Virtual UH Rocks! Tour

• Assignment and Instructions 
• Virtual Tour link to Google Earth

Virtual Field Trip to Central TX

• Assignment and Instructions 
• Virtual Tour link to Google Earth

Virtual Field Trip to the Upper Texas Coast

• Assignment and Instructions 
• Virtual Tour link

Central TX field trips:

Field trips to Central TX showcase traditional geology looking the rock cycle, minerals, faults, intrusions, and an unconformity. There are typically 4 stops on this trip, with the last stop at Enchanted Rock State Park where you can take in a gorgeous late afternoon view of Central TX. A physical geology faculty member will lead this trip. Trips leave UH at 6:00 am and do not return until about 10:00 pm. A 55-passenger coach bus is used for this trip with a restroom on the bus. The bus will make 3 stops throughout the day for food and drink supplies, or you may bring your own.

There is also a virtual field trip to Central TX available, where you can watch videos of faculty explaining field trip stops and make geologic interpretations on high-resolution images. To get extra credit, you need to submit answers to questions as well as your geologic interpretations to the Geoscience Learning Center.  You need to do your own answers and interpretations.  You may not submit work done by others nor may you work with a fellow student for extra credit.

Upper Texas Coast field trips:

Field trips to the Upper Texas coastal area explore coastal as well as river processes (depending on which faculty is leading the trip). You can expect to learn about beach erosion, sediment transport, ocean currents, and more. A physical geology faculty member leads this trip. Trips leave UH at 8:00 am and return around 5:00 pm. A 55-passenger coach bus is used for this trip with a restroom on the bus.

There is also a virtual field trip to the Upper Texas Coast available with videos explaining field trip stops as well as 360 ^o images showing key features. To get extra credit, you need to submit answers to questions as well as your geologic interpretations to the Geoscience Learning Center.  You need to do your own answers and interpretations.  You may not submit work done by others nor may you work with a fellow student for extra credit.

UH Rocks! campus tours:

There are no rocks naturally present in the Houston area, however many of the buildings on campus are made from geologic materials (at least on the outside). This tour is led by physical geology TAs who will teach you about the rocks that some buildings, walkways, and hallway walls on campus are made from. Tours are 1 hour long, with many options for days and times each semester. You can click on the link above to download a guidebook for the on-campus tour.

There is a new virtual field trip using the Google Earth app that shows a dozen different building stones throughout the UH campus. To get the extra credit you need to submit answers to questions to the Geoscience Learning Center. 

Exploring Earth's Mantle field trip:

Wait a minute how can a field trip take you to see the Earth's mantle as in either the Jules Verne book or the 2008 movie version of Journey to the Center of the Earth? Well, instead geoscientists use techniques like doctors do to create three-dimensional images with computerized tomography (CT) of series of images. Unlike doctors who use x-rays to detect gallstones or cancer, geoscientists use the speed of seismic energy seen traveling through the Earth. On this trip, you will explore the Earth’s mantle in several different tectonic settings such as convergent and passive margins as well as a mantle plume (hot spot).