What better place could there be to study geology than in the Bahamas?   Quaternary rocks, covering the islands, provide evidence of the sediment-to-rock process; shallow subtidal shelf environments and coral reefs hold within them ancient stories that continue to be discovered; and lagoons, beaches, dunes and salt-water lakes contain diverse carbonate sediment-producing environments and yield keys to the fragile ecosystem of the Bahamian Islands.

GEO 150/350, “Geology of the Bahamas,” is a field-oriented course to examine the biology and geology of modern and ancient reef environments and natural history of the surrounding coastal areas of the Bahamas.  The Gerace Research Center on San Salvador Island serves as the main headquarters.  Since it is fairly remote and has had limited development, students gain access to a culture not found on larger tourist islands, and the coral reefs there are in very good condition.