CBC Physical Geology Home

Physical Geology 101 at Columbia Basin College updated 12/05/09

Instructor: Cassandra Strickland

Photo: 2009 Winter Geology classes at Gingko State Park, Vantage, WA

Prerequisites/Concurrent Enrollment: GEOLOGY LABORATORY

Lecture Textbook: Physical Geology: The Earth Revealed, by Carlson, Plummer, McGeary. Any edition is fine.. Don’t forget to check eBay or Amazon.com for cheap texts! Click on title of book to take you to the accompanying website from the publisher.

Course Description:

This course is designed to acquaint you with the field of geology and its various disciplines. You will learn about earth processes, products (rocks, minerals & landforms), and learn about the geologic formation of E. Washington.

Lecture Schedule. We may cover material more quickly/slowly.

Week of:		Tentative Topic Schedule	Chapter
September	21^st	Syllabi review What is Geology? The Big Picture: Earth’s Layering- composition and rheology	1, 2
September	28^th	The Big Picture: Plate Tectonics 28^th- choose research paper topic from list	3, 4
October	5^th	Finish plate tectonics… Intro to geologic time scale Minerals & Intro to Rocks: The Rock Cycle Out sick----Tuesday-Thursday	9
	12^th	Test 1. Monday. Finish rock cycle…. Development of Magmas and Igneous Rock	11
	19^th	Intrusive Igneous Rocks Outline due on 19^th	10,11
	26^th	Volcanic Igneous Rocks	10,11
November	2^nd	Sedimentary Processes & Rock	12, 14
	9^th	Test 2. Monday Finish Sedimentary Rock Economic Geology: Focus on Energy Resources No class on the 11^th: Veteran’s Day	21
	16^th	Local Geology: Missoula Floods Rough draft of paper due on the 16^th
	23^rd	Metamorphic Rock Geologic Time Groundwater Water of continents No class on the 26^th: Thanksgiving holiday	15, 816, 17
	30^th	Structural Geology & Mountain Building Geohazards: Mass wasting Geohazards: Earthquakes Deserts & Wind Action Glaciers & Glaciations Final Paper Due December 2^nd	135, 6, 7 18 19
December	8^th & 9^th	Finals Week The geology room will be open from 10 to 1 for review on Monday, if you would like to drop in to practice maps or structures. Laboratory final exam, Tuesday Dec 8^th , 12:00 to 2:00 pm Laboratory Study sheet, click here Lecture final exam, Wednesday the 9^th; 12:40-2:40 Lecture study sheet, click here

Learning links:

Plate Tectonic Animations

Missoula Floods

All about Magmas

Volcano World

USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Extra Credit: tba

Tests: 3@100 points each. Combination of essay, multiple choice and short answer/fill-in-the-blank.

Homework: 2 at 10 points each. Assigned randomly throughout quarter.

Paper: 1 technical research paper on assigned topic. Deadlines throughout quarter (see schedule). Outline (10 pts); rough draft (20 pts); final draft (70 pts.) Late work will be assessed a 10% reduction in grade per day late.

Ideas for Geology/Scenic Day Trips in Our Area (hiking, picnic, camping, scenic views, etc)

Mt. Rainier National Park (~2-~2.5 hour drive). SUMMER/FALL- Go to the visitor’s center at Paradise. Lots of paved paths, easy to access scenic views, picnic areas. Take Highway 12 (White Pass) for the faster trip; take Chinook Pass (highway 410) for the more scenic trip. (east entrance may be closed still…check the website!)

Boulder Cave (~1.5 hour drive). SUMMER/FALL- Is ¾ of the way up towards Chinook Pass on highway 410. This is a shortish, easy to walk path to a cave created by mass wasting. Bring a lantern or flashlight! Stop at Whistlin’Jack’s Lodge for lunch or dinner for a beautiful view of the river along the way (and good cheesecake); follow the highway another 15-20 minutes past Boulder Cave for a gorgeous view from the top of Chinook Pass. Good fall colors! This link gives a nice description…but beware, the driving instructions are for people coming from Seattle! Boulder Cave, Post-intelligencer.

Gingko Petrified Forest State Park (~45 minutes).YEAR-ROUND. Take highway 240 out of Sunnyside, to Vantage, WA.. This state park has 2 parts: a small interpretive museum and a great hiking trail. Along the trail (and at the museum) are several excavated fossil trees. Great views of the Columbia River and hills. Nice picnic area at the museum, with shade trees and bathrooms.

Hood River, Oregon. (~1 hr, 15 minute drive). YEAR-ROUND. This trip to the small town of Hood River takes you through the national scenic area of the Columbia Gorge. Take highway 97 south out of Toppenish, towards Goldendale. After Goldendale, continue south, take highway 14 along the Washington side of the Gorge. View the great geology and breath-taking views of the Gorge. At Hood River, cross the toll bridge over to Oregon. There are many good shops and restaurants in Hood River, and a train to ride (Mt. Hood Railroad). Check out Gorge Dog, one of my favorite stores there! A plethora of side trips present themselves, if you have time (e.g. visit Multnomah Falls, Mt. Hood, museums in the Dalles and Stevenson and more).

White River Falls State Park, Oregon. (~2 hour drive). YEAR-ROUND. This state park is a bit out of the way, but the views are gorgeous. A large waterfall crashes over 2 separate ledges of Columbia River Basalt. There is a nice picnic area, and a short hike to the lower plunge pool.

Sources: The material contained on this website has either been created by myself or borrowed from a variety of educational, governmental and private sources. For material not originally my own, thank you for allowing me to use this material. Earth science instructors, please feel free to use any of my original material for educational purposes.

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Test 2. Monday