Geology Field Camp

About the program

Stony Brook University offers a four-week long geology field camp in the Turkana Basin of Kenya. Located in the remote northwestern corner of the country, the Turkana Basin occupies a sag in the East African Rift between the Kenyan and Ethiopian domes. The Cenozoic sediments that have filled this sag contain some of the most important hominid fossils, as well as fossils of the animals that lived alongside them. The lacustrine, fluvial, and alluvial sedimentary layers are intercalated with ashes and basalts which can be dated and provide traceable, basin-wide horizons. Faults with various offsets are found throughout the basin.

During this field camp you will visit renowned fossil localities where stratigraphic sections and mapping projects can be tied into these records. The program will be based at the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) facility on the Turkwel River near the town of Lodwar. We will examine modern fluvial and lacustrine processes and relate them to the strata filling this active extensional basin. In addition to mapping and stratigraphic column projects, students will visit locations with igneous rocks, both on the Central Island within Lake Turkana, and within an area where columnar basalts are found in archeological sites.

Program & Tuition Fees

The current details on the program and tuition fees are accessible on Stony Brook University’s website.

Additional Costs

Academic Excellence Fee, College Fee, Airfare, visa, immunizations, and personal expenses are not included in the program fee. Flight information will be released to accepted applicants. Costs are subject to change at any point.