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Geography, Geology offer travel study course


The tropical rainforest.

A place most of us will never get a chance to enjoy first hand.

That is…until this summer.

The Geography and Geology Departments are teaming up and giving students a chance to tour Belize and the surrounding areas.

The 11 day trip, which will depart from Memphis and arrive in Belize City on May 10th, will offer students a chance to earn six credit hours, three in Geography and three in Geology.

The first third of the trip will find the travelers exploring Belize and Mexico, following Rio Hondo River on the Mexican side to study Chicxulub ejacta material, and seeing the Lamani Mayan Sites and Albion Island.

The second part will include visiting the Mayan ruins of Xunatunich and Cahel Pech, studying the geology and ecology of the Maya Mountains, and exploring the Cham Chi Ha Cave on Morales farm.

The last leg of the trip will have a stop in Tikal to see the Mennonite settlements, and visiting Caye Caulker Island to go scuba diving and snorkeling to study the geology, reef ecology and island tourism.

The trip will wrap up on May 21st and depart from Belize city and return to Memphis.

The cost of the trip, which includes air, lodging, ground transportation and fees, is $1,900.

According to the travel course brochure, the trip is a chance to “examine remants of the tropical rainforest, collect fossils and rocks, snorkel on the barrier reef, sand flats, and grass beds, and closely examine mangrove swamps.”

“Last trip we were down (in Caracol, Belize),” said Geography professor Helmut Wenz, “they had just opened up a 1000-year-old tomb. We were the first people other than the archeologists to see it. We got to smell the first air coming out. It was a once in a lifetime experience.”

Wenz wants people to know that the trip is open to all UTM students and members of the community. Graduate and undergraduate credit can be given. Also, travelers can get diver certified while on the trip.

To sign up, or for more information, contact Helmut Wenz at ext. 7438 or hwenz@utm.edu; Michael Gibson, ext. 7435, mgibson@utm.edu; or Mark Futrell at (731)394-2281.