About the Meeting
Get ready for the 121st GSA Cordilleran Section meeting in Sacramento, California, USA! Sacramento, located on
the land of the Nisenan people, is rooted in history
as the heart of the 1849 Gold Rush and terminus of the transcontinental railroad. Today,
as California’s capital and the “City of Trees,” it is at the center of our discussion on how
to manage our limited geologic and hydrological resources.
Sacramento lies at the intersection of rock, water, and society. To the east lies the
majestic Sierra Nevada, with its granite batholith intruding ancient island arcs, deeply
incised canyons holding massive reservoirs, and the environmental legacy of gold
mining. To the west is the Coast Range, built from ophiolite and subducted rock, cut by
the active faults of the San Andreas system, and now generating geothermal energy
from recent volcanism. The city itself, build on the floodplain of the Sacramento River, is
now safeguarded by dams and levees that channel millions of gallons of water into the
Delta and onward into the California Aqueduct.
We hope that this meeting will serve as a forum where academia, government, the
private sector, and geoscience enthusiasts can come together to discuss the earth and
society. We especially encourage students from community college through graduate
school, along with their future employers, to attend.