About SCGS
The South Coast Geological Society (SCGS) is one of the oldest and most active geological societies in California. Originating in the early 70’s, the founders of this society encouraged a casual environment where industry professionals could gather, network and share their latest research and theories. Through the years, we have grown in membership and meeting venues have changed to accommodate that growth.
We currently meet at Dave & Buster’s in Orange, California for our monthly meetings where we host a meal and a lecture presentation. Meetings are usually held on the first Monday of the month. Meeting location and days sometimes vary so be sure to check this website for updates. SCGS members are typically persons in geologic professions living and/or working in Orange County & San Diego County, California. Membership includes all disciplines, ranging from hydrogeologists, geotechnical engineers, petroleum geologists, mining geologists, environmental geologists, college professors, students and others. We are a society run by volunteers, with the purpose of sharing geologic ideas and fellowship during monthly meetings and an annual field trip.
An annual field trip is organized each year in the fall. These trips produce our renowned guide books each year and showcase the geology and our routes for those trips. If you weren’t able to catch the actual field trip, you can recreate that trip by following the instructions provided in the books minus the live talks, crowds & caravans. We currently have 43 road books available and they can be purchased on our publications page, at our meetings, or at the Nevada Mineral & Book Company in Tustin.
Being a non-profit organization, we operate from donations and corporate sponsorships, hard-working volunteers and a dedicated membership. Many of our members have dutifully supported this community by serving as officers to ensure the society’s growth. Some of our members have received recognition as honorary members due to their extended contributions to the society. This society is purely driven by the passion and devotion of its members for the geosciences.
Company sponsorship is encouraged and vital to our success. Sponsorships fund our guidebook publication, offset the food and supply costs for the annual field trip and our monthly meetings, and provide our educational scholarship program. Our 4-tier sponsorship program is designed to make it easy to contribute at a level that you are comfortable with. Your donations are greatly appreciated, but please don’t forget to participate as we always have a great time.
We promote growth in the industry by stimulating students to showcase their research. Poster sessions are held by colleges and sponsored by the SCGS. Our goal is to motivate student interest by providing awards that are distributed to winners of multiple categories. SCGS also hosts a poster session meeting in November showcasing some of the best research we saw over the year, winners will be announced and awards will be given. To encourage student membership and participation, the student membership dues are reduced, and dinner costs are reduced for all professors and students attending a meeting. We would again like to thank our corporate sponsors for providing us the ability to do this.
We are always accepting new membership applications. Please sign up on our newsletter page to receive a membership form or email us at scgs.mgmt@gmail.com. Membership is free for students and $35 for professionals.