4WD Field Trip: Ancient Lake Cahuilla

Special Earth Science Series! Leader: John Peterson, Hydrologist and Geologist Approximately 12,000 years ago, the Colorado River altered its course, forming a massive prehistoric lake known as Lake Cahuilla, which is now the Salton Sea.   The lake served as a vital resource for the Cahuilla, Kumeyaay, and Cocopah peoples. Over the centuries, the lake filled and dried up many times. It last filled between 1731 and 1733. Hydrologist John Peterson will lead a half-day field trip to the Salton Sea, where participants can explore the ancient lake's remnants, including visible "bathtub rings" and fishing traps. Meet at ABDNHA at 8:15 am. General Public: $18, Members: $12, Volunteers: $10. Register online or at the Nature Center, 760-767-3098. Register here for the field trip.

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BRAG: Borrego ROCKS!

The Borrego Rock and Gem (BRAG) Club will be hosting a demonstration event in the Visitor Plaza just outside of the Nature Center. Come see BRAG members cut geodes, demonstrate lapidary work, display rocks that are local to Southern California, and answer questions about local rockhounding. Each visitor gets to select a free rock to take home! Geodes, patches and stickers will be available for sale. Free; no registration required.

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Hike: Exploring Coyote Canyon

Leader: Marlin Burke, Naturalist Volunteer We meet at ABDNHA and then carpool to Coyote Creek, where we explore the history of Native Americans and early settlers, geology, paleontology, Plant life, Coyote Creek itself, and whatever else catches our attention. Easy walking; driving on a dirt road. High clearance 2WD or SUV acceptable due to dirt road with possible rocks or potholes. No charge, but registration is required.  Call or visit the ABDNHA Nature Center, 760-767-3098.

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Hike: Exploring Coyote Canyon

Leader: Marlin Burke, Naturalist Volunteer We meet at ABDNHA and then carpool to Coyote Creek, where we explore the history of Native Americans and early settlers, geology, paleontology, Plant life, Coyote Creek itself, and whatever else catches our attention. Easy walking; driving on a dirt road. High clearance 2WD or SUV acceptable due to dirt road with possible rocks or potholes. No charge, but registration is required.  Call or visit the ABDNHA Nature Center, 760-767-3098.

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Geology Hike: Ash Wash

Speaker: Don Barrie, Geoscience Educator, ABDNHA Board Member Join Don Barrie for this moderate 5-mile loop hike to Ash Wash, a tributary of Coyote Canyon. Our destination will be the Bishop Tuff—an ash layer deposited around 760,000 years ago when an enormous volcanic eruption created the Long Valley Caldera in the eastern Sierras. During this eruption, huge volumes of ash were blown into the atmosphere, resulting in widespread deposition as far away as the Midwest. At the entrance to Ash Wash, we’ll examine the Coyote Creek Fault—the western branch of the San Jacinto Fault Zone. Max 23 people (carpooling is encouraged). Bring lunch and water. 4WD vehicle recommended. Hiking poles, if you have them. Meet at ABDNHA. No charge, but registration is required at the Nature Center, 760-767-3098.

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Hike: Exploring Coyote Canyon

Leader: Marlin Burke, Naturalist Volunteer We meet at ABDNHA and then carpool to Coyote Creek, where we explore the history of Native Americans and early settlers, geology, paleontology, Plant life, Coyote Creek itself, and whatever else catches our attention. Easy walking; driving on a dirt road. High clearance 2WD or SUV acceptable due to dirt road with possible rocks or potholes. No charge, but registration is required.  Call or visit the ABDNHA Nature Center, 760-767-3098.

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Webinar: Geology of San Diego County’s Peninsular Ranges – POSTPONED

This presentation is postponed to a later date.  The new date will be posted here as soon as possible Speaker: Geologist Don Barrie Please join Mesa College geology professor and ABDNHA board member, Don Barrie, for his repeat lecture on San Diego County’s Peninsular Ranges, with emphasis on the Laguna Mountains west of Borrego Springs. Don’s lecture will focus on how plate tectonic processes have created the complex collage of igneous and metamorphic rocks exposed both regionally, throughout southeastern California, and locally, in the Lagunas. GP $12, M $10, V $8 (per connection).

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Read more about the article Lecture: Applied Earth Science – The Rare Earth Elements

Lecture: Applied Earth Science – The Rare Earth Elements

Speaker: Madhukar (Maud) Rao, Ph.D. Rare earth elements have been very much in the news recently, but what exactly are they?  What are they used for? Why are they so uniquely essential? Where do they come from? How are they processed? And, why does the U.S. import about 80 percent of them, despite their importance? Dr. Rao is a retired Chemical Engineer and currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Workforce Development at Innovation Impact Partners, LLC. He has more than 36 years of industrial R&D experience with major chemical and semiconductor materials companies. Maud volunteers as a math and science teacher and as a docent at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, and enjoys engineering, history, and teaching. In the ABDNHA Library. General Public: $12, Members: $10, ABDNHA Volunteers: $8. Register at abdnha.org or the Nature Center at 760-767-3098.

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Read more about the article Lecture: Flash Floods in Semi-Arid Landscapes – FULL (waitlist)

Lecture: Flash Floods in Semi-Arid Landscapes – FULL (waitlist)

Special Earth Sciences Weekend! Speaker: Suzanne Walther, Ph.D., University of San Diego PROGRAM IS FULL - PLEASE CALL ABDNHA at 760-767-3098 to get on waitlist. It has been said that the two most common ways to die in the desert are from thirst and from drowning. Flash floods are the leading weather-related cause of death in the U.S. and many parts of the world, and cause billions of dollars in damage. Dr. Suzanne Walther is a fluvial geomorphologist. She studies rivers, streams, floods, sediment movement, and how the natural flow of water shapes the landscape, interacts with ecosystems, and significantly impacts human development. The focus tonight is on flash floods in semi-arid areas, such as Borrego Springs, where they can occur, the conditions that lead to their formation, the powerful forces they unleash, their effects on water supply and drought, and what can be done to mitigate their destructive impact on human development. In the ABDNHA Library. General Public: $12, Members: $10, Volunteers: $8. You can register online at abdnha.org or at the Nature Center, 760-767-3098.

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Lecture: The Story of the Salton Sea – FULL

THIS PROGRAM IS FULL. Speaker: Dave Blanchet, (ret.) Hydrologist First there was the geology, and then came the flood.  The Salton Sea is located along the San Andreas Fault, and it is geology that repeatedly created and drained a vast natural lake over millions of years, called Lake Cahuilla, in what is now the Imperial Valley. Starting in the 20th century, agriculture began to flourish in California’s Imperial Valley, and diversion canals were dug to divert water from the Colorado River into the dry desert.  But the wild nature of the Colorado River soon took the upper hand. Events went horribly awry as record-breaking floodwaters destroyed the manmade dams and canals, and the full flow of the Colorado River flowed unabated into the Salton Trough for two years. Only through immense effort was the flooding finally stopped, and the Colorado River returned to its course, flowing into the Sea of Cortez.  Tonight’s speaker, Dave Blanchet, is a retired hydrologist from Anchorage, Alaska, and a lifetime member of ABDNHA.  General Public: $12, Members: $10, Volunteers: $8. Please register at www.abdnha.org or at the Nature Center, 760-767-3098.

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