***Week 3***
Tuesday, October 9.
Finish Cascade Volcanoes
Introduce Sierra Nevada
Reading for Tuesday: Reading for Thursday; Miller, p. 30-35.
Peruse the Cascade Volcano Observatory (CVO) website
(http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/) to gain a better feeling for Mt. Rainier
NP, Mt. St. Helens NVM, Lava Beds NM, and Lassen Volcanic NP.
What are the main differences between these parks? Start with the
rock type (each park is made of different types of volcanic rocks) and
then try to relate their differences to the different rocks.
For the Sierra Nevada, read pages 36-39 and pages 41-45 in
Miller. The first section is about Geologic Contacts and
cross-sections, whereas the second pertains specifically to the Sierra
Nevada –you’ll need the first section to understand figure 49, which is
key to understanding the geologic history of the
region.
Thursday, October 11.
Intrusive Rocks and contacts
Yosemite NP
Grand Canyon National Park
Reading for Thursday. For the Sierra Nevada, see Tuesday’s
reading assignment (now, really make sure you study figure 49!).
For the Grand Canyon, read pages 6-20 of Price. Pay special
notice to the box “Geologic Setting” on p. 11. Notice that he
also reviews plate tectonics. To help understand the overall
structure of the canyon, read the short section on the Grand Canyon in
Miller (p. 59-60).
Written Assignment #1 due. (see hand-out)
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