Full Title: FT26CN405. Exploring Cryogenian Snowball Earth Deposits Along the Colorado Front Range
Price: US$45 for non-members; US$35 for professional members; US$25 for student members; US$30 for early career professional members
Leader(s): Christine Siddoway; Liam Courtney-Davies; Rebecca Flowers; Anthony Fuentes
Endorser(s): GSA Geochronology Division; Colorado Scientific Society; GSA Sedimentary Geology Division; GSA Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, and Volcanology Division
Industry Track(s): Economic Geology; Energy; Engineering Geology; Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology
CEUs: 1.2
Date(s): Fri.–Sat., 9–10 Oct. 2026
Departing Location: Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado, USA
Start Time (first day): 12 p.m.
End Time (last day): 6 p.m.
Description: This 1.5-day field trip will visit the enigmatic Cryogenian (720–635 Ma) Tavakaiv sandstones along the beautiful Colorado Front Range, at locations just 45 to 90 minutes from the Denver Convention Center.
These unusual sandstones provide a rare terrestrial (on-continent) record of Snowball Earth conditions, occurring as sedimentary dikes hosted by Proterozoic basement rocks and as non-stratified siliciclastic ridges. Much of the preserved Snowball Earth record elsewhere formed within shallow marine environments, whereas this trip offers a glimpse into on-land glacial processes occurring within Neoproterozoic Rodinia.
Trip leaders will review a decade of work that points to a subglacial environment for sediment injection and the role of active faults as conduits for geothermal heat and mineralizing fluids. Field stops will include accessible examples such as dikes emplaced into bedrock immediately underlying the Great Unconformity erosional surface at Perry Park, a swarm of 0.5 m to several-meter-wide dikes and a sandstone ridge at Buffalo Creek, and a recently discovered >50 m long dike in Boulder Canyon.
Participants will learn about emerging approaches used to determine and refine the age, sedimentation processes, and paleolatitude of the dikes and ridges when Colorado was covered by thick ice sheets during the Cryogenian, as well as how these and other data help constrain the timing of erosion at the spatially associated Great Unconformity. This trip is ideal for participants interested in modern and ancient glacial processes, sedimentology, tectonics, and deep-time thermochronology.
Considerations: Three of the stops involve minimal to no hiking, as vehicles can park very close to roadcut outcrops on quiet roads and within open space areas next to dirt roads. One stop involves a strenuous hike up a slope of Boulder Canyon to follow a dike from canyon floor to ridge top (~300 feet elevation gain over ~1 km; sturdy shoes required). However, there is good road access to the endpoint of the hike, so attendees who prefer to be driven to the endpoint can opt out of the hike and rejoin discussions with the group at the ridgetop.
Restroom breaks will be provided at Sandstone Ranch Open Space and at gas stations along the route. Day 1 will include approximately 2 hours in a vehicle, while Day 2 will include no more than 4 hours (including time for possible traffic delays). Day 1 travel will be predominantly on freeways, while Day 2 will include stretches on more winding, higher-elevation roads through the Front Range.
Food (i.e., lunch and snacks) and water should be arranged by attendees and brought with them; additional water will be provided by trip leaders. Pickup and drop-off will be available at both the convention center and the airport (two pickup locations are offered to accommodate participants arriving on Friday). We can accommodate luggage for those arriving at the airport, and all participants will be dropped off at the convention center at the end of the trip.
Cost includes snacks, water, and ground transportation.
By purchasing this item, you are buying a seat for an in-person geological field trip. This field trip is in conjunction with GSA Connects 2026. Learn more here.
For member type discounts please contact fieldtrip@geosociety.org.
Students and Early Career Professionals can apply for funding here.
Field Trips offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs). One CEU equals 10 hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.
Please review these Field Safety Documents. You will be contacted to provide your consent to these forms after purchasing a field trip.
For additional information, please contact fieldtrip@geosociety.org.
Product Code: FT26CN405
Product Category: FTRIP
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