RMAG ON THE ROCKS
Group photo of the happy RMAG and Fort Lewis Geology students that were on the trip.
An RMAG Adventure: Rafting the Upper San Juan River Canyon in Utah On the Rocks Field Trip, June 14-16, 2022 By Denise M. Stone
Is there a river in the world that has more geology packed into a 27-mile course than the Upper San Juan River in UT? I doubt it. RMAG and Fort Lewis on the Water (FLOW) teamed up this summer to offer a 3 day- 2 night raft trip on the Upper San Juan River Canyon. Floating through world class exposures of the Paradox Basin in southeastern Utah, participants saw spectacular geology, delicate river eco-systems, petroglyphs, and abundant wildlife. There was continuously something to see in every direction. Passing through the entrenched meanders of the OUTCROP | August 2022
San Juan we saw the stratigraphic section from Jurassic through Pennsylvanian in age. We saw a monocline, anticlines, synclines, faults, fractures, mega-fossils, sedimentary structures, bioherms, red beds and even a diatreme! Strata are both clastic and carbonate, bedding is exposed at all different angles. All this was viewed from the comfort of rafts, piloted by energetic FLOW river guides. The weather was great, although a bit hot, but a dip in the river fixed that right away. Professor of Geology, Dr. Gary Gianniny of Fort
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Vol. 71, No. 8 | www.rmag.org
