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• Objectives 1 - Intro
  • Understand the format for Geology 101.
  • Recognize his or her instructor and know his name.
  • Realize that passing the lab is necessary for passing the course.
  • Know how to access the main web site, including the MyGrades database.
  • Know the basis for their grade in the course.
  • Understand Dr. Hirsch's penchant for academic honesty.
• Objectives 2 - Course Themes
  • Understand images: 1.7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 21
  • Understand that the concepts in GEOL 101 will all be tied to one or more of the five course themes:
    • Most processes in geology can be thought of in terms of cycles; despite it's apparent stability, the only constant on earth is change.
    • Plate tectonic theory is the paradigm for understanding changes on the surface and in the interior of the Earth.
    • Understanding geology requires understanding DEEP time.
    • Understanding geologic hazards is the best way to minimize their impact on us.
    • Modern technological society is built on Earth resources.
  • Describe the two heat engines that use gravity to drive Earth processes: internal- powered by heat from the Earth's core and external- powered by the sun
  • Name and describe three compositional layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, and core).
  • Name and describe the five mechanical layers of the Earth (lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and inner core).
  • Explain the idea of isostasy (see Fig. 14.21 on p. 437 in Chap. 14) and its relevance to the distinction between continental and oceanic lithosphere.
  • Describe the rock cycle and the basis for classification of the three main rock types (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic).
  • Describe plate tectonic theory in four sentences or less.
  • Know that an abundance of scientific evidence indicates the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, whereas the human species is only about 3 million years old.
  • Distinguish scientific and common usage of the words "hypothesis" and "theory".
• Objectives 4 - Minerals
  • Understand images: 3.2, 5, 9, 10, 15, 22
  • Explain why minerals are important to humans.
  • Define an ion.
  • Describe the way that minerals are composed of ions.
  • Define a mineral.
  • Distinguish between different types of planar surfaces on minerals (crystal faces vs. cleavage planes).
  • List the 5 most abundant elements in the Earth's crust
  • Describe a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron and explain its significance to geology.
  • List the 8 most important crustal rock-forming minerals and relate them to either oceanic crust or continental crust.
  • List the physical properties that are used to identify minerals.
  • Explain why it is difficult to identify a mineral by its color.
  • Describe how you could easily determine if a glassy-looking mineral is a diamond.
  • Explain why most mineral specimens do not exhibit their crystal form.
  • Explain the difference between a rock and mineral.
  • Name the most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust.
  • Describe asbestos, and explain the hazards associated with it.
• Objectives 5 - Magma & Intrusive Rocks
  • Understand images: 4.2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
  • Describe the compositional range of extrusive igneous rocks (compare basalt, andesite and rhyolite).
  • Describe the relationship of texture (grain size, bubble content) in extrusive igneous rocks to the cooling history of the magma/lava.
  • Describe the three factors that generate magmas from solid rock.
  • Describe the processes by which magmas can change composition as they ascend through the crust (crystal settling, assimilation, magma mixing)
  • Describe the plate tectonic settings in which magmas of basaltic or granitic composition are generated.
  • Identify a coarse-grained intrusive texture, and distinguish it from the texture of extrusive rocks.
  • Compare and contrast the texture and origin of pairs of igneous rocks (e.g. granite/rhyolite or granite/basalt).
  • Name the most abundant intrusive igneous rock forming the continental crust.
• Objectives 6 - Volcanic Hazards
  • Understand images: Fig. 5.4, A, 9, 10, 12, 14, 20, 22, 23, 24, Table 5.1
  • Describe the characteristics (size, shape, magma type, and eruptive style) of shield volcanoes, composite (or strato-) volcanoes, cinder cones, domes, and flood lavas.
  • List the types of volcanoes found in Washington.
  • Distinguish between a crater and a caldera.
  • Contrast an eruption of a Cascade volcano with an eruption of a Hawaiian volcano.
  • List the factors that determine the explosivity of volcanic eruptions.
  • List three factors that control the viscosity of magma (and how each affects viscosity).
  • List the gases most commonly emitted from volcanoes.
  • Explain why the slopes of composite volcanoes are so unstable.
  • List observations scientists use to predict impending volcanic eruptions (provide an example).
  • Describe the principal volcanic hazards posed by Mt. Baker.
• Objectives 7 - Volcanoes & Volcanic Rocks
  • Understand images: 5.27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37
  • Describe the origin of pillow lavas and columnar jointed lavas.
  • Describe what kinds of volcanoes are most likely to be found at what type of tectonic plate setting (e.g. convergent plate boundary, divergent plate boundary, transform plate boundary, intraplate continental, intraplate oceanic)
  • Explain the relationship of subduction angle (as viewed in cross section) to the map distance from the trench to the volcanoes.
  • Explain why volcanoes form long chains in convergent and intraplate settings.
  • List the solid products of volcanism (various volcanic rocks, ash) and the relationship of each to the chemical composition of the magma.
  • Define and identify/sketch the following:
    • volcanic dike
    • volcanic sill
    • volcanic neck
    • pluton
    • batholith
• Objectives 8 - Weathering & Soils
  • Understand images: 6.2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, C, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24
  • Describe the processes and products of mechanical weathering.
  • Describe the processes and products of chemical weathering.
  • Name the processes responsible for domed granite surfaces of Yosemite valley.
  • Describe the rates at which weathering processes occur and what factors affect the weathering rate.
  • Describe the formation of clay minerals.
  • Name the rock type formed by lithification of clays.
  • Explain the tendency of some rock types to form cliffs whereas others form gentle slopes.
  • Define soil.
  • Explain what factors control soil thickness.
  • Describe how climate and bedrock affect soil formation.
  • Describe some human activities that threaten our soil resource.
• Objectives 9 - Sediments & Sedimentary Rocks
  • Understand images: 7.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25
  • Recognize that sedimentary rocks are complex to classify, but only three are very common: shale, sandstone, and limestone.
  • Describe how you would distinguish an igneous rock from a sedimentary rock.
  • Describe the factors that characterize a sediment [texture (grain size, grain shape, grain composition, and uniformity of size) and composition].
  • Explain how those factors are used to classify a sedimentary rock as clastic, crystalline or organic.
  • Explain how those factors are used to interpret the environment of deposition, using the following examples: breccia, graywacke, mudstone, chert, and coal.
  • Describe the process of lithification.
  • List two different ways that limestone forms.
  • Explain why beach sand is dominated by quartz grains.
  • Explain why shale is the most common sedimentary rock.
  • Explain what the following sedimentary structures indicate about the depositional environment in which they formed: ripples, cross-bedding, mudcracks, and graded bedding.
  • Identify the following depositional environments, and distinguish between continental, transitional, and marine:
    • alluvial fan
    • stream
    • playa lake
    • dune
    • beach
    • delta
    • continental shelf
    • abyssal plain
  • Define fossils and explain their value to a geologist studying a sedimentary sequence.
  • Explain how a sequence of sedimentary layers can indicate changes in the environment over time (e.g. sea level changes).
  • Explain the statement "sedimentary rocks can be read like the open pages of a history book."
  • Describe the depositional environments that form petroleum and coal.
• Objectives 10 - Metamorphism & Metamorphic Rocks
  • Understand images: 8.3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28
  • Describe the changes that occur to rock under metamorphic conditions.
  • Describe those conditions and identify where such conditions exist.
  • Describe the relevance of the composition of the parent rock (AKA protolith) to the metamorphic rock it becomes (provide two examples).
  • Describe the following metamorphic rocks in terms of their protolith and texture:
    • marble
    • slate
    • quartzite
    • anthracite (coal)
    • gneiss
  • Explain the difference between parent rocks in "sensitivity" to metamorphic conditions: what rock types develop changes in texture and mineral content as a result of changes in pressure (depth) and temperature.
  • Distinguish between regional and contact types of metamorphism in terms of where each occur and what rock textures are produced.
  • Explain the relationship between blueschist metamorphic rocks and convergent plate boundaries.
  • List the progression of metamorphic rock types (in order of increasing T&P) starting with a shale composition.
  • Explain the significance of finding schist exposed at the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the geologic story preserved there.
  • Explain the relationship between gems and metamorphism.
  • Define and identify the following textures:
    • cleavage
    • schistosity
    • gneissosity ("gneissic texture")
• Objectives 11 - Geologic Time
  • Understand images: 9.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, H
  • Explain the principal of Uniformitarianism (and its motto "The present is the key to the past")
  • Illustrate, with sketches, the following principles of relative dating:
    • Original horizontality
    • Superposition
    • Cross-cutting relationships
    • Inclusion
  • Define an unconformity and explain the implication of an unconformity to the geologic story of the rocks in which it is found.
  • Explain how fossils are useful in geologic dating.
  • Explain the basis on which the Geologic Time Scale was developed.
  • Explain how absolute dating differs from relative dating.
  • For the purposes of radiometric dating, define isotope (e.g. K-39, K-40), parent element (e.g. K-40), daughter element (e.g. Ar-40), and half-life.
  • Determine the age of a rock by knowing the following: the current concentration of Ar-40, an estimate of the original concentration of K-40, the half-life of K-40.
  • List the age of the Earth.
  • Know when most of the dinosaurs went extinct and why.
  • Know when the following appeared on the earth:
    • Single-celled organisms
    • Mollusks (e.g. clams)
    • Dinosaurs
    • Homo sapiens
• Objectives 12 - Geologic Structures
  • Understand images: 10.2, 5, 8, 12, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27,
  • Distinguish stress from strain (in the geologic sense).
  • List the three variables that determine whether rocks fault (brittle) or fold (ductile) under stress.
  • Make a chart that classifies the following geologic structures according to material strength (hi vs. low), stress field (extension vs. compression vs. shear), and strain rate (hi vs. low):
    • folds
    • normal faults
    • reverse and thrust faults
    • strike-slip faults.
  • Identify the following:
    • anticline
    • syncline
    • monocline
    • dome
    • basin
    • horst
    • graben
• Objectives 13 - Seismic Hazards
  • Understand images: 11.16, 17, B, C, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, F
  • Describe the formation of a tsunami from an undersea earthquake.
  • List the three factors that determine the amount of ground shaking associated with an earthquake.
  • Define a seismic gap and explain its significance to earthquake hazards studies.
  • Describe the evidence for megaquakes in the Pacific Northwest and when the last one occurred.
  • Describe the three types of earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest, where (in a plate tectonic sense) they occur, and their relative magnitudes.
  • Explain the methods, potential and pitfalls of scientific earthquake prediction.
  • Explain the statement "Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do."
• Objectives 14 - Earthquakes & A layered earth
  • Understand images: 11.12, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Table 11.2, also 12.7, 12.9
  • Define an earthquake, as well as its epicenter and focus.
  • Explain the occurrence of earthquakes according to elastic rebound theory.
  • Explain how the brick on sandpaper model is an appropriate metaphor for earthquakes.
  • Describe the distribution of earthquakes in time and space.
  • Explain the formation of seismic waves.
  • Describe the process of locating earthquake epicenters using P and S waves.
  • Describe the two main scales for measuring the size of an earthquake (Mercalli and Richter magnitude).
  • Explain how geologists use earthquakes to define tectonic plate boundaries.
  • Explain the relationship of the Wadati-Benioff zone to convergent plate margins.
  • Explain how earthquakes are used to reveal the deep structure of the earth, particularly:
• Objectives 16 - Mountain Building
  • Understand images: 14.3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22
  • Explain that mountains are typically uplifted by three processes: folding, thrust faulting, and igneous activity.
  • Explain that mountains are typically formed at a convergent margin.
  • Describe the formation of an accretionary wedge.
  • Explain how a back-arc basin forms.
  • Sketch each of the following types of mountains: Aleutian, Andean, Himalayan, Teton.
  • Describe a terrane in the geologic sense.
  • Explain what is meant by the "root" of a mountain range, and the role they play in creating mountain ranges.
  • Explain the roles of erosion and isostasy in exposing the deep interiors of old mountain ranges at the surface.
  • Explain that the history of the northwest Cascades involves repeated terrane accretion, with folding and thrust faulting accompanying each event.
  • For the mountain ranges in each of the following groups, describe the general deformation style in terms of compression (thrust and fold belt), volcanic/magmatic, and extension (horst and graben):
    1. Group A: US Basin and Range (Nevada/Utah), Tetons
    2. Group B: North Cascades, Alps, Himalayas, Appalachians, Urals
    3. Group C: Marianas, Indonesia, Aleutians, Sierra Nevadas
  • Identify the major events in NW Washington history:
    1. Breakup of Rodinia supercontinent (about 750 Ma).
    2. Accretion of Wrangellia terrane (about 90 Ma) forming most of the metamorphic rocks in the region.
    3. Deposition of sediments (including Chuckanut sandstone) in pull-apart basins (about 50 Ma).
    4. Cascade volcanic arc forms (30 Ma to present) due to subduction.
    5. Columbia River Basalts are extruded (about 15 Ma).
    6. Maximum extent of continental ice sheets (about 18 Ka - 18000 years ago)
    7. Channeled scablands of Eastern WA form from Lake Missoula floods (about 13Ka - 13000 years ago).
• Objectives 16 - Mass Wasting
  • Understand images: 15.4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, E, 17, 18, 19
  • Describe a likely landslide situation given the following variable: slope angle, soil thickness, precipitation, and vegetation.
  • List three triggering mechanisms for landslides.
  • List three factors by which landslides are classified.
  • Define creep and sketch a cross section showing its effects.
  • List the way water influences mass wasting likelihood, including a definition of pore pressure.
  • Explain how to minimize landslide hazard during development.
  • Describe the cause and results of the Bainbridge Island landslide of January 19, 1997 (Blackboard: External Links, Mass Wasting Links, Bainbridge Island article).
• Objectives 17 - Streams and Flooding
  • Understand images: 16.2, 3, 5-9, 14-18, 22, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31, 37
  • Describe the hydrologic cycle including the driving energy source.
  • Define a watershed.
  • Explain the realtionship between a river and its watershed, and why a river should be studied in terms of its watershed.
  • Define the following river terms:
    • Gradient
    • Base level (local & ultimate)
    • Stream profile
    • Graded stream
    • Discharge
    • Hydrograph
    • Competence
    • Capacity
  • Describe how streams accomplish the following:
    • Erosion
    • Transportation of sediment
    • Deposition of sediment
  • Explain how a cut bank and point bar form, and how they are related to oxbow lakes.
  • Identify braided, meandering, and narrow-valley streams, and explain what conditions lead to each.
  • Explain how natural levees form.
  • Describe the factors (short- and long-term) that increase the likelihood of flooding.
  • Explain what Lake Missoula was, and how it relates to the flood-formed landforms of eastern Washington state.
  • Explain what the meaning of "100-year" flood is, and the risks associated with the use of old flood hazard maps.
• Objectives 21 - Coastal Processes
  • Understand images: 20.2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17-19
  • Explain why breakers form near the shore.
  • Describe longshore currents and their significance to longshore drift of sand.
  • Define wave refraction and draw a sketch to illustrate the phenomenon.
  • List the shoreline landforms created by deposition (AKA accretion).
  • List the shoreline landforms created by erosion.
  • Describe how tides work and their significance to tidal currents.
  • Explain why a delta has not formed at the mouth of the Columbia River.
  • Explain how the position of the shoreline can change.
  • Describe the cause for worldwide changes in sea level.
  • Explain the connection between rivers, dams, and beaches.
  • Describe how humans modify shorelines and what consequences result from those modifications.

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David M. Hirsch Modified on Fri, Dec 08, 2006 at 9:47 PM