Class visits Fort Knox Gold Mine north of Fairbanks, Alaska

Fortymile River Geology Field Trip Photo by Merrill Frank, July 12, 2007.

Limestone cliffs along the Fortymile River; photo by Kay Lynn Odle-Moore, July 25, 2007

As part of the summer environmental education program, the Tetlin Refuge offered a high school class focused on the geology of the Refuge the effects geology has on local ecology, and how people relate to these geologic features.  The proposed natural gas pipeline and the recent aeromagnetic survey along a 16-mile wide transect following the Alaska Highway showed Tetlin staff and local residents the importance and timeliness of understanding basic geological concepts.  With limited science courses offered by the local school district and no adult education courses, the Refuge’s summer school provided an alternative to high school science classes with an opportunity for an adult field trip/workshop.  The class included lectures, reading, discussion groups, written homework, individual research, Refuge field trips and bi-weekly classes throughout the summer.  Students received 1 HS science credit upon completion.   Here are two sample articles written by class students for the local newspaper:                                        

                                      Field Trip #1 - Road Trip!

                                    by Amelia Bentele-Edwards

On July 16 – 18, the Geology class sponsored by Tetlin NWR went on a road trip!  We drove to Fairbanks and toured the Fort Knox Gold Mine pit and mill.  Huge trucks (carrying 190-240 tons of ore) run constantly, supplying the ball mills with rock to be crushed and mixed with cyanide to extract the gold.  We all got to hold a 22 lb. gold bar (about the size of 2 big Hershey’s bars) which, on that day, was worth about $170,000.

The next morning we headed to the University where we had a tour of the Satellite Facility and two lectures – one on volcanoes and another on glaciers.  All of them were very informative and fun as well.  After lunch, we headed back down the Richardson Highway, stopping at and discussing special geologic features such as Donnelly Dome, Delta River, Black Rapids Glacier and Isabella Pass with its pingo and the Gulkana Glacier in the background.  We spent that night in cabins on the Denali Highway.

            Morning found us on the Denali Highway to Tangle Lakes where we had a picnic breakfast and, thanks to Wade, fresh coffee!  Heading back to Paxon, we studied numerous glacial features along the road, such as moraines, eskers, drumlins, kames and erratics.  At Tower Hill near Paxon, we met back up with our cabin host and he shared geologic information about the surrounding area.  The view was excellent and the talk was very interesting.

Then we continued down the highway to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center.  There we had a superb interpretive talk on volcanoes and “visited” remote areas of the park through its wonderful movie.

Many thanks to the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge for providing us with this great experience.

Trip #2 – Raft Trip

by Gerilynn Goolsby & Thomas Cliver

After several weeks of anticipation from those involved, the Tetlin NWR geology Class embarked on their 3-day adventure down the Fortymile River.  Eight (8) high school students and six (6) adults put in at the South Fork Bridge with 2 paddle rafts and a heavy “cargo” raft.

Before “hitting the river” the crew stopped in Chicken where we were met by Dick Hammond.  Dick took us up the creek, gave each a pan full of dirt, and showed us how to pan for gold, an art not as easy as he made it look.  We spent over an hour with Dick, enriching our knowledge more than our pockets…but we each left with a vial of flakes and a new experience under our belts.

The three days on the river were spent paddling, looking at and discussing rock formations and geological features, learning new plants and enjoying the landscapes (with a little swimming thrown in!) We also watched the local wildlife…peregrine falcons, marmots, lots of swallows and numerous “critter” tracks.  We floated past huge marble cliffs and found chunks of marble on the gravel bars.  Evenings, we learned important outdoor skills, played games and wove new friendships.  It is still in dispute whether the kids or the adults had more fun!

On our last day, we enjoyed the beauty and excitement of a bit of whitewater before getting off the river at the Fortymile Bridge.  On our return back through Chicken, we stopped at the Chicken Gold Camp where Mike Busby gave us a tour of one of the original dredges used during the 1950’s and 60’s.  This fascinating piece of equipment looked huge to us, but is actually small in comparison to other dredges used today in New Zealand and Mongolia.

After a treat of ice cream, we headed back to Tok.  There were sore muscles and tired bodies, but not one word of complaint.  We learned a lot and had a great time in those three days.  When asked if he wanted to repeat the whole trip, David, expressing the feelings of us all, replied with a hearty, “Yeah!”

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Many thanks to all who made this great class possible – especially the volunteers and staff who gave generously of their time…Kay Lynn Odle-Moore, Amy Wright, Sally & Merrill Frank, Kathleen Krohn, Michelle Stout and Molly Timm (raft captain extraordinaire!)