Geos 100 Winter 11 Final Study Guide: Use tests, study guides, text, handouts & lab book as sources. All
of my lecture power points, some with additional comments, are posted at hamilton.disted.camosun.bc.ca .
You will be allowed 1 handwritten page of notes as a crib sheet to aid you in recalling formulas, jargon,
processes etc.
The Final exam as scheduled by registration will be 3 hours duration. It is cumulative for the whole course.
The emphasis will be about 60% on the last 3rd of the course from Time-Structures-Earthquakes-Tectonics/
Geology of Canada. The other 40% will revisit earlier chapters on minerals and earth chemistry, plate
tectonics, geological processes, 3 rock types and associated classification and rock forming processes and
environments. The balance will be about 60% multiple guess, mix and match, true false against 40% essay
and labeled illustrations. There will be one essay alternate worth 10 points to critique the geology and
science in the latest Hollywood Geo-Disaster movie “Avatar”.
Previous Essay Topics: Write short essays and use labeled illustrations to answer:
Include 10 facts, correctly used and related technical vocabulary clearly illustrated or discussed.
There will be 2 to 4 essays like those from this list and at least 2 of comparable complexity that are
not on the list.
A) What kind of boundaries and geohazards exist along the west coast from the Queen Charlotte Islands
to Mendocino California. Name the plates are on each side of the boundary? What tectonic features
make up this boundary. What kind of seismic events are expected? How often do they occur? What can
be done by way of preparation or remediation? (10 points)
B) What types of earthquakes occur in Western Canada? When were the biggest ones? How big are they?
Where do they occur? How often do they occur? When were the last big ones? What are the
consequences for manmade structures (buildings, water, hydro power etc.)? (10 points)
C) Describe the sequence of events for the assembly of the Canadian Cordillera and why this theory is
important to geology. Include belts of accreted terranes and at least one terrane from each belt.
Describe the timing and tectonic forces that caused terrane accretion. Describe any resources whose
availability was affected by these processes. (10 points)
D) Describe “the Wilson Cycle” and relate it to the evolution of the continents and ocean basins. What are
the controlling forces and boundaries? What does the cycle entail and how long does it last? What is
the relevance of this to the geological evolution of North America in terms of uplift, subsidence,
rifting, accretionary tectonics and mountain-building. (10 points)
E) Congratulations! You are a new species of extremely long-lived and tough creature that was just born
on a hot vent on the east side of the Juan de Fuca ridge. Describe your upcoming journey as you ride
the oceanic crust and follow where it goes for the next 200Ma. Include each environment or process as
it overtakes you and your home in turn. The geological environments (sediment types, water depths,
temperatures, energies, biota, mineralogy) are the focus for this story. (10 points.)
F) Explain the geological processes that can create tsunamis. How big are tsunamis in the middle of the
Pacific versus along the coasts? Explain how the tsunami warning system works in the Pacific Basin.
What are the environmental and structural effects of tsunamis on the coasts. Give examples from large
historic earthquakes and locations of significant tsunami damage. (10 points)
G) How was life, climate and the environment different than today for this region during the Cretaceous?
H) Describe mountain building processes and the different tectonic environments, mountain range types,
their relative elevations and their different internal make up including rock types and structures. Give
examples from North America, other continents and the oceanic regions. (10 points)
I) Describe significant factors to make Avatar’s “moon” planet Pandora’s geology and processes
different from Earth’s.
J) Caves/Karst based on IMAX film and karst features, formations, environments.
Matching or multiple choice: about 20 terms and definitions (details) from the entire course: mineral
names, rock types, geological processes, structures, natural resources, tectonics, solid earth geophysics,
magnetism, earthquakes. Use all geological vocabulary from the ends of the chapters we studied. Eg.:
Anticline, Body Wave, Convection, Decompression melting, Eclogite, Fumarole, Gondwanaland, Hotspot,
Isotope, Joints, Klippe, Lithospheric Plates, Moho, Nuee ardente, Orogeny, Placer, Quartzite, Reverse fault,
Stikinia, Topaz, Unconformity, Viscosity, Wrangellia, Xenolith, Yazoo, Zircon
Multiple Choice: 20 questions (synthesis) covering major concepts, cycles, processes
Eg. What affects rock densities? Causes of transgressions or regressions. Distinguish Sedimentary,
Metamorphic and Igneous hosted ore deposits. What is the main geophysical evidence for the Core? How
do we know how fast plates move? Where would you expect down welling convection in the mantle? What
causes magnetic reversals? What are the essential elements (conditions) for petroleum depostis? Whate are
some different kinds of ore deposits, geological environments and environmental issues with mining
(ch20). Why are body waves different from surface waves? Which do the most damage during earthquakes.
Why are P waves the fastest?
On the Final, in place of a final Lab Practicum, There will be 3-4 short lab-like exercises lasting about 5-15
minutes each involving:
1) Relative dating, unconformities and a geological block diagram involving sequences of events and
labeling and naming structures including fault types and directions and different types of
unconformities.
2) Earthquake location from 3 stations and arrival times and intensity from S-P and amplitude.
3) Large scale Plate Tectonic boundaries from the map or cross sectional distribution of: earthquakes,
volcanoes, and contrasting types of crust
4) Geohazards: Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcanic eruption etc.