Physical Geology 101 at Columbia Basin College updated 8/13/09

Link to Lab –click here

Instructor: Michelle Valenta mvalenta@columbiabasin.edu

Photo: Fife’s Peak Caldera rim, south-central Cascades

Prerequisites/

Concurrent Enrollment: GEOLOGY LABORATORY

Lecture Textbook: Physical Geology: The Earth Revealed, by Carlson, Plummer, McGeary. Any addition 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
June 30, July 2nd		Syllabi review What is Geology? The Big Picture: Earth’s Layering- composition and rheology Intro to geologic time scale The Big Picture: Plate Tectonics	1, 2 3, 4
July	7^th, 9^th	Minerals & Intro to Rocks: The Rock Cycle Development of Magmas and Igneous Rock	9 10 (just the magma portion, not the volcano portion) 11
	14^th, 16^th	Test 1. Volcanic Igneous Rocks	10,11
	21^st, 23^rd	Sedimentary Processes & Rock Local Geology: Missoula Floods	12, 14
	28^th, 30^th	Test 2. Metamorphic Rock	15
August	4^th, 6^th	Economic Geology (may be deleted from schedule) Geologic Time Structural Geology Mountain Building	21 8 5, 6
	11^th, 13^th	Mountain Building Continued Geohazards: Mass wasting Geohazards: Earthquakes Groundwater, Surface Water of Continents	5, 6 13, 7 16, 17
	18^th ,20^th	Finals, TBA

Learning links:

Plate Tectonic Animations

Missoula Floods

All about Magmas

Volcano World

USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Tests: 3@75 points each.

Homework: 6 at 10 points each. Assigned randomly throughout quarter.

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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