GEO 130N, Geology of Northwest Montana
Summer 2015
Flathead Valley Community College
COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor:
Office:
Contact:
Anita Ho
SAT 177
756-3873, aho@fvcc.edu (preferred)
Class Dates:
Meeting Times:
Class Location:
M-F, July 13-17, 2015
8:00-5:00pm
SAT 130 and in the field
I. Catalog Description
“Lectures and field trips designed to acquaint the student with the geologic history, rock types, structural features,
landforms and natural resources of northwest Montana. Field trips in the Flathead and Mission Valleys and
Glacier National Park.” 3 credits
II. Course Learning Outcomes
“Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to demonstrate a basic, conceptual
understanding of:
- Geologic evolution of the area;
- Common rock types of the area;
- Structural features and the processes involved in their formation;
- Glacial features and the processes involved in their formation;
- Natural resources of the area.”
III. Electronic Resources
A variety of class-related resources will be available to students registered in this course on D2L (at
https://fvcc.desire2learn.com/). Class lectures and presentations, review materials and grades will be here. I
encourage you to bookmark this site and refer to it regularly, as it will be updated frequently.
IV. Required Texts and Materials
There are no required texts for this course; however, the following are recommended for additional information:
- Raup, Earhard, Whipple and Carrara, Geology Along Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park
- Alt and Hyndman, Roadside Geology of Montana
- Alt and Hyndman, Northwest Exposures: A Geologic Story of the Northwest
You will fill out numerous handouts/worksheets and complete various exercises in this course, so a three-ring
binder for the class materials is recommended.
Materials to bring on field trips:
- Appropriate clothing, including sneakers (no sandals, please!), jacket or sweater, and raingear or umbrella
- Water and/or snacks, lunch for the day-long trips (field trips #3 and 4)
- Field notebook (an artist’s sketchbook or a three-ring binder with blank paper work well; please do not use
spiral-bound notebooks or lined paper!)
- Pen or pencil (different colors are optional but highly recommended)
- Camera, sunscreen, hat and/or sunglasses (optional but highly recommended)
- Binoculars (optional)
V. Class Format
Lecture, in-class and group exercises, peer interaction, quizzes (open- and closed notes), field observations and
interpretations.
VI. Grades
All graded assignments are assigned point values from which a final grade is calculated. Your final course grade
is determined as follows:
Grading Scale (%)
Daily in-class exercises (~5-50 pts each)
20%
Daily quizzes (10-30 pts; final quiz ~60-80 pts)
65%
93.0-100
A
Field notebook (content, organization; ~150-200 pts)
15%
90.0-92.9
ATotal
100%
87.0-89.9
B+
83.0-86.9
B
Grades, as percentages, are rounded to the nearest tenth, and letter grades
80.0-82.9
Bare assigned as shown at right. (The boundaries may be lowered if the class
77.0-79.9
C+
average is lower than 75.0%.)
73.0-76.9
C
70.0-72.9
CI do my best to return graded assignments as soon as possible after
67.0-69.9
D+
submission. You can access your score at any time on D2L. Please note that
60.0-66.9
D
scores reported on D2L are unofficial grades.
0 – 59.9
F
VII. Field Notebook
Good science requires accurate, detailed descriptions. Good scientists make keen observations and careful
measurements. You will be expected to keep a geologist’s field notebook with you on the field trips. This book
should include notes from all field investigations, dated and identified by location, with detailed descriptions of
the geology observed (rock types, landforms, geologic structures, etc.). For each location, be sure to include:
- Notes on the geology of the location, including definitions of geologic terms and descriptions of the noted
features (age, shape, size, etc.) and explanations of how they were formed,
- Sketches where appropriate,
- Photos if you have them (these are nice to have afterwards), and
- A short summary of our interpretation of the geology at each stop.
I will be keeping a field notebook as well, and we will discuss note taking at length. My goal is for you to have a
complete and accurate record, for future reference, of places we have visited during the week. Your notebook
will be turned in upon our return from the field on Friday (i.e., no rewriting should be needed), and will be
returned to you, along with any remaining class materials, after it has been evaluated.
VIII. Course Policies and Expectations
- We have a lot of material to cover in a very short amount of time, so your attendance and participation every
day this week are mandatory. Plan to arrive in class promptly at 8:00am every day.
- Please turn off cell phones during class—this includes while riding in vans.
- Academic integrity counts! Anyone found guilty of academic misconduct may receive a zero on the
assignment and fail the course.
- No makeup quizzes or exercises are given. Class attendance is mandatory.
- Spelling and good grammar always count, on quizzes, exercises and field notebooks. Expect to lose ½ point
for each error. (If you catch a spelling or grammar mistake on my part, you earn a point!)
- Be courteous to each other, have fun and learn a lot! 
IX. ADA Statement
If you have a documented learning disability and need academic accommodations, please let me know as soon
as possible. FVCC is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. Any
student who feels she or he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the
Disabilities Specialist, Anna San Diego, at 406-756-3881, in LRC 129.
X. Schedule (This is tentative and subject to change, so please pay attention in class!)
Topics: I. Plate tectonics
Monday
July 13
Exercises: 1) Continental drift
Field trip 1 (afternoon): Kalispell area, Foys Lake and south to Flathead Lake
Quizzes 1 and 2 (Open notes)
Topics: II. Geologic time; Killer Earth video
Tuesday
July 14
Exercises: 2) Geologic time scale; 3) Relative dating; 4) Absolute dating
Field trip 2 (afternoon): Lower Flathead Valley, Creston/Columbia Falls are
Quizzes 3 and 4 (Open notes)
Topics: III. Glacial and stream-formed landforms
Wednesday
July 15
Field trip 3 (full day): Glacial features in Glacier National Park and along the Going-tothe-Sun Road
Quiz 5 (Open notes)
Topics: IV. Glacial and stream-formed landforms; V. Geologic history of the region
Thursday
July 16
Exercises: 5) Geologic features of the Flathead Valley
No field trip today!
Quiz 6 (Open notes)
Topics: VI. Missoula floods; The Great Floods video
Friday
July 17
Field trip 4: Smith Valley; Mission Valley/Flathead Lake; the Big Draw, Markle Pass and
Camas Prairie
Final quiz ( *** No notes allowed! *** )
Also, you will turn in your field notebooks and complete an informal course evaluation at
the end of the day.