This class focuses on southern California and its naturally occurring environments.  We'll look at things from the geologic time scale to the Chumash Indians of the Channel Islands to the most recent earthquake events (the big ones anyway).

The schedule for this class is as follows:

Definition of southern California - what are the boundaries, we'll take a virtual tour

Geologic Time Scale - what does it mean when we talk about the Miocene, how long ago was that

Rocks and Minerals - what types are here and what does that mean for California's past, what type of economic resources do we get.

Geology of southern Cal - how (and when) did the mountains, deserts, islands and San Andreas Fault form.  We'll also look at the goelogic processes involved - what does it mean to have a subduction zone or a transform plate boundary.

More economic resources as a result of geologic events - oil resources, mining, agricultural industry (while most of the agricultural resources are in the central valley, they are important enough to California's economy that we should discuss them)

Careers/job opportunities available in these industries - that's a REALLY big picture of our environment!

Weather and climate of the region - what's El Nino - does it affect me, what do we get, what does the future look like, how will we be impacted by the changing climate and what can we do to prepare for the changing environment

Deserts of southern California - where are they, who/what lives there, volcanic history

Coastal environments and coastal processes - how do we get cliffs at the beaches, why do the cliffs collapse, did the rocks in the water use to be attached to the coast and why do they have weird shapes, what are tidepools and what lives there, what type of marine animals are found off the coast, why should I care about plankton (not Spongebob's), whale migration patterns

The Channel Islands - how many, where and what are they, can I visit them, who lives(d) there and how long ago, what type of animals live there, are they safe

Natural Disasters - La Conchita Landslide, flash floods (why/how do they occur), earthquakes (Northridge, Landers, safety), San Andreas Fault (location, fault size, size of possible future quakes, when will the "big one" happen)

Salton Sea - how it was made, environmental issues

 NESC Assignments

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