Geology 101, Earth's Dynamic Interior

During weeks 3 and 4, weíll cover the all-important topic of plate tectonics and its relation to igneous processes.  Becaue our book covers those topics in 4 different chapters, however, the reading assignments will skip around a lot.  Specifically, reading will be from Chapter 3 (covers the evidence for Plate Tectonics), Chapter 4 (covers details of Plate Tectonics), Chapter 6 (covers general info on magmas), and Chapter 9 (covers details of volcanism).  Consequently, you might find it easier to just read from Chapter 3 forward ?so consider the following reading assignments more as a guide to where you can find the specific lecture information.

***Week 3***

Monday, October 13
Igneous Rocks and Plate Tectonics
    Plate Boundaries
    Evidence for Plate Tectonics

Reading for Monday:  The first part of chapter 3 (Drifting ContinentsÖ) provides a good introduction to the idea of Continental Drift, a mainstay of the Plate Tectonics Theory.  Read p. 51-75, taking special note of p. 51-56.  Then, in chapter 4, the section from 77-91 gives a solid introduction to the different types of plate boundaries.  Carefully study the two-page diagram on p. 80-81.
 

Wednesday, October 15
Igneous Rocks of subduction zones
     Cascade Volcanoes
     Volcanic Hazards

Reading for Wednesday: Review section 4.4 on convergent boundaries (p. 87-89) and then read the section on plate tectonics and igneous rocks from p. 155-159 ? pages 156-157 deal specifically with subduction zone volcanism.

For volcanic hazards, read pages 257-263.

For some good information on the Cascade volcanoes, go the the USGS Cascade Volcano observatory at http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/
 

Friday, October 17
Independent Quiz  (Honor Code applies)
Hot Spot Volcanoes

Reading for Friday: study for Quiz.

Back to Geology 101

On to Week 4