12th Grade Young Geoscientists

Students of the 12th grade Young Geoscientists Field Course are now experienced young geologists.  They have seen the geology of three major areas of Texas: South Texas, the Texas coast and Central Texas.  For their 12th grade trip they will experience the vastness of West Texas and southeastern tip of New Mexico.

Students will see familiar geologic concepts (erosion and deposition) and they will learn new concepts, such as how the mountains and valleys of West Texas and New Mexico were formed.  And what a story it is, from the orogeny that formed the Ouchita’s, to the volcanics of the Davis Mountains, to the faulting of the Basin and Range.  The 12th grade trip will visit and explore the Guadalupe Mountains National Park and get a view of El Capitan Mountain and an ancient coral reef.  We will revisit cave systems at one of the most famous, Carlsbad Caverns, and we will learn why and how White Sands, New Mexico was created.  These rising 12th graders will embark now on their senior year of high school but their involvement in GeoFORCE does not stop there, our GeoFORCE Grad program allows students to keep in touch with each other and with GeoFORCE Texas all the way through college.

ATTN High School Juniors: there is a great scholarship program that you have to apply for in your Junior year — go to GeoFORCE Grads section of our website, and click on the College link — Look for Questbridge.

  • “I have seen sights that have taken my breath away completely, met people who can make me laugh until my stomach hurts, and learned about amazing wonders of this country.”