GEO 144 Surface Geology of the Pacific Northwest

Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 3
Credits: 4

Focuses on the surficial geology of the Pacific Northwest, including rivers, lakes, groundwater, landslides, deserts, coasts, glaciers and climate change. Other Pacific Northwest specific topics include geomorphic provinces of Oregon, local topographic maps and profiles, the Missoula Floods, and local environmental issues.

Prerequisite: Placement into WR 115 (or higher), or completion of WR 090 (or higher) with a grade of C or better; or consent of instructor.
Differential Fee Yes
Student Learning Outcomes:

Define tectonic plates and the types of plate boundaries associated with the PNW.
Identify Oregon’s major geomorphic provinces.
Interpret topographic maps and use them to answer questions about the PNW landscape.
Identify common sedimentary rocks and where they are found in the PNW.
Distinguish between the two main types of rock weathering and where we see them occur in the PNW.
Identify and explain the various mass wasting hazards in the Pacific Northwest.
Identify and describe stream characteristics and effects such as gradient, discharge, sedimentation, erosion, and landforms. Compare and contrast characteristics of various streams in Oregon.
Learn the basics of groundwater, and discuss the importance of conservation and protection of this resource in the Pacific Northwest.
Explain the effects of glaciers in the present day: their erosional and depositional landforms and influence on Oregon’s geomorphic provinces.
Discuss the Missoula Floods that shaped Eastern Washington, the Columbia Gorge, and the Willamette Valley.
Describe coastal features and desert common to the PNW and the processes that create them.
Examining the causes and results of climate change and the expected impact on the PNW.

Content Outline
Required OER Text: Earle, S. (2019). Physical Geology - 2nd Edition. Victoria, B.C.: BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/physicalgeology2ed/.

Required Lab Text: GEO 144 Lab Manual, Chemeketa Press

Outline:

Plate Tectonics
- Plate boundaries
- Describe the Juan de Fuca and North American Plate Interaction
  - Subduction
  - Related Landforms
Minerals and Rocks
- Types of Rocks
- Types of rocks formed through surface processes
- Climate ties to rock formation
- Sedimentary rock identification
Topographic Maps and Profiles
- Explanation of topographic map usage
  - How to read topographic maps including contour lines and “Rule of V’s”
  - How to create topographic profiles
River Processes and Landforms
- Describe Infiltration and the initial stages of stream formation
  - Hydrosphere and water cycle
  - Prevention of infiltration
  - Headward erosion
  - Stream ordering
- Work of a River
  - Loads of a river
  - Competence and Capacity
  - River channel and flow characteristics
  - Base level
  - Introduction to floods
- Watershed and Drainage Style
- River Landforms
  - Valley vs. canyon
  - Sand and gravel bars
  - Floodplains and Terraces
  - Alluvial Fans, Deltas, and Pediments
Lakes and Lake Formation
- Definition of a Lake
- Processes that Form Lakes
- Lakes of Oregon
  - Crater Lake
  - Wallowa Lake
  - Triangle Lake
  - Owyhee Lake
  - Alkaline lakes
- Dams and Hydroelectricity
  - How a dam works
  - Important Pacific Northwest dams
  - Pros and cons of dam usage
  - Dismantling dams
Groundwater Processes and Landforms
- Explain groundwater
  - Groundwater vs. soil moisture
  - Porosity and permeability
  - Water table dynamics
  - Aquifers
- Groundwater usage
  - Wells
  - Subsidence
  - Superfund examples: Wah Change-Teledyne, Portland Harbor
  - Comparing sources of municipal water across the Pacific Northwest
- Landforms
  - Karst Topography
  - Oregon Caves
Mass Wasting Processes and Landforms
- Types of Mass Wasting Processes
  - Heaves
  - Slides
  - Flows
- Explain how to name a mass wasting event
- Causes of mass wasting
- Humans and Mass Wasting
  - Causes and Mitigation
Eolian Processes and Landforms
- Formation of wind
- Eolian processes
  - Saltation
  - Suspension
  - Reptation
- Eolian Landforms
  - Erosion vs Deposition
  - Sand dune formation and types
  - Desert landforms
Coastal Processes
- Waves, tides, and currents
- Coastal classification
  - Emergent vs submergent processes
  - Coastal landforms
- Human interaction with coastlines
  - Preventing coastal erosion
Glacier Processes and Landforms
- Describe glaciers and ice sheets
- Describe how glaciers erode and deposit sediments
  - Plucking vs abrasion
  - Glacial drift and till
- Glacial Landforms
  - Erosional Landforms
  - Depositional Landforms
- Continental Glaciation and its effects in the Pacific Northwest
  - Cordilleran Ice Sheet and Lobes
  - J Harlen Bretz and the formation of a theory
  - Missoula Floods
  - Missoula Flood Landforms
Climate Change and the Pacific Northwest