By Janae Washington

06/21/2021

 

Day 4: Monday, 21 June

 

We started off day four at Leadville, a former mining town known for its large deposits of precious ores. Our first stop was at an old mine located around 10,000 ft in elevation. Graduate student Jackson Borchardt discussed the history of mining in Leadville and what events led to its ultimate downfall. After Jackson’s talk, we moved to an area a few minutes downhill to look for ore material. While we were hunting, Jackson talked about the different rock types we came across including breaking a few open with a rock hammer to see the unweathered material! We didn’t find much at this location, but the next area we went to looked more promising! This former mining area was covered with Pyrite which is one of the minerals that comprise ore that can contain traces of gold.

Our trip to Leadville was followed by a mapping activity led by grad students Jackson Borchardt and Will Larsen. For this activity, each REU student was given a topographic map of the area, a protractor/ruler tool, and a Brunton compass. For many of us, it was our first time using a compass, let alone a Brunton compass. Jackson and Will taught us the proper approach and method on how to utilize them on a rock outcrop. Putting our skills to the test, we were to use the compass to determine the location of distinctive landforms around us so that we could map out exactly where we were on the map provided. All of us were able to pinpoint our location using this method.

 

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Neel: “Since I’ve never done any field mapping before, I thought it is crucial to learn how to locate yourself using a topographic map and a compass.”

Trinity: “I think it was cool that we could find where we were just by looking at the topography around us. It seems very useful if I happen to get lost in the wilderness.”

Zach: “ The mapping exercise later in the day was also really fun, and I definitely feel more confident in my compass-using skills now thanks to Jackson and Will. It is one thing to talk about using compasses in the classroom, but it felt altogether different having the opportunity to practice these skills out in the field (but fortunately not too far out in the field). Using the Brunton compass and realizing how helpful it is in the field also increased my appreciation for people working on geologic mapping out in remote locations, because it is definitely more complex than I thought it would be.”

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Later that night, Dr. Liz Williams from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) joined us for dinner, where we had burgers and hotdogs (Shout out to Dr. Mark Torres and Dr. Sylvia Dee for their grilling skills!). Liz Williams is a physical scientist whose research is focused on characterizing organic carbon formation, stabilization, transport, and its preservation in soils and sediments (usgs.gov). Having Liz over for dinner was a great experience, because she not only told us about her current career, but also gave us insight on grad school, possible careers, and how to apply for jobs.

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Neel: “It was really interesting to hear about her journey within academia, which led her to becoming an environmental scientist and a geochemist.”

Zach: I gained a much better sense of what working for the USGS and U.S. government as a whole looked like. I was

definitely surprised by how appealing working for the USGS sounded, as I hadn’t truly though that being employed by the government was something that I would ever want to do.

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Dinner was followed by a short walk with Liz, ice cream, and a few rounds of Telestrations. After this, everyone split up for the night to get ready for the next day of adventures.