Earth Planetary Sciences 203
Geology of the National Parks
Students who enter into the Geology of the National Parks course come from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Part of the first class meeting of Geology of the National Parks (Geological Sciences 203) is taken up by handing out and discussing a rather elaborate questionnaire that I want the student to fill out during the first week of class and then submit anonymously (there is no place for a name on the form), I want to get a feel for the mix of earth-science-related backgrounds students have in each National Parks class I teach, and I want to know what specific National Parks are high on their interest list. During this first week, I lecture on the history and structure of the US. National Park System, the Regional Geomorphology of the United States in relation to what Parks are in what geomorphic regions, and we take a one-period "field trip" to the University Map Library where the students are introduced to the geologic resources available to them. (They will use these resources - as well as others - in preparing their term report on a favorite Park or Geological National Monument.) All the while, I am compiling a list of the "most popular" National Parks and Geologic National Monuments, as the confidential questionnaires filter in. You are cautioned that what you see below ONLY begins with desert Parks so that students can clearly "see" the relation of landforms and regoliths to the underlying bedrock, and follow that with a group of dynamically-forming Parks that epitomize the joys of living on and very close to, plate boundaries! This gets, or tries to get, every student on the same geologic page before we get too far into really complicated terranes. Fortunately for me, Grand Canyon National Park has never failed to make the "top ten" so I can lead off with it to present, or review, the basic geologic principles needed for the rest of the course!
AUG 23 COURSE: OBJECTIVES, PURPOSE, AND SCOPE CLASS SURVEY: Fill out your profile of your Earth-Science-Related Background CLASS SURVEY: Begin to fill out your form for CLASS POLL of Desired Parks AUG 28 FIELD TRIP TO MAP LIBRARY IN HOSKINS AUG 30 History & Structure of US National Park System (YOUR CLASS POLL FORM DUE) TURN IN THE NAME OF THE PARK FOR YOUR TERM REPORT! SEP 03 (MONDAY) BOOMSDAY (KNOXVILLE & UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY) SEP 04 National Parks in their Regional Geologic Settings (REGIONAL GEOMORPHOLOGY) SEP 06 Arid Region Geomorphological Processes and Landforms, Including Semiarid Badlands SEP 11 Geology of Grand Canyon NP SEP 13 Geology of Petrified Forest and Zion NPS, Geolo gy ofMesa Verde & Arches NPS SEP 18 Geology of Badlands NP SEP 20 Geology of Death Valley NP SEP 25 FIRST LECTURE EXAMINATION: CHAPTERS SEP 27 National Parks forming at/near active plate-tectonic margins OCT 02 Channel Islands and American Samoa NPs OCT 04 Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, and Olympic NPs OCT 09 National Park formed of accreted microplate terranes Denali NP OCT 11 UNIVERSITY FALL BREAK: NO CLASSES OCT 16 National Park forming on accreted microplate terranes Glacier Bay NP OCT 18 National Park forming on Continental Hot Spot: Yellowstone NP OCT 23 SECOND LECTURE EXAMINATION OCT 25 National Park forming on Oceanic Hot Spot: Hawaii Volcanoes NP OCT 30 National Park on site of an ancient arc: Yosemite NP NOV 01 Rocky Mountain National Parks: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park NOV 06 Rocky Mountain National Parks: Grand Teton & Rocky Mt. NPs NOV 08 Ancient Plate Collisional National Park: Great Smoky Mountains NP NOV 13 Ancient Plate Collisional National Park: Hot Springs NP NOV 15 THIRD LECTURE EXAMINATION NOV 20 Passive Margin Coastal National Parks: Everglades & Biscayne NOV 22 THANKSGIVING VACATION: NO CLASSES (R OR F) NOV 27 Coastal National Parks: Virgin Islands & Dry Tortugas NPs NOV 29 Origins of Limestone and Dolostone Caverns in NP Holdings DEC 04 Cavern National Parks: Speleology of Mammoth Cave NP DEC 06 Cavern National Parks: Speleology of Carlsbad Caverns NP DEC 07 UNIVERSITY STUDY DAZE (R): NO CLASSES NOR EXAMS DEC 10 (MONDAY) LECTURE FINAL EXAMINATION
G. Michael Clark
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
1412 Circle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-1410
Phone: (865) 974-6006
Email: clarkgmorph@utk.edu