When you go to the Grand Canyon and stand on the rim,
you look down into almost two billion years
of Earth's history.
Wouldn't you like to know how the canyon was
carved by the Colorado River?
When you go to Arches National Park in Utah,
and you see the iconic arches carved into the red sandstone,
doesn't it pique your curiosity?
And when you go to Yosemite, it's
hard not to wonder how the massive walls of white rock
were formed.
In Geology of National Parks, you'll
learn the answers to these questions and many more.
Hi.
I'm Susan Schwartz, and I'm a professor
of earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz.
Geology of National Parks brings together
faculty from three different UC campuses
who've been teaching Geology of National
Parks on their own campuses for years--
Dave Osleger at UC Davis, Jeff Gee at UC San Diego,
and yours truly.
Together, we travel to national parks across the American West
to develop this course.
When you take this course, you'll
learn about the geologic processes that
form these parks through video lectures, readings,
virtual field trips, and lots of hands-on activities,
many that use Google Earth to let you explore
the landscapes in the parks.
You'll interact with me, your TAs, and your classmates
through online discussions and online office hours.
And while the course will require as much time and effort
as a traditional course, you'll be
able to do the work on your own time.
I hope that you'll take this course,
and that a future trip to one of our national parks
will be a richer and more meaningful
experience because of it.
