Department of Geology

Topics Covered in Courses

Glg 111: The Dynamic Earth

Cosmology and Birth of the Earth
The Earth’s Interior
Seafloor Spreading and Plate Tectonics
Minerals
Magma and Igneous Rocks
Volcanoes
Soil, Sediments, Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks
Earthquakes
Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building
Geologic Time and Earth History
Streams and Floods
Groundwater
Glaciers and Ice Ages

 

Glg 115L: Understanding the Earth

Composition of the Earth & Plate Tectonics
Mineral Properties and Identification
Igneous Rock Classification and Identification
Sedimentary Rocks, Processes, and Environments
Metamorphic Rocks
Geologic Time and Dating
Topographic Maps, Aerial Photographs, Satellite Images
Geologic Structures and Maps
Stream Processes and Landscapes
Groundwater Processes
Glacial Processes and Landforms
Eolian Processes and Landforms
Coastal Processes and Landforms
Earthquakes and Seismology
* not all processes may be covered

 

Glg 121: Environmental Geology

Earth and the Solar System
Geology and the Scientific Method
Population Issues
Minerals and Rocks
Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Streams and Flooding
Coastal Processes
Mass Wasting
Geology and Climate (Glacial, Desert, World Climate)
Water Resources
Water Pollution
Soil Resources
Impacts of Mining
Fossil Fuels

 

Glg 141: Geology of U.S. National Parks

History of National Parks
Geologic History of National Parks
Basic Geologic Principles
Climate
Water Cycle
Minerals and Rocks
Geologic Time
Rock Cycle
Weathering and Erosion
Folding and Faulting of Rocks
Formation of Igneous Rocks
Groundwater
Cave Formation
Coral Reef Formation
Mass Wasting
Continental and Alpine Glaciation
Volcanism
Thermal Features
Regional Geology
Complex Mountain Formation

Grand Canyon Inner Gorge, View of Great Unconformity above Pre-cambrian age metamorphic rocks.
(Photo courtesy of USGS)