Williams Lake Hosts Geology Research

The Williams Lake property over the years has proven to be an excellent place for geological research. The unique land around Williams land allows students to map out what they’ve learned and see it applied in the real world. Watch our video of Project Manager Tim Allred elaborating on the benefits of geology research at Williams Lake.

Williams Lake Geology Research in Rosendale, NY: Video Transcription

Professor: And that makes this a very asymmetrical fault.

Female student: It’s what we see in the textbooks, and to our real life

First male student: And it puts us into a position where we’re comfortable to get a job afterwards.

Tim Allred: Hi this is Tim Allred, Project Manager for the Williams Lake Project. Geologists have been studying the Williams Lake Site since the 19th century. In the past 5 years, the project has continued the tradition of making the unique geology of the site available for research and teaching.

Professor: The Students have had a basic introduction to the field area and we’ve looked at the sections of rock that we’re going to be mapping, and today is the first day that they’re going out in individual, small groups and basically doing detail mapping to fill in the information they need for overall geologic map and cross-sections of this area.

Tim Allred: We have also received multiple universities/ researchers for bat ecology research. Bat biologists have conducted leading edge research at Williams Lake related to White Nose Syndrome. Researchers have come from Boston University, University of Illinois, Fordham University, the New York State department of environmental conservation and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Williams lake project has hosted two local symposia on White Nose Syndrome in Rosendale to share current research directly with the Rosendale community.

Some of the colleges and universities that have visited the site in recent years includes: SUNY New Paltz, Vassar College, Wesleyan University, Columbia University, Hofstra University and Bard College among many others. In all cases, we facilitate field access to students and researchers; in some cases we provide teaching classrooms and accommodations for overnight visits.

Professor: This is a west limb of a plunging anti-climb and the beds are dipping rather steeply, an axis of 45 degrees here, and they mapped the east limb and the east limb is dipping much more gently, and that makes this a very asymetrical fault.

Female Student: It’s very complex, because they have a lot of fault lines and we can actually see fault axises and really see what we see in the textbooks into our real life.

First Male Student: So far we’re learning how to map an area and he said that Rosendale is the best place because it encounters a lot of faults and faults, and if you can map this area you can map any other place in the world so this actually turns us into geologists and it puts us into a position where we’re comfortable to get a job afterwards.

Tim Allred: The land here is unique and provides a rich environment for research.

Second male student: I learned all the basics in geology, and now I have to apply them in the field. This is a very complex area, Rosendale, because of the mining that imprecated faulting made it so complex.

First male student: I think this a great chance, a very great chance, to learn and apply all the basics in geology

Tim Allred: In their continued efforts to balance responsible development with environmental mindfulness, The Williams Lake Project is committed to making this special piece of land available to scientific study for as long as researchers find it valuable.