The western United States is a prime target area for EarthScope to investigate processes that result in elevated topography, earthquakes, and volcanism. Interpretive professionals in the Colorado Plateau and Rio Grande Rift region have a unique opportunity to engage the public on the relevance of EarthScope discoveries as they are being made. This three-day workshop combined presentations by EarthScope scientists with interpretive methods to convey the story of how continental rifting and other processes result in the region's breathtaking landscape and geological hazards.
Colorado Plateau - Rio Grande Rift Workshop
The workshop was held October 26-28, 2009 at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque. This was the fourth in a series of workshops for park rangers and museum educators sponsored by the EarthScope National Office. Participants learned how to use EarthScope data and science results, and developed and presented interpretive programs on the evolving landscape and its connections to aspects of the natural and cultural history of the Colorado Plateau-Rio Grande Rift region.
Organizations represented included the National Park Service, U. S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Nature Conservancy, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico State Parks, Texas State Parks, Southern California Earthquake Center, San Bernardino County Museum, Red River Community House, Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, Smithsonian Institution, Chinle Unified School District, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Public Lands Intepretive Association, Asombro Institute for Science Education, Rough Rock Community School, Arizona State University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and Lafayette College.
The workshop featured presentations by scientists and interpretive specialists to convey the story of how continental rifting and other processes result in the region's breathtaking landscape and geological hazards. Instructors were from Arizona State University, New Mexico Tech, University of New Mexico, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, University of Colorado, Grand Canyon National Park, Oregon State University, IRIS, and UNAVCO. Excerpts of some of the presentations are available at www.earthscope.org/workshops/colorado_plateau08/presentations.
Participants and scientists worked in teams to develop and present interpretive programs aimed at audiences and settings encountered by interpreters in parks and museums. Five programs revolved around the following themes.
1. "The Rio Grande Rift and its waters have provided a spiritual and physical passageway for many cultures."
2. "The Rio Grande Rift Valley is a dynamic environment for water, volcanoes, peoples and scientific exploration."
3. "The Albuquerque volcanic field and the Rio Grand Rift are evidence of past processes within the Earth which continue to shape the landscape."
4. "Four sacred mountains mark the boundaries of Dine bikejah (Navajo homeland). Each mountain was formed at a different time by a unique set of geologic processes that illustrate the major warp in which mountains are formed. This geographic area represents ke′ (kinship), a sacred living landscape to the Navajo people."
5. "EarthScope scientific instruments have helped us to better understand the evolution of the New Mexico landscape, including opening of the Rio Grande Rift."