Little Whaleboat Island Geology Field Trip
Sat. Oct 1 - Sun. Oct 2, 2022
This weekend camping trip visits Little Whaleboat Island, one of the lesser-known gems of Casco Bay, with the aim of learning more about the beautiful and surprising rocks of the region. We'll be joined by the distinguished Maine geology professor Dyk Eusden, an expert on the region who has visited the island a number of times to teach courses with his Bates students (in sea kayaks, no less!). His bio is included below.
Dyk will introduce us to the geologic history of the region, and help us understand some of the events and forces that have shaped Casco Bay with its unique formations. He'll lead us on walkabouts on the island, showing us how to observe the rocks and gather information with a geologist's perspective. Then we'll get together to assemble our observations, discuss what we saw and, with Dyk's help, try to understand what it all means. It's science and paddling, all in one event! And, of course, there will be plenty of time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings too. (By the way, Little Whaleboat has just become Maine Coastal Heritage Trust's newest land acquisition.)
Here are some details:
- Janet Lorang and myself are the NSPN organizers for this trip.
- We can take a maximum 10 people (not counting Dyk, Janet and myself).
- A contribution of $15 is requested to cover Dyk's expenses and time. Logistics to be covered later.
- The paddle is a Level 2 trip and is sheltered from ocean conditions. It includes crossings up to 1 nm that are subject to wind chop.
- You will need to arrange your own food, water and camping equipment. Weather at this time is often very mild and pleasant but... it's New England.
- In case of bad weather we can delay this trip one day to 10/2-10/3
- Launch location to be determined based on availability; likely spots include Merepoint or Yarmouth.
Please contact us via private message with any questions. The waitlist is very long and we are no longer accepting new waitlist entries.
Here's some more information about Dyk:
Dykstra Eusden, or Dyk for short, lives in South Paris, Maine and recently retired from being a professor at Bates College where he taught a variety of field-based courses; his two favorite being “Geology of the Maine Coast by Sea Kayak” and “Katahdin to Acadia: Exploring Maine Geology.” He went to Bates for his B.S., then University of New Hampshire for his M.S. and finally Dartmouth College for his Ph.D., all in an effort to stay close to New England’s mountains and coastline. His research is on the bedrock geologic history and ancient tectonics of northern New Hampshire, western Maine, and the coast of Maine as well as active tectonics, faults and landscape geomorphology in New Zealand. This year he and six other geologists published a book for the lay-public titled “The Geology of New Hampshire’s White Mountains” (Durand Press).
Event details
