San Juan Mountains Association will host the Geology Hike: "Marine Fossils at 8000 feet" at 9AM on Thursday, September 17th, starting at the Coyote Hill trailhead near Pagosa Springs. Details and registration are at sjma.org.

free for the public. led and presented by geologists Dave Bouquet and Scott McAllister, will be in an area of the San Juan National Forest rich with evidence of earth’s geologic history from some of the area’s oldest metamorphic rocks, to Cretaceous seaways, to Tertiary volcanoes, to modern glacial deposits.

This month, we will walk through Ponderous Pine meadows to a beautiful overlook of Pagosa Peak. During this hike, we’ll go off trail and climb to some ridge-forming limestone outcrops in the Mancos formation that contain marine fossils and numerous calcite crystals. Learn why this area was covered by an inland sea for 30 million years during the Cretaceous period.

This is an ~5 loop hike with approximately 450 ft of gentle elevation gain. With stops to discuss the geology of the area, you can expect a time commitment of 4 hours. Pack a lunch or snack as we will be taking a break from the overview stop.