Explore Earth in Argentina
Location: Buenos Aires, Mendoza and other smaller towns along an East-West transect of the country that takes you from the Pampas Plains to the Andes Mounains in the boundary with Chile.
Purpose: The Program focuses on the human impact on the physical environment caused by the prospection, development and use of Earth's Resources within the context of natural change through geologic time. Participation in the program will help students realize that Earth is and has always been a very dynamic planet and that even though geologic processes are not affected by political boundaries, how people adapt, react and relate to their physical environment is determined to a large extent by their cultural, social-economic and political surroundings. The areas in which students will be able to make comparisons are multiple: mass wasting and earthquake prone areas and building codes, development in floodplains, waste disposal, mining and land reclamation, mitigation and adjustment measures related to disruptions by development. Spanish language, taught in a Spanish speaking country, contributes to the immersion in the Argentinean culture.
Sample Excursions: Some of the excursions include visit to a winery in Mendoza, dinner and tango show in Buenos Aires, visit to local arts and crafts markets, tour of Buenos Aires downtown, a day at a "estancia" (a ranch) to enjoy barbecue, horseback riding and typical songs and dances, visit to archeological sites viewing pictographs and petrogliphs left behind by the primitive inhabitants of the region, visit to Talampaya National Park and Ischigualasto Provincial Park, the latter designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its rich early dinosaur and mammalian fauna.
