What is this course about?
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Field trips Most of our understanding of earth processes and earth history is rooted in observations made outdoors, in the real world. Unfortunately I have neither the time nor the resources to take 100 students on a series of excursions throughout the semester, and therefore we have to rely primarily on text materials, photographs, and diagrams shown in the lecture hall. (Although it's not the same as going in person, there are also a number of virtual field trips available on the web - I will provide bookmarks for some of these.) I will try to schedule at least one day-long field trip, recognizing that only some fraction of the class will be able to attend. Even if you can't come along on this trip, I encourage you to make excursions of your own and you may use such a trip as the basis for an extra-credit assignment. A field-trip report needs to be more than a report on where you went and what you saw; you need to make an effort to do some background searching to learn about the geological context for the site you visited and the significance of the features and processes that you observed. You also need to provide citations for any sources consulted in preparing your report. |