GEOL 195 - Mt Baker Geology and Volcanic Hazards

This course provides an immersive, field- and classroom-based introduction to Geology for entering first-year students the week before classes begin in the fall. The course uses the geology and volcanic hazards and processes associated with Mt Baker, the iconic stratovolcano that forms a dramatic backdrop to the WWU campus, to illustrate several important elements of a geoscience education. Students learn about the origin, composition, and classification of minerals and rocks formed via igneous processes, gain a basic understanding of plate tectonics, learn to observe, describe, and sample volcanic rocks in the field, and to understand the variety of hazards associated with volcanoes, how these hazards are evaluated, monitored, and mitigated. S/U grading.

Credits: 2
Grade Mode: S/U