Herbert Hoover National Historic Site Will Host a Lecture Series on Geology in the National Parks

Date: September 11, 2012
Contact: Adam Prato, [phone]

WEST BRANCH, IOWA- In recognition of President Herbert Hoover's interest in geology and conservation, Dr. Richard Baker will present a series of four lectures about geology in our national parks, focusing on Yellowstone (October 24), Grand Canyon (November 14), Glacier (January 23), and Dinosaur and Badlands (February 27). Dr. Baker is a professor emeritus in the Geoscience Department at the University of Iowa. He completed his doctorate research at Yellowstone National Park. He has traveled to many of our national parks and has taught a course on them at the University of Iowa. The lecture series is free and meets at the visitor center of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Before he became famous as a humanitarian and later as President of the United States, Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover graduated from Stanford University with degrees in geology. Herbert Hoover turned his formal education into a successful career as a mining engineer and wrote books and articles about mining. The two Hoovers even translated from Latin the 16th century mining book De Re Metallica, published one hundred years ago in 1912. Herbert Hoover also enjoyed outdoor recreation and valued conservation of natural resources. During Hoover's presidency from 1929 to 1933, the size of our national forests expanded by more than two million acres and the land area of our national parks and monuments increased by 40 percent.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch, Iowa at exit 254 off I-80. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Parking is limited so please allow extra time to find a parking space. For more information go online at www.nps.gov/heho or call [phone].