From 9:00 am to 11:00 am we'll cover the Map Reading and Compass portion of the training. You'll learn how to take a compass bearing and adjust for magnetic declination, how to triangulate your position on a map using compass bearings, and a few other useful skills.

The 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm portion will be all about how to use a GPS with a topographic map. In the classroom, we'll discuss waypoints, datums, plot coordinates on a map, and show you how to set up your GPS. Then we'll go outside and put your GPS navigational skills to work.

You can attend the morning session, the afternoon session, or both - the choice is yours, but we highly recommend that you take both sessions.

Classes will be held at the USGS Map Sales area, Building 810, at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, CO. Enter the Federal Center at Gate 1 on Kipling just north of Alameda. Have your identification readily available for the guard at the gate and follow the signs to USGS Map Sales. Remember, firearms and pets are not allowed on the Federal Center.