Field trip with Susie Bartz and Larry Ballard

Friday, Oct. 16, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Participation limited to 12
Advance registration opens at 9:00 am on Saturday, Oct. 3 at synature@west.net or 805/ 693-5683
This is a Members Only field trip, $10 per person
Face masks will be required

Join Susie Bartz  and Larry Ballard for a leisurely 2.5-mile roundtrip walk down the coast (east) and back, beginning at Haskells Beach in Goleta. Susie will focus on the geologic controls on the oil history and the ongoing dynamics of surf, uplift, and erosion today. Larry will cover the interplay of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in beach wrack: algae, plants, invertebrates and birds.

The local natural and human history that they’ll examine will include the Ellwood oilfield dating to 1929; the Japanese submarine attack here in 1942: a Monterey Formation anticline; the Bell Canyon Estuary and its prickly pear mystery; Pier 421 and its “Bird Island” story; and the More Ranch fault outcrop and uplifted marine terraces. If time allows, we’ll head west to the Venoco Pier on a side trip to look for megafossils and possibly tidepools.

Susie Bartz is a geology educator who has worked for over 22 years with schools and community organizations to bring an awareness of earth science to the general public outdoor settings. In 2009 she helped complete the publishing of the maps of legendary geologist Tom Dibblee, her friend and mentor. Larry Ballard is a naturalist with a focus on botany and has been a field trip leader for the Society and other organizations for two decades.

Participants who are interested in birding should bring a pair of binoculars. For those who want to learn more about Haskells before the trip, there is an excellent illustrated history of Haskells Beach at this link.