Glaciers, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes
A University of Alaska Fairbanks online course with interactive discussion.
Come learn about the basics of glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanoes from three experts in these fields!
See how Alaska is the world's showcase for these topics!
GEOS 120 (4 credits; includes lab); GEOS 119 (3 credits; no lab)
latest offering: Spring 2024 (syllabus120, syllabus119, course flyer)
next offering: Spring 2025
Glaciers
Did you know? Alaska is home to the biggest and strangest glaciers in the U.S.! Taku is the thickest alpine glacier in the world (4,845 feet thick), and Malaspina is the biggest piedmont glacier in the world!
Left: Knife Creek glacier, "beheaded" by the eruption of Katmai volcano in 1912. (photo credit: NPS)
Earthquakes
Did you know? Alaska produces >84% of the earthquakes in the United States.
Left: Where is the fault? Where is the earthquake? The Fairweather fault runs parallel to (and underneath) Lituya glacier and separates the North America plate (right) from the Pacific plate (left). Shaking from a 1958 magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook a chunk of mountain (at right), which fell into the deep fjiord and generated the biggest megatsunami wave ever recorded, wiping out the nearby forrest. (photo credit: USGS)
Volcanoes
Did you know? Alaska is home to 53 active volcanoes. These volcanoes produce an average of 1 to 3 explosive eruptions per year! Volcanic ash is the biggest hazard to Alaskans and people traveling in jet aircraft on the North Pacific routes between North America and Asia.
Left: A spectacular view to the northeast of the Pavlof eruption taken at 20,000 feet, by our friends at the U.S. Coast Guard. (photo credit: Lieutenant Commander Nahshon Almandmoss. Aircraft Commander. Petty Officer Austin Torres was the flight engineer. All photos were taken from Coast Guard 1713, a HC-130H Hercules based at Air Station Kodiak.)