Geophysics Field Trip to Afton Canyon

By Shaw Chiba, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

During my Spring quarter at UCLA I have taken an applied geophysics course, enabling me to take geophysical measurements in the field, and explore more of California! The trips start early, with the class meeting at 7am to load the trucks. key items to bring include water bottles, tents, sleeping bags, and lunch! Once on the road we drove around 4 hours towards Las Vegas, into the wilderness. Our first trip was to a volcanic crater, where we took measurements using ground penetrating radar. This was followed by travelling to a dune field, where we took the same measurements.

The dunes were beautiful, and it was amazing to think that they move several meters per year!

During the second day we took a drive through Afton Canyon, off-roading in the trucks was a great experience, although one of the trucks did get stuck and required help! Nevertheless, it was a great experience being able to drive in such a remote area. We also managed to catch a glimpse of a heard of bighorn sheep, making their way across the mountains.

Our professor also decided to lead us into an amazing cave like structure, which many of us explored by climbing using ropes to guide us and our phones for light. Although it was a rather scary experience, the cave system was beautiful, and I found it very enjoyable to climb to the top with my classmates.

We ended the night with campfire, and a dinner with s’mores, a truly American experience. The next step is to write-up my report using the data collected from this trip! Overall, the field trip was a great experience, and I highly recommend any students to take as many practical/field work elements of their course. It was a great experience to collect data hands-on, and to experience more of California that not every tourist gets to experience.