Hi there!! My name is Martin, and I'm thrilled to be a '27 blogger for People Places Pines! A small rural town in Maine called Veazie is where I call home, and I can't wait to tell you about what life at Dartmouth is like! Carving the slopes in the winter, hiking through woods in autumn, or basking in the Green in spring and summer, that's where you'll find me! Stay tuned for everything Big Green!
In this course, we covered all the basics of ecology: how organisms interact with each other and with their ecosystems. My favorite parts of the class were the labs: they took place outside and we explored ecological concepts around campus!
This course was on everything energy: how we use it, how we generate it, and how we can improve our current energy systems in light of climate change. We visited nearby energy systems, including Dartmouth's very own heating and energy facilities. This course was awesome!
This was a project-based class where we chose an important issue and then designed a solution, using the principles and methods we learned in class. My group made a smart trash can to make recycling easier!
A new course at Dartmouth, this class paired us with a community partner in the Upper Valley area, and we helped them develop and implement a real-world climate resilience project! In my case, that was modeling flood risk and potential solutions for a local business.
Sophomore summer! This course covered the basics of materials science, from quantum mechanics to the strength and performance of real-world materials. In also included a term-long project, where my group cast aluminum-silicon alloys and tested their properties.
Consisting of three geoscience-focused classes, "The Stretch" is Dartmouth's Earth Sciences study abroad program traversing from Banff, Canada to the Grand Canyon, Arizona. It was an amazing experience!
Visiting Volcanoes, The Grand Canyon, and… Other Planets: "The Stretch" at Dartmouth
This blog discusses the seventh and final segment of The Stretch—a field program offered by the Dartmouth Earth Sciences Department—so read my previous blogs if you're curious about other segments! The Stretch program is a ~10 week long traverse across the entire Western United States. The seventh segment known as the "Planetary Analogs Segment," explores volcanic and meteor impact sites on Earth (which we also see on other planets), and was an awesome wrap up to the Stretch program.
A picture of our group in Sedona, AZ during an "off" day.
Before we got into exploring planetary formations, we spent an "off" day visiting Sedona, AZ, to do some hiking in the beautiful red-rock area (see above). Our first major planetary visit was to a meteor impact site, one of the largest and most-well preserved in the entire world. Upon visiting the site, however, we learned we were also going to do a private rim-tour (walking around the entire crater while discussing its geology)—something otherwise strictly restricted for select individuals. However, it just so happens a Dartmouth alumni runs the visitor center, and offered to give us the full experience including the rim tour. You never know what the Dartmouth alumni network can do! At the rim, we learned about different types of impact sites. Our professor, Marisa Palucis, actually studied this very crater in depth for her PhD, and accordingly, is the expert on its formation and deposits.
Meteor crater, along with a lecture from our professor. My notes may be messy, but it's the idea that counts.
Once finished with meteor craters, we relocated to Flagstaff, AZ, where we spent the next several days visiting a recent volcanic eruption site (recent, in geology terms, means thousands of years ago). In groups, we spent the next two days hiking up volcanic cinder cones and learning about volcanic formations, processes, and deposits. Finally, we produced a map of the entire area and the types of volcanic "flows" it contained. This project also introduced us to GIS software and digital mapping, a refreshing change from our previous paper-and-pencil mapping.
A (crooked) selfie I took from the top of a volcano we visited.
Following our volcanic site visits, we relocated once more to a campsite in Grand Canyon National Park, where we would take part in the (optional) grand finale of The Stretch: a 20-mile long out-and-back traverse of the full grand canyon, starting at the very top and descending 5,000 feet down to the very bottom… and then all the way back up! The final assignment consisted of recording the geology of every layer we saw on our way down (and up).
A picture from our campsite at the Grand Canyon, the final few days of The Stretch.
Long described as one of the most breathtaking sites in the world, the Grand Canyon really is… grand. However, what makes this day and activity so special is that it connects everything you've learned on The Stretch. In the canyon, you'll see the formations (or sister formations) of nearly every geological unit and time period you've studied on The Stretch so far (apart from a key missing group, known as "The Great Unconformity," but that's a story for another day). The traverse is long and demanding, but you'll also practice the skills you've spent the last two months perfecting: the skills of a geologist. The Stretch, like all things that are so great, is incredibly challenging but equally rewarding.
Our final traverse into the Grand Canyon, taken about half-way down.
And with that, The Stretch came to an end. Ten weeks of exploring the American West, its geology, and all of its natural processes. It's thanks to Dartmouth and the Earth Sciences department that students can have such a deeply experiential learning environment, and if this sounds like something you would enjoy, perhaps Dartmouth and The Stretch is for you.
I've absolutely loved blogging about The Stretch and would be happy to answer more questions, so if you're curious about programs like The Stretch or others at Dartmouth, use the Connect With a Studentoption to learn even more from current students, or just read my previous blogs about the program!
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Gabe Brigham '26, a psychology and sociology double major, showed me around his dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
The Sierra Nevadas, Death Valley, and Yosemite. Mapping our surface and searching for the earliest evidence of life on the Earth Sciences study program. Read about it here.
