| ESS Home | Instruction Home | Degree Info | UG Admissions | Graduate Admissions | Course Catalog | Course Schedule

Course Field Work

Many courses in Earth and Space Sciences include field work. Field trips in introductory courses introduce students to the diverse natural environments and geological provinces of southern California and neighboring areas. Intense field work is offered in many courses designed to develop the skills and experience needed for professional work and advanced research. The following courses offer regular field trips and/or more advanced field training. Courses emphasizing field training are underlined.


ESS 1F: two full days visiting and interpreting the geologic history of the Santa Monica Mountains.

ESS 5: field trips to San Andreas fault, California aqueduct, active landslides and historic gold mines

ESS 8: 1-day field trip to sites along the San Andreas Fault

ESS 15: trips on the Vantuna and to Palos Verdes Peninsula

ESS 20: many field trips to diverse ecosystems and geological provinces to introduce students to the natural history of southern California

ESS 61: five days of field work on campus and in the Mojave Desert, during which students learn methods of geologic mapping

ESS 100: short field trips to local geological areas of interest

ESS 103A: field trips to volcanoes and other igneous provinces, sometimes including Long Valley Caldera and Hawaii

ESS 103B: several field trips to local areas illustrating diverse ancient sedimentary environments and processes, and the basins within which they formed

ESS 103C: field trips to investigate metamorphic processes and products, especially in the Mojave Desert

ESS 111: principles of geologic mapping and report preparation, including 10 days of field work in one area in southern California

ESS 112: several field trips to study deformed rocks in diverse locations in California

ESS 116: field trips to see fossils in the stratigraphic record and infer their history

ESS 121: 3-4 weeks of intense field work during the summer in order to map a complex area, somewhere in the western USA

ESS 125: hands-on experience monitoring the Long Valley Caldera, CA.

ESS C126: field trips to igneous rocks of diverse character

ESS 133: several field trips to southern California locations representing the complex history of this fascinating region, or a 4-5-day trip to Zion, Grand Canyon, Yosemite or other major geologic setting

ESS 135, ESS 136A, ESS 136B, and ESS 136C: field work to introduce students to the methods of field geophysics, and to solve an interesting geophysical problem

ESS 139: field trips to local areas illustrating engineering and environmental geologic problems and their solutions

ESS C141: several field trips to southern California sedimentary basins, or a 4-5-day trip to central or northern California to study the late Mesozoic convergent margin

ESS 150: field trips to utilize remote-sensing data in the solution of geological and geophysical problems

ESS C160: field-based seminar consisting of 5-20 days of field work to solve diverse types of problems in the Earth Sciences

ESS 184G: 4-10 days of field work for new graduate students both to introduce them to regional geology and to enhance their field skills

ESS 221: planning, execution and presentation of advanced mapping projects in diverse areas

ESS C226: field trips to igneous rocks of diverse character

ESS 244: field trips to diverse areas of the western USA in order to study the tectonics of sedimentary basins

ESS 259: field trips to diverse areas of the western USA, with emphasis on the paleotectonic development of the region

ESS C260: field-based seminar consisting of 5-20 days of field work to solve diverse types of problems in the Earth Sciences

ESS C162/ESS C262: Field Seminar, Advanced Remote Sensing class. This course has a field component at the end of the quarter. Five days in the field and visit the study sites the students have been working on using remotely sensed data. Pictures of last year trip are at http://www-radar.jpl.nasa.gov/insar4crust/rsclass/.