Geology Fieldwork in Israel, March 2008
Mark A. Wilson (Wooster Geology Professor) and Elyssa Belding (Wooster Junior Geology Major)

Our March 2008 trip to Israel was for the Junior and Senior Independent Study fieldwork of Elyssa Belding in the Department of Geology at The College of Wooster. It was also part of a growing program of research in the Jurassic of Israel by Mark Wilson and his students. The trip was supported by the Sherm Wengerd Endowment for Geological Field Research. We had very generous assistance from the Geological Survey of Israel, especially from our friends Dr. Amihai Sneh, Dr. Moshe Goldberg, and Dr. Yoav Avni.

This webpage is designed to show the viewer highlights of our continuing adventure in Israel, and to serve as an organizing point for our digital photographs. Click on each date for that day's worth of photos; a favorite from each day is linked in the text:

March 11: First full day in Makhtesh Gadol in the northern Negev Desert. Look at the size of the fossil snails!
March 12: All day in the Jurassic of Makhtesh Gadol with occasional spring flowers.
March 13: More fieldwork at the northeastern end of Makhtesh Gadol, with surprising rain at the end of the day.
March 14: Continued fieldwork in the same area, with a visit to the ancient town of Avdat at the end of the day.
March 15: Our Shabbat trip to Eilat via a highway down the border with Egypt. Also the geological park of Timna.
March 16: Sunday in Jerusalem at the Israeli Geological Survey and then a tour of the Old City.
March 17: A dusty St. Patrick's Day in the southwestern makhtesh with the stratigraphic legend Mossik Goldberg.
March 18: A long walk through the Matmor Formation facies from southwest to northeast.
March 19: Last field day spent in the northwest makhtesh. Mapped faults and excellent talus from sponge reefs.
March 20: Last day in Israel spent at the ancient cities of Shivta and Nizana on the border with Sinai.

You can also view photographs of the 2004 expedition to Israel with Kevin Wolfe and Allison Mione, the 2005 fieldwork in Israel with Jeff Bowen, and the 2007 Israel trip with Meredith Sharpe and Sophie Lehmann. Images from Mark Wilson's first visit to Israel in 2003 are also available.