Geology of the Colorado Plateau

Catalog description

Three lecture. Three lab. Examine and observe the geology and geologic processes of the Colorado Plateau and how it has affected its inhabitants. Students will be able to: describe the processes that formed the geologic platform of the Colorado Plateau; examine and document the evidence of marine transgress/regression and how that has influenced the rock units on the Colorado Plateau; examine and document rock units reflecting a great sandy desert during the Mesozoic; examine and document how tectonic uplift and volcanism have shaped the Colorado Plateau; examine and document how erosional processes have sculpted the landforms we see today; examine how aboriginal people utilized geologic resources as part of their subsistence and culture; examine how geologic processes have influenced biotic inhabitance through time on the Colorado Plateau; examine how mineral resources and mining have influenced the development of the Colorado Plateau; discuss and describe past, current, and future concerns regarding geological resources; gain a fundamental understanding of the geologic shaping and sculpting the Colorado Plateau; use basic and advanced tools for geologic assessment (e.g. Geologic maps, topographic maps, remote sensing applications); describe the geologic evolution of the Colorado Plateau during the Precambrian Era; describe the geologic evolution of the Colorado Plateau during the Paleozoic Era; describe the geologic evolution of the Colorado Plateau during the Mesozoic Era; describe the geologic evolution of the Colorado Plateau during the Cenozoic Era. General Education: Natural Sciences