Geology 3B West Valley College

Spring, 2004 Saratoga, California

Instructor: Dr. Robert Lopez

Office: SM 47A

Phone: 408-741-2437

Office Hours: MW 1-2 pm; T 9-10am

Course Meets: Instructional Meetings = Th 2:05 pm – 4:10 pm, SM47

Field Trip Depart March 27, 7:00 am

Six Days Return April 1, 8:00 pm

Catalogue Description: Field geology lecture/laboratory sequence illustrating topics covered in course Geology 1A, Geology 1B, Geology 10, and Geology 15. This is a field-oriented course and will have 2 instructional hours per week followed by a six-day field trip/camp. The instructional meetings will introduce the field use of topographic and geologic maps as well as background on the specific focus region of the trip, which will include discussions on other areas of natural history such as biology, anthropology, astronomy, and meteorology. Trip locations will differ with each class (Cascade and Modoc Volcanoes; Sierra Nevada Foothills and Yosemite; Lake Tahoe and High Sierra; Eastern Sierra Nevada; San Francisco Bay, Coast Ranges, and the San Andreas Fault; Los Angeles and Transverse Ranges; Death Valley and Mohave Desert; Baja California). A fee will be required. This course may be taken multiple times. (Requirement geology or natural history course; class limited to 15 students.)

Text: Miller, M.G. and Wright, L.A., 2002, Geology of Death Valley National Park, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., (available at bookstore)

Recommended Text: Sharp and Glazner, 1997, Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley, UC Press ($12.80 on Amazon.com)

Course Reader: Course logistics, field trip rules, study questions, excursion notes, field-mapping techniques, and some course notes. (Available soon at bookstore)

Evaluation: Each student or student pairs (no more than two) will pick an area of Death Valley geology and make a poster presentation at our Death Valley Conference. We will invite students and faculty from throughout the college to attend our symposium. By the time of our symposium (April 15), you will all be experts on some aspect of Death Valley Geology. This project is worth 300 points.

Poster Presentations 300 points

Total 400 points

Course Themes: The course will integrate the relationships of California rock exposures to the classroom discussions on the plate tectonic evolution of California. Also, we will apply fundamental field geology techniques to the geology of California.

Principle Objectives: Upon completion of the course, you should be knowledgeable about the origin and significance of the geology of the California Basin and Range Province. You will also have knowledge of the Native American History and non-Native American influence in the Owens and Death Valley regions. Examples: 1. Reasons for volcanic unrest in the basin and range. 2. Mineral deposits in the Owens and Death Valley regions. 3. The Inyo-White Mountains and Panamint Mountains. 4. Geology and Ecology of basin and range province. 5. Pleistocene lakes. 4. Native Americans of the Owens and Death Valley regions 5. Miners, Ranchers, Farmers, and Recreation in the basin and range.

Places that you will come to know: The Mojave Desert, Boron California, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Alabama Hills, Lone Pine and Mount Whitney, Owens Valley fault scarp of 1872, Owens playa, the Coso Range, Panamint Springs and Darwin Plateau, Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, Race Track Playa, Titus Canyon, Scotty’s Castle, Furnace Creek and Resort, Golden Canyon and Manly Butte, Zabrinskie Point, Dante’s View, Badwater, Devil’s golf course, Artist’s Drive, plus more!!