Various techniques, including use of the petrographic microscope, will be employed to analyze these rocks and to interpret their histories. Field trip required. The earth's tectonic features and the models which have attempted to explain them. Detailed study of modern plate tectonic theory and the evidence which supports it. Fossil animals and plants - fossilization processes, collecting procedures, specimen preparation, description, classification, functional morphology, paleoecology, biostratigraphy, evolutionary trends.
Field trip require.
Regional stratigraphy of northeastern Colorado investigated. Field trips required. 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. A study of volcanoes and volcanic processes and products.