A nonprofit organization for promoting the scientific and educational aspects of geology through monthly meetings, field trips, publications, scholarships and awards.
Our Next Meeting
February 25, 2026 (joint mtg with SF Chapter of the AEG)
Danielle Madugo, California Geological Survey —
A Newly Identified Creeping Strand of the Concord Fault
Talks to come:
March 25, 2026
Jeremey Lancaster, State Geologist of California —
Post-Fire Geohazard Risk Management in California’s Warming Climate
April 29, 2026
Dr. James Faulds, Nevada State Geologist —
Keeping Nevada in Hot Water: Unleashing the Full Geothermal Potential of the Great Basin Region
May 27, 2026 (dinner meeting)
Dr. Peter Roopnarine, Cal Academy of Sciences —
Everything Changes but Remains the Same: Persistent and Repeating Ecosystems in Earth’s History
News
NCGS members will recall our field trip in October 2024 on the historic Amador Central Railroad through the Sierra foothills. The trip will happen again on March 28.
California Geological Survey scientist Jim Wood says, “The railroad cuts give an unprecedented view to the complex geology of this transect through the Foothills metamorphic belt. We’ll make many stops so as not to miss any unique geologic features. Some outcrops are up to a mile long!” Register here.
NCGS has awarded Richard Chambers Memorial Scholarships to two postgraduate candidates:
Nancy Carman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the proposal “Redox-Driven Mineral Evolution in Lassen’s Hydrothermal System: Seasonal Controls on Active Surface Alteration” under advisor Dr. Lindsay McHenry.
Gwyneth Chilcoat of the University of California, Davis for the proposal “Reconstructing Shellfish Communities of the Holocene San Francisco Bay” under advisor Dr. Tessa Hill.
We award $2000 grants for research projects in or near Northern California. The application period for the 2027 scholarships will be announced in the fall of this year.
The new year brings opportunities for you to offer your skills and energy to the NCGS as our officer positions open up. We’re eager to find candidates for President-Elect, a position that leads to President in the following year. Speak to one of us at our next meeting!
Two NCGS members have books published by Heyday Books, in Berkeley. Gary Prost‘s Rocks and Riches introduces selected California geology sites that everyone should visit. Order it here. Andrew Alden‘s Deep Oakland: How Geology Shaped a City offers residents and visitors a new dimension to this iconic California city. Order it here.
The U.S. Geological Survey has released a new comprehensive, interactive geologic map of the contiguous United States. See the map here and read the USGS announcement here.
Our May Speaker, Walter Alvarez, gave a lucid personal picture of his wild surmise that a Pliocene inland sea once occupied the middle of the Sahara. He published a drier version <2 years ago in this open-access paper in the Journal of African Earth Sciences.
A camera in Myanmar recorded the March 28th magnitude 7.8 earthquake as it moved the ground by several meters. The YouTube video is amazing, and it’s explained in great depth at the Earthquake Insights Substack.
Become a Member
Our meetings are held each month from September to June (except December), usually on the last Wednesday. Here are details.
When you attend our meetings you’ll be the first to learn about upcoming speakers, field trips and outreach activities. You’ll also receive the monthly NCGS newsletter, full of interesting articles on geoscience topics. Learn more.
During the heavy Covid-19 period, we were broadcasting our meetings via Zoom. Recorded talks have been posted on our YouTube channel, @NCGS1000. We discontinued the broadcasts in September 2024.
Listen and talk back to us on social media: Bluesky and Facebook.
