Department of Geology

Course Descriptions

Geology 111: The Dynamic Earth (3)
Earth as a geophysical-geochemical unit and its internal and external processes. Formation of minerals and their relationships in rocks. Earth stresses and rock deformation, mountain building, and earthquakes. Geomorphic (landscape) evolution by mass wasting and wave, stream, wind, ground water, glacial, and volcanic activity.

Geology 115L: Understanding the Earth (1)
Laboratory course exploring Earth from multiple perspectives. Earth in the solar system; Earth in time; the solid Earth; Earth's surface in flux; Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere. Emphasis on use of computers in exploring geologic phenomena. Prerequisite or corequisite: GLG 111 or 121 or 141 (students enrolled in these courses are not required to take the lab).

Geology 121: Environmental Geology (3)
Geologic hazards and human interaction with the geologic environment, including flooding, earthquakes, volcanoes, and land-use planning.

Geology 141: Geology of U.S. National Parks (3)
Explains geologic features of national parks and other public lands in the context of current scientific thinking about structure and geologic evolution of North America.

View of Mount St. Helens, March 2006
(Photo courtesy of Cascades Volcano Observatory, USGS)