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ABOUT THE SOCIETY:

The Geological Society of the Oregon Country is based in Portland, Oregon. The Society was organized in 1935 with Dr. Edwin T. Hodge, geology professor at the University of Oregon, as its first president. Dr. Hodge made special trips to Portland to conduct classes in the fundamentals of geology.  Many of these students became charter members of the Society.

The Oregon Country includes the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming west of the Continental Divide (see map).

Membership in the Society is open to everyone, ranging from persons who have a professional interest in geology, to those with a casual interest in geology.

The aims and objectives of the Society are:

  1. To provide facilities and leadership for members of the Society to study geology, particularly the geology of the Oregon Country.
  2. To establish and maintain a library of geological publications.
  3. To support and promote geologic study and research, and to designate, preserve, and interpret the important geologic features of the Oregon Country.
ACTIVITIES AND MEMBER BENEFITS:

The Society conducts one evening program the second Friday of each month except March, August, and September at 8:00 p.m., Room S-17, Cramer Hall, SW Broadway at SW Mill St., Portland State University. These programs are presented by experts in the geologic field. For information on upcoming lectures, refer to the web schedule or newsletter.

The geology seminar is held on the third Wednesday of each month, except June, July and August, at 8:00 p.m., in Room S-17, Cramer Hall, Portland State University. The seminar is where members study Oregon Country geology. The Society members' library in Cramer Hall is open one half-hour before each evening meeting for members to browse and borrow books. For information on the seminar, call Tara Schoffstall at 503/513-6925.

Field trips are conducted monthly during the summer months, and are announced in the Society's newsletter and the web schedule. The President's Field Trip, held once per year in the late summer or early fall,  lasts 3 to 7 days. Transportation and accommodation arrangements are announced prior to each trip.

The annual banquet is held in March in lieu of the evening program. The annual picnic is held in August, and details for each are announced in the monthly newsletter that each member receives.

The members of the Society receive a monthly newsletter which contains announcements, geology articles, and background information for the field trips. Guidebooks of the Presidents' Field Trips are also published by the Society, and are available to be purchased.

The Society has established and contributes an annual $800 scholarship to the Portland State University Geology Department for research by a student or students who are geology majors at Portland State University.

Non-members are welcome at all Society functions, including lectures, banquet, geology seminars, and field trips.

A membership application can be obtained by clicking here or writing to: The Geological Society of the Oregon Country, PO Box 907, Portland, OR 97207. Yearly membership dues are:

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