults and how earth scientists study them. Jesse, an especially enthusiastic individual immediately climbed up the hill to get a closer look at the finer details of the fault. Later he told de Groot about his aspirations to be a chef as the two of them searched for fish fossils. Jesse commented he did not like to cook fish but the fossils were pretty interesting. Jose, who was picking up rocks throughout the trip, made the paleontological find of the day. He looked at his discovery for most of the trip back to USC. Jose commented that he has always seen mountains from far away. He told de Groot that he did not know there was so much detail to mountains when you get up close to them. The group spent the day touring the geological highlights featured in SCEC’s Palos Verdes Fault Guide which is available for purchase from the SCEC office at USC. The trip itinerary complete with Thomas Guide references can be found Here (Word document). In addition de Groot and Henyey developed some activities that fit well with several of the stops. The activities are available Here (Word document). The group heads up the hill in search of Miocene age fossils. The group explores minerals formed in hydrothermal vents. Some of the are seen pondering how they were going to get down.     [Go to SCEC INSTANeT News Main Page]

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