ESCI 151 - The Solid Earth: Physical Geology

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as GEOG 151) Earth’s geologic processes give rise to phenomena that affect all living beings as well as to resources upon which human societies depend. In this course, we examine the materials composing Earth’s physical environment and the processes that continually remake our planet’s surface. For example, we explore topics such as minerals and rocks, energy resources, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanos, and other geologic hazards, stream erosion, geologic time, and topographic maps. Together we consider underlying principles of the natural world, from the small scale, such as the building blocks of matter, to the large scale, like the cause and effect of regional forces that build mountains and create new ocean basins. This course is a complement to ESCI 153 - The Fluid Earth: Oceans, Atmosphere, and the Climate System. Jill Schneiderman.

Several lab exercises take place in the field.

Satisfies the college requirement for quantitative reasoning.

Two 75-minute periods; one 4-hour laboratory.

Course Format: CLS