Photo Galleries
Costa
Rica, 2005
Images from 2005 field trip (Geology 496) to Costa Rica.
Costa
Rica, 2003
Images from the 2003 field trip (Geology 496) to Costa Rica.
Costa Rica links
Map
of Costa Rica
CIA
Factbook
Consular
Information Sheet
Tips
for travelers
Embassy of Costa
Rica
U.S. Embassy, San Jose
La Nacion Ditigal
COCORI
Fantastic photos
of Arenal!
Cloudforest information
including livecam images
AM Costa Rica
Currency exchange/conversion
Comments are welcome.
E-mail me at
Jonathan-Mies@utc.edu
|
photo by J. Hulgan, participant |
Costa Rica,
Central America
J. W. Mies
|
Active volcanoes, forearc basin, backarc basin, rain forests
Geology Field Experience (Geology 496) culminates
with a 10-day field trip. In 1993, 95, 97, 99, 2001, 2003,
and 2005, the
focus of the course (and the destination of the trip) was Costa
Rica. (Other years, the course focused on the desert
southwest.) The dark blue, red, green, and purple lines on
the map mark the various routes taken. Selected photos from these
field trips are displayed below.
The following links are ".pdf" files
that require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you have Acrobat
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here.
| Spring
'07 Syllabus |
Inlcudes a description of the course, a tentative
schedule, grading policies, etc. |
Some aspects of Geology 496 are available to enrolled
students through UTC's online course delivery system, Blackboard
(requires UTCID and password).
Part of the group departs Cahuita to snorkel at
Cahuita National Park. The coral adjacent to the boat (detail
shown in inset) became emergent in 1991; the uplift (1 meter)
related to a major earthquake.
Spring '01
photo by J. Hulgan |
A group photo.
The backdrop is one of our favorite sights, Volcan Arenal.
Spring '01
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Above. A sketch of lava "tongues". (Modified
from Compton, 1985, p. 278.)
Below. A large block containing lava "tongues"
(elongate pillows) near Jaco, on the Pacific coast. The coin
(100 Colones, brass color, near the center of the photo) provides
an indication of scale. The block came to rest on its end, with
the tongues vertical; the photo has been rotated to make it better
correspond to the sketch.
Spring '01
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The group studies a limestone breccia at Manuel Antonio, on
the Pacific coast.
Spring '01
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The group studies a basaltic dike in clastic sedimentary rocks
near La Ese, north of San Isidro.
Spring '01
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Columnar joints in basaltic andesite porphyry.
This quarry is near the crest of the Cordillera de Talamanca.
Spring '01
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A group photo at Volcan Arenal.
Spring '99
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Volcan Arenal, as seen from the town of La Fortuna. The view
is nearly due west.
The east side of the volcano, seen here, has considerable
vegetation; whereas the north, west, and south sides of the volcano
have little or no vegetation due to recent eruptions.
Spring '99
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Students take notes in the relative comfort of the Arenal
Observatory Lodge.
The lodge is located on the south side of the volcano.
Spring '99
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Flat tires are quite common. This one occured near Monteverde.
Spring '99
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We discovered this hot spring near Guacimal.
Unlike the Tabacon springs, this water is much too hot for
a swim.
Spring '99
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The group studies pillow basalts near Jaco.
The inset shows one of the pillows.
Spring '99
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The group studies columnar jointed basalt at Manuel Antonio
(Pacific coast).
Manuel Antonio also offers a coastal rain forest with abundant
wildlife (sloths, agoutis, monkeys, etc.) and spectacular plants.
Spring '99
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Volcan Arenal, May 11, 1997, 0050 to 0310 local
time (= GMT - 6 hrs.). The photo was taken from a point 8 km
west-northwest of the volcano.
Red streaks record paths of incandescent blocks that have tumbled
down the northwest flank of the volcano. The dominant white streak
in the sky is the track of Spica (Virgo constellation). The star
track is segmented due to intermittent cloud cover during the
period of the exposure.
Spring '97 |
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Arenal with a small eruptive column.
Eruptions like this are accompanied by an audible "boom".
Spring '93
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The group in front of Volcan Arenal.
Spring '93
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pura vida
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