Geologic Controls on the Vermont Landscape

In this course we will investigate the various processes that have shaped the Vermont landscape throughout time, from hundreds of millions of years ago through to the present. We will focus on tectonic collisions that formed the Green Mountains, erosion and sculpting by continental ice sheets, and anthropogenic modifications of the landscape. We will take weekly local field trips, so please be prepared for winter hiking and cold weather. The goals of this course are to better understand the landscape on which we live, and to better place our own lives in the larger context of geologic time. (This course counts as a lab science cognate for ENVS majors with a focus in the humanities or social sciences.)