updated: 11 / 17
Information for the included class notes was obtained from a variety of geologic sources. Before investing too many grains of salt in any of the following information, please bear in mind Strickler's 1st Law of GeoFantasy, and the reality that Geology is a rapidly evolving science. The majority of the quotes are from "the book" - any one of several dozen quite reputable geologic sources (it's the stuff without quotes which is mine and therefore highly suspect).
Geology 101: Fall term
Orientation and Introduction to the Earth and Time
Geologic Time and the Relative Time Scale
Beginnings - overview of reality and the origin of the universe
The Earth - an overview concerning the origins of its structure, gasses, water, and life
Accumulation and differentiation of the earth
Origin & evolution of the crust
Origin of the atmosphere and hydrosphere
How does God fit into all this? (Divine vs. Natural processes)
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
Continental Drift: Introduction
Divergent Plate Boundaries (from GPHS notes)
Convergent Plate Boundaries (from GPHS notes)
Evolution and Morphology of the Seafloor
Plate Tectonics and the Seafloor
Earthquakes and the Earth's Interior
Occurrence and Causes of Earthquakes
Seismic Waves and the Earth's Interior
The Cascadia Subduction Zone : a group activity
Matter and Minerals
Chemical properties of minerals
Click here for online mineral and rock ID charts
Magma and Igneous Rocks
Put it all together: Classification
Click here for online mineral and rock ID charts
Volcanology
Structural Geology
Introduction to crustal stress
Directed stress and crustal deformation
Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, and Pluton
Factors affecting magma generation
Click here for more on elements and minerals common to the major magma types
Click here for more on magma and igneous rocks
Click here for a summary of plate boundaries
Geology 102: Winter term
Sedimentary Processes and Rocks
Origin of Sedimentary Materials
Classification of sedimentary rocks
Click here for online mineral and rock ID charts
Metamorphic Processes and Rocks
Factors involved in the metamorphic process
Metamorphic environments and rocks
The realms of dynamo-thermal metamorphism
Click here for online mineral and rock ID charts
Introduction to Water and Surface Processes
Water in the Atmosphere and the Transfer of Thermal Energy
Weathering of Rock at the Surface of the Earth
Erosion
Classification of Mass Movements
Streams and Stream Dynamics
Velocity, Channel Morphology, and Discharge
Humans and the Rational Use of Streams
Click here for a list of vocabulary associated with this topic
Groundwater
Occurrence and Movement of Groundwater
Geological Role of Groundwater
Click here for a list of vocabulary associated with this topic
Geology 103: Spring term
Glaciers
Arid Lands
Oceanography
Economic Geology
Introduction to Historical Geology
Pre-Cambrian History
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