Beloit students attended the 76th Tri-State Field Conference. This year the trip was headquartered out of Maquoketa, IA and focused on current research on the Paleozoic rocks of the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Field trip stops included exposures in quarries and along road cuts that contained abundant fossils and a visit to learn about extracting metals from mine waste at a superfund site for use in the transition to a green economy.
The conference also included a chance to examine drill cores and a presentation by the Illinois Geological Survey on rare earth elements and critical minerals. Students had the opportunity to network with professional geologists as well as potential employers and graduate school advisors.
This field conference series is organized by geologists from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa and showcases regional geology with the goal of sharing new geological discoveries with students and educators from the tri-state area. The Tri-State Field Conference has run most years starting in 1934. The Beloit College Geology Department has been asked to help lead this field conference next year.
October 21, 2024
