Three Field Courses are offered in the spring and summer of each year giving students the opportunity to spend one to two weeks doing field work, geological and groundwater flowpath mapping, viewing and evaluating various geological and biogeochemical processes and preparing reports.

A casual atmosphere, accommodations in cottages or cabins and getting out and enjoying the outdoors have made these courses very popular. Students are responsible for the cost of board and lodging and transport to and from the field area.

GLG 340S Whitefish Falls Field Course

The Whitefish Falls field camp exposes you to an exciting variety of geological phenomena - from asteroid impacts to submarine volcanoes, and rocks covering the history of planet earth from the early days without oxygen up to the latest ice age.
The 10 day field trip to the Manitoulin - Whitefish Falls area consists of a several day mapping project, smaller (day long) assignments, and a couple of show & tell field trips.
For more detail on this course visit the course site.

GLG420 Capstone Field Course
 A two-week excursion in late summer/early fall to a challenging field setting.  Students will integrate field observations with their accumulated knowledge of rock-forming processes, structural geology and landscape evolution to understand large-scale geological events.  Pre-requisites: GLG207H1, GLG318H1, GLG345H1, GLG360H1.

GLG 445H Field Camp: Benny Belt

A two-week field course in May. Students will map Archean gneisses and greenstones overlain by Proterozoic metasediments. Emphasis is on lithological mapping and structural interpretation in a remote area typical of the Canadian Shield. The course involves an advanced geological mapping project in a challenging field environment. Students learn to compile existing geoscience data, create a geological map and prepare a professional final report on their activities and findings. This is a summer session course and students must also register with the Department during the preceding term.

GLG448 Field Course III: Chalk River

This field course, held in and around Deep River and the Chalk River Laboratories of Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL), will concentrate on the biogeochemistry of natural waters in the region. The purpose of the course is to teach students how to evaluate a range of physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in wetlands, streams, lakes, and near-surface groundwaters. Working in small groups, students will learn how to (i) determine water table elevations and map groundwater flowpaths, (ii) appraise microbial activity in sediments through the measurement and interpretation of dissolved methane concentration profiles in porewaters, and (iii) evaluate the steady state chemical composition of a small lake with respect to the transport, chemical speciation, and biogeochemical cycling of iron and sulfur.

Although the emphasis is on field techniques, students will gain experience in chemical analyses of natural waters and computer modeling (i.e., FLOWPATH for groundwater flow and MINEQL for water chemistry). Individual reports on each area of emphasis will be required no later than a day after the unit is completed. Background lectures, laboratory work, computer exercises, and report preparation/tutorials will generally be done in the evenings. We will also meet with AECL personnel, learn about their work, and tour the CRL site.

We will be staying at a camp with well-equipped cottages (usually coed occupancy) with full bathroom and kitchen facilities. Cooking of meals is done individually or with a group (depending on personal preferences). Food costs are extra and must be covered by individuals. There will be ample opportunity to buy groceries in Deep River. Bring rain gear, comfortable work or hiking boots, rubber boots, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, field notebooks, calculator, and writing materials.