GEO3000

1. Explain fundamental geoscience concepts—including rock types, geologic time, plate tectonics, volcanism, structural deformation, weathering, and glacial processes—and apply them to real landscapes.
2. Describe how major geologic processes shape U.S. National Parks, and identify the key landforms, rock units, and geologic histories associated with parks representing themes such as hot-spot volcanism, stratigraphy, structural geology, desert landscapes, caves, and glaciers.
3. Interpret geologic features and landscapes using maps, photographs, cross-sections, and geologic narratives to reconstruct the geologic evolution of selected National Parks.
4. Compare and contrast different tectonic and geomorphic settings—such as hotspot provinces (Hawaii, Yellowstone), layered sedimentary provinces (Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce), and active tectonic regions (Yosemite, Grand Teton, Death Valley)—and evaluate how these settings produce distinctive landscapes.
5. Connect geologic processes to modern environmental issues and geohazards within National Parks, including volcanic activity, earthquakes, landslides, cave formation, coastal change, and glacial retreat, and explain how Earth processes continue to shape park landscapes today.