A two-day field trip to western Colorado will provide insights into the oil shale resource from geological and technological perspectives.  We will visit key outcrop localities and oil shale test and production fa­cilities. The two-day field trip will leave from Golden, Colorado on October 22nd at 7:00 AM and return to Golden on October 23rd at approximately 8:00 PM.  The trip will include transportation, accommoda­tions, and lunches.  Participation will be limited to 40.

Day 1 Itinerary, October 22, 2009
7:00 AM – Leave Golden.
Stop 1 – Rifle Overview.  An introduction to the Piceance Creek Basin and the Green River Formation. A view of the Roan Cliffs and Anvil Points.
Stop 2 – Hay Gulch.  A geologic transect of part of the Green River Formation to see the oil shale in an offshore area, showing moderately rich oil shale.
Stop 3 – Mahogany Research Project site.  A visit to Shell’s Mahogany Oil Shale Research Project.  Here we will view the lat­est technological advances in in-situ production of shale oil.
Travel to Grand Junction for overnight lodging.

Day 2 Itinerary, October 23, 2009
7:30 AM – Leave Grand Junction
Stop 4 – Douglas Pass. – Green River lake shallow water environments.  The depositional his­tory of the lake and it relationship to the oil shale deposits in the basin center.
Stop 5 – ExxonMobil Colony site.  Colony is an ideal place to observe the geology of the Green River oil shale.  It offers a high overview point to present the stratigraphy and structure of the basin together with an accessible vertical exposure that in­cludes the Mahogany zone – approximately 100-150 high and over 1000 feet in length.  ExxonMobil personnel will also discuss some of the history of the site.
Drive back to Golden – estimated time of arrival 7:30 PM.