Mines, Mountains and Magmas of Ouray!

Mines, Mountains and Magmas of Ouray!

Dates: June 6-7th, Overnight in Ouray

Leaders: Dr. David Gonzales and Steve Cumella

Limit: 20 (18 participants, 2 leaders). Minimum 10 for trip to go.

Registration Opens: May 1, 8am

Transportation: Carpools from the Ouray Hot Springs parking lot each morning. Participants must arrange their own travel to Ouray.

Registration Fee: TBD, Covers Saturday & Sunday lunches, snacks, handouts. Participants must get their own breakfasts.

Lodging: Participants arrange their own lodging for Saturday night.

Optional Group Dinner: Registrants can opt into a group dinner on Saturday night for an additional fee.

Cancellation Policy: Cancel with a refund through Friday, May 29th. From the 30th to the trip, no refunds unless we can fill the slot from the waiting list. If we cancel everyone gets a refund.

Membership Requirement: You must be a member of the FCGS to go on our field trips. Please join under the Membership tab.

Difficulty: Some of the stops will involve hikes that gain over 600 feet in elevation over a mile, so participants should be in reasonably good physical condition. Most of the trails are in excellent condition and maintained but be prepared for some rocky sections. Elevations range from 7,500 to 8,800 ft, so bring a hat, sunscreen, and a light jacket in case of cool weather. June can be warm in Ouray so we will encourage you to stay hydrated. Beware, the ticks are usually out in full force this time of year.

Preliminary Itinerary:

·      Saturday: Meet at 9am, leave by 9:15. Explore Mineral Farms mining site SW of Ouray and hear the results of five recent FLC senior thesis projects. Hike to an amazing valley overlook for lunch and a view of the contact between the Proterozoic Uncomphagre Group with the Devonian Elbert Fm. Discuss Eocene erosion, the Rocky Mountain erosional surface and paleo-valleys. After lunch we’ll visit Canyon Creek to understand more about the hydrothermal source for the water piped from there to Ouray Hot Springs. We’ll wrap up south of town looking at the Dunmore vein system to understand it’s timing and history. We’ll also see a mineralized breccia dike, in contrast to the others we’ve seen in this area before. Return to the Hot Springs by 5pm.

·      Sunday: Meet at 8:15am, leave by 8:30. Starting NE of Ouray, we’ll look at the Old Maid Mine up Dexter Creek, with its intact boarding house. Then view outcrops of the Dakota SS, and Mancos Fm. as well as Laramide and Oligocene plutonic rocks and a landslide zone. From there we’ll drive back down to the Gold Mountain site where we’ll have lunch and view dinosaur tracks in Morrison Fm., discuss mining history related to magmatism, and look at the Pony Express LS and oil-stained Entrada Fm. We’ll wrap up at either Jackass Flats (Cutler Fm.), Memphis Mine or the Black Lake area (clastic dike in Cutler). Return to Hot Springs by 4pm. Depart for home.