Geology 10: Physical Geology
taught in the Spring Semester
by Charles C. Plummer
(For my home page, click on blue name)

Meets: Sec. 1, MWF 900-950; Sec. 2, 1000-1050 in SQU-325 (Spring, 2001)
For information, email: PlummerCC@csus.edu
This is a very visually oriented course.  A great many slides will be shown along with movies and videos.
Textbook: Physical Geology, Updated 8th Ed. by Plummer, McGeary, Carlson. Includes access code for internet site.

Internet use is required for part of this course.


Outline of topics covered: A photo tour

Images in this document are copyrighted
Images with blue or dark border may be clicked on to view a larger image


Introduction and Scientific Method
 

Lake Tahoe. Taking an introductory geology course will enhance your appreciation of scenic landscapes through understanding the geologic processes that created them.

(Photo by C.C. Plummer)


Atoms, elements, minerals
Cubic crystals of fluorite 
(photo C.C. Plummer)


Volcanoes
 The eruption of Pinatubo in the Philipines. 
(Photo by US Geological Survey)

Igneous rocks
 Two specimens of granite. These solidified deep underground from molten rock (magma).

Weathering and erosion
Bryce Canyon National Park.  Weathering along vertical cracks has resulted in the pinnacles that you see. (Photo by C.C. Plummer)

Sedimentary rocks
 
Nearly horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks that formed in an ancient sea. The region was later uplifted and carved into the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
  ( Photo by C.C. Plummer) 
Man on right was Jake Breitenbach, who was the first American killed on Mt. Everest.

Metamorphic rocks
 
Photomicrograph of metamorphic rock seen through polarized light.
  (photo by C.C. Plummer)


Geologic Time

Grand Canyon, Arizona. Over a billlion years of geologic history is exposed here. (photo by C.C. Plummer)

Click for enlargement


Mass wasting (landslides, etc.)
 
The town of Yungay in the Peruvian Andes and about 18,000 people are buried here, under a landslide that originated when a glacier broke loose (in 1970) at the top of the mountain in the background. Only the top of the cathedral and part of a bus (in front of trees) are above the surface.  (Photo in 1973 by C.C. Plummer)

Streams
Meander cutoff at a tributary to the Amazon River in South America.
Photo by C.C. Plummer

Groundwater
Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park. An eruption of hot grounwater.
Photo by C.C. Plummer

The second half of the photo tour is on a separate page.

Click here to go to it: Geology 10, part 2