GEOG 5290 - Water in Utah

Meets with GEOG 3290. Graduate students should enroll in GEOG 5290 and will be held to higher standards and/or more work. In this course we will study different aspects of how and where water occurs in Utah, and how it is used. We will start by examining climate systems and how precipitation and temperature vary across the region. We will evaluate rainfall and snowmelt runoff events, long-term trends in stream discharge and examine where, when, and how often floods occur. Next we will see how river processes operate to create unique landforms, and examine how these landforms change over time. We will also examine how humans have altered the flow of natural channels by constructing dams and flood control structures. Additional topics may include ground water flow and storage, pollution, water development, and water conservation. This course includes a field trip. Students enrolled in GEOG 5290 will be given extra assignments and will be held to a higher standard on exams and papers.