GEOG 1011 Environmental Systems: Landscapes and Water

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT:

Dr. Steven Welter

Email: steven.welter@colorado.edu

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This term-based course introduces landscapes and flowing water, emphasizing the formation and geographic distribution of mountains, volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and their shaping by rivers and glaciers. It emphasizes distribution of physical features across the Earth’s surface and addresses ways in which the physical landscape has been altered by human activity, and how some earth surface processes impinge upon society.

This 4-credit course includes a mandatory laboratory component that is also delivered online. This course meets MAPS requirement for natural science (non-lab or lab), and is approved for arts and sciences CORE curriculum (natural science). There are no pre-requisites.

OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• explain the primary tectonic and volcanic processes, the landforms they create, and their distribution
• define specific weathering, erosional and depositional landscape features and explain the fundamental physical and chemical processes by which they form
• describe primary physical and chemical soil characteristics and explain how these characteristics are used to differentiate soils
• measure and interpret information derived from topographic maps, aerial photographs, satellite images, graphs, and other forms geomorphic and hydrologic data
• evaluate a variety of ways in which humans interact with and alter the physical landscape and how some geophysical events and processes impact society.

REQUIRED TEXT:

Christopherson, R.W., Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography, 10/E. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

GRADING:

Your final course grade will be based on the following:

** No extra credit is available for this course.