Program Meeting, Tuesday, February 15, 2022; 7:00 pm via Zoom.
A cave is more than just a hole in the ground. These spectacular creations are natural laboratories for preserving fossils, recording past climate, and providing habitats for unique and rare animals. Due to their global importance physically, culturally, and ecologically, 2021 was designated the International Year of Caves and Karst. As a geologist, Mary Pat finds caves fascinating and takes every opportunity to tour them. Join us Tuesday night to explore this intriguing subterranean world that includes some of the major show caves of the Western U.S. You can leave your high boots and flashlights at home – this meeting’s virtual!
Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. If you’d like to join us, write marcia.pls.emails [at] gmail [dot] com to request a Zoom link.
March’s field trip will be a return to the Sidewinder Mountains. High clearance or short wheelbase vehicles are recommended for this trip. 2wd is okay. Those with passenger vehicles might need to be shuttled when we get close to the collecting sites. We’ll be searching for both tri-color marble (pictured above) and blue marble. Tri-color marble is a beautiful green, black, and white material and is perfect for yard rock and spheres. It’s also a good beginner material for making cabochons. We’ll also explore tailings piles in the Ord Mountains for chrysocolla and malachite. 
