Please note: This is not a course syllabus. A course syllabus is unique to a particular section of a course by instructor. This curriculum guide provides general information about a course.
Through the lens of America’s national parks and monuments, this course examines the fundamental geologic processes that have shaped the incredible scenery of America’s national parks and monuments. The course explores plate tectonics, the rock cycle, mountain building processes, volcanism, stream and glacial erosion, and other processes responsible for sculpting these unique areas. With an emphasis on landscape interpretation and understanding natural processes, this course focuses on parks and monuments of the western U.S.
Course Content
· Introduction to the National Park System
· How science works
· Basic geology concepts
o Geologic Time
§ Relative and absolute dating
o Rocks and the Rock Cycle
o Plate Tectonics
· Sedimentary Rocks: deposition and erosion
o Parks: Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands
· Fossils and fossilization
o Parks: Dinosaur, Hagerman Fossil Beds, Petrified Forest
· Volcanoes: magma, volcano types, rocks, and processes
o Parks: Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Yellowstone, Hawaii Volcanoes, Craters of the Moon, Crater Lake, Devils Tower
· Mountain Building: processes, structures, landforms
o Parks: Grand Teton, Death Valley, Great Basin, Rocky Mountain
· Glaciers: processes and landforms
o Parks: Glacier Bay, Yosemite, Glacier
· Groundwater: processes and landforms
o Parks: Carlsbad Caverns, Wind Cave
· Wind: processes and landforms
o Parks: Great Sand Dunes, White Sands
· Human impact on national parks