page_title: Philmont Scout Ranch
section_title: Astronaut training
hierarchical_section_title: Philmont Scout Ranch / Astronaut training
caption_attribution_description: English: Astronaut Training at Philmont in June 1964
context_page_description: Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, near the village of Cimarron; it covers 140,177 acres of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America. It is a National High Adventure Base where crews of Scouts and Venturers take part in backpacking treks and other outdoor activities. By land area, it is one of the largest youth camps in the world. During the season, between June 8 and August 22, an estimated 22,000 Scouts and adult leaders backpack through the Ranch's extensive backcountry. More than 1,130 seasonal staff are responsible for the Ranch's summer operations.
  Philmont is also home to the Philmont Training Center, the National Scouting Museum and the Seton Memorial Library. The Training Center is the primary location for BSA's national volunteer training programs. Philmont is a working ranch, maintaining small herds of cattle, horses, burros, and bison.
  The only documented Tyrannosaurus rex track in the world was discovered within the camp's boundaries in 1993 in North Ponil Canyon by the Anasazi Trail Camp.
context_section_description: NASA and the USGS used the site to geologically train the Apollo Astronauts in June 1964.  In the words of Phinney, the site was "...probably more like lunar geology."  Training included recognizing "both igneous and sedimentary rocks, orientation with geologic maps, measuring and describing stratigraphic sections, strike and dip measurements, recording of field notes ... and geophysical traverses that included taking measurements with magnetometers, gravimeters and seismometers in an attempt to determine subsurface structure."  Astronauts who would use this training on the Moon included Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 12's Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, Apollo 15's David Scott, and Apollo 17's Gene Cernan.  Notable geologist instructors included G.D. Robinson.
caption: Astronaut Training at Philmont in June 1964
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