PREFACE

A National Association of Geoscience Teachers Far Western Section (NAGT-FWS)
field conference is an ideal forum for learning about the geology and natural history of
the San Francisco Bay area. We visit classic field sites, renew old friendships, and make
new ones. This collection of papers includes field guides and road logs for all of the Bayarea trips held during the NAGT-FWS 2001 Fall Field Conference and supplemental
chapters on other aspects of the area’s natural and human history. The trips touch on
many aspects of the geology and natural hazards of the Bay area, especially urban
problems associated with living on an active tectonic plate margin: earthquake faults,
coastal erosion, landslides, and the utilization of land and natural resources. We hope
this conference not only provides a two-day learning opportunity for conference participants
but that students and educators will use this field guidebook for future teaching
and research.

Many thanks are due to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and San José State
University (SJSU) for cohosting the conference. We are grateful to each of the field trip
leaders for preparing the trips and writing the accompanying guides. We especially
appreciate the many hours put in by the guidebook reviewers, Robert I. Tilling (USGS)
and Paula Messina (SJSU), and to the USGS Western Publications Group for editing,
layout, and web posting. Additional guidebook contributions include articles by John
Galloway, Scott Starratt, Page Mosier, and Susan Toussaint. During the conference
guest speakers include Robert I. Tilling (USGS Volcano Hazards Team) and Ross Stein
(USGS Earthquake Hazards Team). Workshops prepared for the conference include GIS
in the classroom, using USGS data by John Vogel (USGS) and Paula Messina (SJSU), and
The Best of BAESI (Bay Area Earth Science Institute), a teacher training organization
under the direction of Ellen Metzger (SJSU) and Richard Sedlock (SJSU). The conference
provides an opportunity to showcase USGS scientific and education resources with
self-guided tours of the USGS Library, the Earth Science Information Center (ESIC), the
Visitor Center, and various laboratories on the USGS campus and includes a half-day
participatory tour of the USGS research vessel the R/V Polaris and the USGS Marine
Facility at the Port of Redwood City under the direction of Cynthia L. Brown, Francis
Parchaso, and Tara Schraga. Beyond the names mentioned above, a host of USGS and
SJSU staff, SJSU students, and NAGT-FWS members contributed to the preparation and
orchestration of the conference. We couldn’t have done it alone.

Leslie C. Gordon (USGS), Philip W. Stoffer (USGS), and Deborah Harden (SJSU)
NAGT-FWS 2001 Fall Field Conference Organizers