The goal of this project is to create an undergraduate effort in the Colorado Plateau and Transition Zone of Arizona that will involve students primarily from Northern Arizona, but also from other universities. Undergraduates need extensive training with geologic maps, the geologist's premier tool for understanding geologic processes. This project will offer students the opportunity to make, compile, and interpret geologic maps within the context of a network of on-going collaborative research projects funded by the NSF and U.S. Geological Survey. Mapping and map compilation will be done by conventional techniques and using computer-assisted mapping facilities. Supervision will be supplied by pairing each student with a faculty supervisor/mentor, but within the departmental research focus on the Colorado Plateau ad Transition Zone. The Project is unique in that it provides highly individualized supervision of undergraduates, is entirely problem-oriented, and closely ties in both with diverse NSF-funded research and NAU's emphasis on undergraduate field research.
