Undergraduate Catalog 2024-2025

College of Natural and Health Sciences

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

GEOL 100 General Geology

(3 lecture, 2 laboratory) Survey for nonscience majors. Origins and classification of minerals and rocks, landscape development and earth's structure and history. Field trips required.

4

Mutually Exclusive Course

Credit allowed for only one of these courses: GEOL 100 and ESCI 150 and GEOL 110 and GEOL 201

Course Attribute

LAS1-Natural &Physical Science and LASL-Natural&Physi Science LAB and GT Natural & Phys Science Lab

Course Fee

Course Fee Required

GEOL 110 Our Geological Environment

Investigation of the interaction between people and geologic environments. Focus on earth materials, geologic time, landscapes, mineral and energy resources, and geologic hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and landslides).

3

Mutually Exclusive Course

Credit allowed for only one of these courses: GEOL 110 and ESCI 150 and GEOL 100

Major/Minor Restriction

Exclude Earth Sciences Major(s)

Course Attribute

LAS1-Natural &Physical Science and GT Natural & Phys Science

GEOL 201 Physical Geology

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) For Geology and other science majors. Introduction to earth materials, landform development, geologic structures and tectonics. Field trips required.
4

Mutually Exclusive Course

Credit allowed for only one of these courses: GEOL 201 and GEOL 100

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Course Fee Required

GEOL 202 Historical Geology

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Geologic history of the earth and its past life and principles and techniques employed to interpret this history from rocks and fossils. Field trips to investigate local geologic history required.
4

Prerequisites

(GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Course Fee Required

GEOL 320 Mineralogy

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Introduction to crystallography, crystal chemistry, descriptive and determinative mineralogy, study of mineral occurrences and associations. Examine crystallography and identify minerals by physical and x-ray techniques in laboratory. Field trip(s) required.

4

Prerequisites

(GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 with a minimum grade of D-)

Offered

Generally offered in fall odd years.

Mutually Exclusive Course

Credit allowed for only one of these courses: GEOL 320 and ESCI 320

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Course Fee Required

GEOL 340 Paleontology

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Study of fossils including taxonomy, systematics, taphonomy, functional morphology, paleoecology, biostratigraphy, extinction, evolutionary trends and major events in the history of life. Labs review major fossil groups. Field trips required.
4

Prerequisites

GEOL 202 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 390 Colorado Geology

Colorado rocks, minerals, fossils, landforms, oil, coal, oil shale, geologic history and geologic hazards explored in informal atmosphere. Includes multi-day field trip to investigate geological features in natural settings.
3

Prerequisites

(GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 410 Groundwater Geology

(2 lecture, 3 laboratory) Groundwater geologic settings. Hydrology of groundwater basins. Well hydraulics. Principles of flow in saturated and unsaturated materials. Modeling of hydrogeologic systems. Applications to groundwater contamination and management problems.
3

Prerequisites

(GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 with a minimum grade of D-) and (Concurrent Prerequisite MATH 131 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 415 Ore Geology

Overview of what ore is and how it is formed, techniques of finding and extracting ore, plus environmental impacts of extracting ore. Case studies of well-known mines.
3

Prerequisites

(GEOL 202 and GEOL 320 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 421 Ig and Met Petrology

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Description and classification of igneous and metamorphic rocks in hand sample and in thin section. Includes a study of the genesis of igneous and metamorphic rocks via phase diagrams and chemical reactions.
4

Prerequisites

GEOL 320 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Course Fee Required

GEOL 422 Directed Studies

Individualized investigation under the direct supervision of a faculty member. (Minimum of 37.5 clock hours required per credit hour.)
1- 4

Special Notes

Maximum concurrent enrollment is two times.

Course Attribute

Variable Title Course

Repeatable Status

Course is repeatable with no limitations

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 445 Vertebrate Paleontology

A survey of the evolution of vertebrates through geologic time, emphasizing major events in the history of vertebrates. Includes field trips and methods of fossil collection, preparation, and curation.
3

Prerequisites

GEOL 202 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 450 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Sedimentary processes; depositional environments; classification and structures of sedimentary rocks; field and laboratory methods of analyzing and interpreting outcrops and samples. Regional stratigraphy of northeastern Colorado investigated. Field trips required.
4

Prerequisites

GEOL 202 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 460 Geomorphology

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Origin and evolution of landforms emphasizing processes of their formation, including tectonic, glacial, fluvial and hillslope processes. Two field trips are required.

4

Prerequisites

(GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 with a minimum grade of D-) and (MATH 127 with a minimum grade of D-)

Offered

Generally offered Spring Even Years

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Participation Fee Required

GEOL 464 Glacial and Quaternary Geology

A survey of geologic phenomena that characterized the Quaternary Period, with emphasis on the behavior of glaciers, glacial landforms and sediment and climatic implications. Two Saturday field trips required.
3

Prerequisites

(GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 467 Volcanic Geology

(2 lecture, 3 laboratory) A study of volcanoes, and volcanic processes and products. Emphasis on the origin, classification and interpretation of volcanic rocks and ejecta, and volcanic structures and landforms.
3

Prerequisites

GEOL 202 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 470 Structural Geology

(3 lecture, 3 laboratory) Mechanics of rock deformation and geologic structures of the earth's crust - their description and classification, theories and facts regarding their origins and methods of investigating them. Field trips required.
4

Prerequisites

GEOL 202 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 481 Geologic Field Techniques

(1 lecture, 4 laboratory) Collection of field geological data, construction of geologic maps, cross-sections, and reports. Includes use of Brunton compass, topographic maps, aerial photographs, and geographic information systems.
3

Prerequisites

(GEOL 450 and GEOL 470 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Course Fee Required

GEOL 483 Soils

(2 lecture, 3 laboratory) Explore, examine and interpret classification, genesis and processes that drive soil formation. Use soil data from various ecosystems to assess soil health and land management issues. One weekend field trip required.

3

Prerequisites

(CHEM 111 with a minimum grade of D-) and (GEOL 100 or GEOL 201 or ESCI 200 or GEOG 230 with a minimum grade of D-)

Offered

Generally offered Fall even Years

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required and Participation Fee Required

GEOL 485 Tectonics

Overview of the processes driving and resulting from plate tectonics. Detailed study of some of the earth's past and present mountain belts.
3

Prerequisites

GEOL 470 with a minimum grade of D-

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required

GEOL 486 Petroleum and Energy

Petroleum and energy geology includes integrated exploration and development methods and understanding technological advancements that have led to the dynamic energy industry. Case studies and applied problems are emphasized.
3

Prerequisites

(GEOL 201 and CHEM 111 with a minimum grade of D-)

Course Fee

Differential Tuition Required