Physical Geology

Catalog description

This introductory course, covering the fundamentals of physical geology, deals with the physical processes that formed the earth in the past and continue to shape its surface today. Topics include historical background on the development of geology as a science; a thorough grounding in the reading of topographic maps; using maps to interpret the geology of the earth's surface and the study of the minerals and rocks constituting the earth's crust. Students discuss the latest theories of plate tectonics, sea floor spreading and paleomagnetism. Lecture two hours, laboratory four hours per week. This course applies to the IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science package.