Alaska Range: Exhumation Along the Denali Fault

Please join us for a pre-conference fieldtrip to the central Alaska Range. This trip is a combination of geology, thermochronology and spectacular scenery. We will depart Anchorage on the morning of September 12th (the Friday before the start of the conference) and return Sunday night. On day one we will drive vans to Denali National Park. Along the way we will pass through and stop in the Chugach and Talkeetna mountains. We will also stop in the picturesque town of Talkeetna (the gateway for climbers flying into the central Alaska Range) for lunch, history, and breath taking views. Talkeetna is at an elevation of 300' and the summit of Mt McKinley - centerpiece of the Central Alaska Range is at 20,320 feet - making this mountain one of the most spectacular in the world. Once at Denali we will stay two nights at a local hotel. From this base we will visit sites of geological, historical, and scenic interest. The focus of these stops will be the Neogene history of the Alaska Range, the Denali Fault - an active right lateral fault, and the coal-bearing Usibelli Group that is intimately connected to the formation of the Miocene/Pliocene Alaska Range. This field trip has limited availability and will fill up fast so please contact Paul Fitzgerald (pgfitzge@syr.edu) or Jeffrey Benowitz (ftjab@uaf.edu) for further information. Reservation to be a part of this field trip will take part when you register for the FT2008 conference. We look forward to sharing and discussing the complex tectonic history of interior Alaska with you. This field trip is limited to 25 people.  Additional cost due at time of registration is $100.

Tentative Daily Schedule (Travel via Van):

Day 1-September 12th
Depart from Anchorage-@ 9 a. m.
Stops enroute to Denali (include but not limited too):
Chugach Mountains- Eklutna Lake
Talkeetna Mountains
Hatcher Pass
Talkeetna-Lunch

September 12th Accommodations-Within Denali National Park

Day 2-September 13th
Tour Denali National Park including the Denali Fault
Denali Dinosaurs
Sedimentary Basins including the Cantwell Formation, and Usibelli Groups
Scenic View- Alaska Range (i. e. Mt. McKinley and Mt. Deborah)

September 13th Accommodations-Within Denali National Park

Day 3-September 14th
Sedimentary Basins (fossils) including the Usibelli Group coal mine and Nenana Gravels
Return to Anchorage-Approximate arrival @ 5 p. m.

Accommodations:

Motel Nord Haven located within Denali National Park

Individual reservations are required to be booked and confirmed no later than June 30th, 2008 (see below website):
https://www.bellsalaska.com/secure/nordhaven.html

At time of reservation please be sure to make reservations under the group identification, "Fission-Track" (Jeffrey Benowitz). Approximate cost (including all taxes and fees is US $106 a night for double occupancy). Reservation cancellation deadline is September 8th.