Annual Field Trip & Meeting

Our 2026 Trip will be an exciting and unique adventure lead by
Will Doar (South Carolina Geological Survey), Katie Luciano (South Carolina Geological Survey), and Till Hanebuth (Coastal Carolina University)

Field Trip Description

Human interactions with the coastal environment range from beach-focused tourism to engineering structures to control waves, tides, and sand. The dynamic nature of coastlines past and present create unique opportunities for geological studies.

Friday Evening

Welcome, networking, registration and the Annual CGS business meeting will take place at the Crooked Hammock Brewery in the Beer Garden (4924 Hwy 17 S North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582) from 5:00 pm -to- 8:00 pm.  This is ~5 minute drive from the hotel.

Saturday – Full Day Trip

The full-day field trip on Saturday will focus on modern coastal processes, Quaternary geomorphological elements, and the consequences resulting from the common, rapid urbanization along the Grand Strand area (Cherry Grove, North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Garden City). Participants will visit and observe natural coastal geomorphic features including barrier island, tidal inlets, marsh systems, shoaling issues, ebb-tidal deltas, and overwash deposits at Hog Inlet (Cherry Grove) at the north end of the Grand Strand. We will also discuss the impacts of storm surges and hurricanes on such an integrated coastal system.

These observations will be contrasted with a visit to a highly engineered beach (Garden City) at the southern end of the Grand Strand. Here, the very visible effects of jetties, seawalls, groins, dune restoration, and beach nourishment, in combination with infrastructure and homes built on a narrow barrier island, will be discussed. With a rising sea level, and with each major storm leading to progressive coastal erosion, we will explore how that barrier island system collides with the stationary infrastructure in its effort to restore a natural balance between ocean forces and the shape of the coastline.

The trip will also include brief stops at historical sinkholes and active Quaternary inland dunes in the Cherry Grove/North Myrtle Beach area. The sinkholes are the result of dissolution of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene carbonates and Ingram Dunes are the last non-developed inland dunes in the Grand Strand.

This trip will not require extensive walking but may include walking on loose sand.

Sunday – Two Half Day Trip Options

Option 1 – Half Day Boat Trip (Limited to 50 Participants)

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW/AIWW) cut (locally known as “The Ditch”) from Little River, SC to Socastee, SC, was completed by 1938 by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It cuts through successions of later Pleistocene coastal deposits at the surface and, in some stretches, may cut into lower Pliocene carbonates below water level.  Since the 1950’s, various researchers have studied, described, geochronologically dated, and published work from many exposures along this section of the ICW. Recent geological mapping and geochronology have refined the stratigraphic context.

We will visit 2 locations, on opposite banks of the ICW, adjacent to the North Myrtle Beach Airport (formerly known as the Windy Hill airfield/airport). The inland bank provides approximately 100m of semi-continuous exposure of late Pleistocene transgressive deposits. The seaward bank provides several 10m wide exposures of the same deposits, allowing the attendees to visualize the section in close to 3-dimensions. The deposits are Marine Isotope Stage 7 (MIS-7; 245-190 ka) to early Holocene and contain abundant estuarine, coastal, and offshore macrofossils, and estuarine, shoreface, and eolian paleo-environments.

This half-day trip requires access by boat (approximately a 25-minute ride one-way), with the possibility of shallow wading to access different parts of the exposures, walking along the coast and getting in and out of the boat. Field gear (sample bags for fossils, water, snacks, long sleeves) and boots or water shoes are suggested.

Option 2 – Half Day Quarry Trip 

A half-day field trip to the Red Bluff Quarry near Hammond, SC will take participants inland to experience a working rock quarry. Like most rock quarries in northeastern South Carolina, the target of this quarry is the upper Goose Creek Limestone (upper Zanclean, lower Pliocene; 5.3-3.6 Ma). Over 850 species of mollusks have been found, including many small species, along with many other marine invertebrates and rare vertebrate material. Section is exposed along a ditch in the back of the quarry, which provides a chance to see the lower Waccamaw Formation (early Pleistocene; 2.5-1.8 Ma) with various beds in place.  There are also easily accessible spoil piles representing various beds in the lower Waccamaw Formation as well as the overlying late Pleistocene deposits. The mollusk fauna includes many unusual or unique elements, not common at other lower Waccamaw Formation sites. Several species of large scallop are particularly common, as are deeper-burrowing bivalves, and irregular echinoids are often well-preserved.

Access to this quarry is by special permission from the SC Rock Company and the Griste family.  Minimal walking is required, but participants should be prepared to walk in potentially muddy conditions. This half-day trip REQUIRES hard hats, protective-toed shoes, high-visibility vests, and safety glasses.

Accommodations

Fairfield Inn – Myrtle Beach North – $129 per Night

10231 N Kings Hwy #17, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572

Last Day to Book – Wednesday, Sep 30th!

Book the CGS Group Rate for Oct 2026 Field Trip

Parking

Parking at the Fairfield Inn Myrtle Beach North is available for overnight guests only.  See map for additional parking options at the mall across from the hotel.

Friday night dinner will be at the Crooked Hammock Brewery – about a 5 minute drive (see map in map inset) – please consider carpooling.