GEOG 5200 - Geomorphology: Mountains, Rivers, Deserts

Meets with GEOG 3200. Graduate students should enroll in GEOG 5200 and will be held to higher standards and/or more work. Why does Utah look different from Kansas? How did the Grand Canyon form? This course explores Earth's surface systems to see how landforms are created and modified over time. These systems include mountain building, and erosion and deposition by rivers, glaciers, landslides, wind and shoreline processes. Our analysis of landforms and processes will be directed toward understanding how the surface of the Earth got to be the way it is, and how it is changing. Comparison of different landforms will be used to illustrate how different processes operate. For example, mountain valleys carved by glacier are significantly different from those carved by rivers. This course offers explanations for differences such as this, and explores reasons for changes that take place in landforms. Field trips will provide an opportunity to see local examples of different processed and their resulting landforms.