Albuquerque’s Mountains, the Sandia Mountains, are very special. They are not part of the Rocky Mountains. Geologically, they formed in a completely different way and much more recently than did the Rockies.  And they have some very interesting geological stories to tell once we begin to “read the record” in their rocks and their landscape. This presentation will discuss the formation of our mountains, their rocks, fossils, and mineral wealth, and why the view from Albuquerque and the East Mountains is so different.

Jayne Aubele is a geologist and senior educator for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. She has worked as a field geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey mapping the geology in the southwestern U.S. and for NASA remotely exploring the geology of Mars, Venus, and the Moon.
 
Her extensive publications include scientific papers and geologic maps, curricula/materials for teachers of all grade levels, and chapters in books including Volcanoes of North America, The Geology of Mars, and the Field Guide to the Sandia Mountains. She has taught earth science and space science to K through graduate students, K-12 teachers, and the adult public. She was an invited author for entries on “Comparative Planetology” and “Earth” (McMillan Encyclopedia) and for a publication about “Geoscience in Natural History Museums in the 21st Century.” She was technical advisor and on-air geologist for the PBS program, “The Sandias.” 
 
Prior to coming to the Museum she worked as a research scientist at Brown University, working with both U.S. and Russian planetary missions to Venus, and was a Program Manager for NASA’s Statewide Space Grant Program. She is Past-Chair of the GSA Planetary Geology Division, Past-President of the New Mexico Academy of Science and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

This announcement can be found at https://friendsofthesandias.org. Please use the link there if you experience difficulties joining the meeting (as happened last month). Zoom engineers continue to research what caused the problem. Many thanks to those of you who provided me feedback and screenshots.

Presentations from the April 5 and May 3 meetings are available at https://friendsofthesandias.org/current-events/.