Geology and National Parks with an Ohio Perspective
Edition: 2
Copyright: 2022
Pages: 296
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$109.00 USD
The Columbus State Community College Department of Biological and Physical Sciences offers Geology and the National Parks [GEOL-1105] to its students.
Nation parks, in general, are areas of special scenic, historical, or scientific importance set aside and maintained by a national government, and in the United States by an act of Congress. In geological terms, national parks are essentially landforms or landscapes which resulted from a multitude of interacting geological processes driven by the Earth’s internal and external energy. The effects of these processes are observable in our national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mammoth Cave, Everglades, Big Bend, Carlsbad Cavern, and Cuyahoga Valley. The course, Geology and the National Parks is designed to explore the complex interplay between the internal and external geological processes that have been changing the Earth’s surface since its birth and the results of these processes as displayed in the national parks.
Based on the geological processes that have shaped and are shaping the land, the U.S. National Parks were broadly classified into five major categories in the 7th edition of “Geology and the National Parks” by Hacker, Foster, Tuttle, Tuttle, and Harris (2018). Columbus State Community College Geology Instructors used earlier versions of the Geology and National Parks textbook. The book is excellent, but proved difficult to use to teach an introductory geology course.
This textbook represents an adaptation that allows for basic geology instruction and review of significant National Parks. While the National Parks have been set aside for their various geological and sometimes biological signifi cance the same has also been done at state and county levels throughout the U.S. Therefore, in addition to focusing on the United State’s National Parks this textbook will also incorpo rate information on parks and locations in Ohio with similar features. In doing so, students will also gain an appreciation for the geology and beauty closer to where they live.
The course is designed for non-majors, but as the course’s name implies, Geology and the National Parks, the course primarily focuses on geology and utilizes the national parks as real-world examples of various geologic processes and their results. Therefore, the first five chapters of this textbook introduce geology as a science and provide the basic concepts and principles important to understanding the formation of the landforms and landscapes featured in the national parks. In addition to the introductory chapters, there will be additional discussion of geologic concepts focusing on the geology specific to the five national park categories to better understand the category. This textbook will use various chapters about the United States National Parks featured in the various editions starting with Harris et. al. (1975) textbook [Ann Harris is an Emeritus Professor of Geology at Youngstown State University in Ohio]. These park descriptions focus on the specific geological processes that sculpted the scenery of each selected national park; its brief cultural/human history, and its geologic history. As a bonus since this textbook is an ‘e-text’ it also contains digital material links that focus on the history and geology of the national parks.
Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction to Geology and the United State's National Parks
What Is Geology and Why Study it?
So, What Is Science?
Landforms versus Landscapes
National Park Systems: Brief History
Classification of National Parks
Problems in the National Parks
Earth’s Internal and External Sources of Energy
The Internal Structure of the Earth
Chapter 2 Overview of Plate Tectonics and Geologic Structures
Historical Development of Plate Tectonics
Driving Force of Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundaries: Divergent, Convergent, and Transform
Plate Tectonics Theory in a Nutshell
West Coast of North America
Mantle Plume and Hot Spots
Geologic Structures: Folds and Faults
The Coordination of External and Internal Processes
Chapter 3 Minerals and Rocks
Crustal Abundance of Elements
The Rock Cycle
Igneous Rocks
Plate Tectonics and Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Environment of Deposition of Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Depositional Environments
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphism and Plate Tectonics
Chapter 4 Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Wasting
Weathering
Physical (Mechanical) Weathering
Chemical weathering
Erosion -- the Movement and Transportation of Weathered Material
Mass Wasting/Mass Movement
Mass Wasting and National Parks
Chapter 5 Geology and Time: Understanding What It Is and How It Is Used
The Concept of Geologic Time
Creating a Timescale Using Relative Dating Principles of Geology
Correlation of Rock Layers
Realization that the Geologic Record Is Not Complete
What Are Unconformities?
Recognizing Unconformities
Radiometric or Absolute Geologic Dating
Assembling the Geologic Timescale
Reconstructing Geologic History of a National Park Close Together
Chapter 6 Category IV: Landscapes Created by Magmatic or Volcanic Activity
Parks and their Plate Tectonic Setting
What Is a Volcano?
Volcanic Activity Produces Many Different Landforms
Yellowstone National Park (Northwest Wyoming, Eastern Idaho, Southern Montana) - America's First National Park
Introduction to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
American Samoa National Park
Mount Rainier National Park and the Volcanoes of the Cascade Range
Chapter 7 Category I: Scenery Developed by Weathering and Erosion on Flat-Lying Rocks
National Parks their Location
What Similarities Link the Category I Parks?
Largest Number of Parks that are Geologically Related Are in Category I
The Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province
Grand Canyon National Park
Sea Transgression and Sea Regression and the Grand Canyon's Geology
A Transgression and Regression Example in the Grand Canyon
The Grand Staircase Parks - Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon
Arches National Park (Southeast Utah)
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Final Thoughts on Category I National Parks
Chapter 8 Category V: Landscapes and Structures in Areas of Complex Mountains
Mountains: How Are They Formed?
Mountain Ranges and Mountain Belts
The Western North American Cordillera Is Composed of a Series of Ranges
Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks are related to mountain forming
National Parks Featured from Category V:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hot Springs National Park
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Big Bend National Park
Death Valley National Park
Redwood National Park
Chapter 9 Category II: Caves and Reefs
Karst Topography
Karst Terrain
Is it a Cave or Cavern?
Solution or Karst Caves
The Karst Process
Chemical Reactions
The Role of Groundwater in Karst Formation
Where are Caves and Caverns Located in the United States?
Rocks of Category II National Parks
Ohio Caverns Located Near West Liberty in Champaign County, Ohio
National Parks Featuring Caves or Caverns
Carlsbad Cavern National Parks in New Mexico and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in West Texas
Carlsbad Cavern National Park in Southeastern New Mexico
Wind Cave National Park
National Parks with Living or Fossil Reefs Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas
Everglades National Park, Southern Florida
Biscayne Bay National Park Southeastern Florida
Virgin Islands National Park, on St. John's U.S. Virgin Islands
Review Questions
Chapter 10 Category III: Landscapes Shaped by Alpine or Continental Glaciers
Glaciers and Ice on Earth is Not Limited to Today
Glaciers
Types of Glaciers
National Parks that feature Landscapes Shaped by Continental or Alpine Glaciers
Yosemite National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Some Final Thoughts on Ohio' Glacial History
Some Final Thoughts on Ohio’s Glacial History
Review Questions
Douglas Shrake is a geologist and educator with more than three decades of experience teaching Earth and environmental sciences at colleges and universities throughout Ohio. He serves as an adjunct faculty member at Capital University, Ohio Dominican University, and Columbus State Community College, where he has developed and taught courses in physical geology, historical geology, environmental geology, Earth science, natural disasters, soils, and the relationship between science, technology, and society. His teaching emphasizes geologic processes, natural resources, field and laboratory investigations, and the application of critical thinking to understanding Earth's dynamic systems.
Shrake earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Ohio University, where he founded and served as the first president of the university's Sigma Gamma Epsilon chapter, and a Master of Science in Geology from Wright State University. His graduate research examined the paleoecology of an Upper Ordovician bryozoan-trilobite association, and he gained additional experience as both a teaching and research assistant in geology, paleontology, sedimentology, and geochemistry. He also served as Associate Editor and later Editor of The Ohio Journal of Science, overseeing peer review and publication while contributing to the journal's executive, finance, and publications committees. His career has been dedicated to advancing geologic education and promoting a greater understanding of Ohio's rich geologic heritage.
The Columbus State Community College Department of Biological and Physical Sciences offers Geology and the National Parks [GEOL-1105] to its students.
Nation parks, in general, are areas of special scenic, historical, or scientific importance set aside and maintained by a national government, and in the United States by an act of Congress. In geological terms, national parks are essentially landforms or landscapes which resulted from a multitude of interacting geological processes driven by the Earth’s internal and external energy. The effects of these processes are observable in our national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mammoth Cave, Everglades, Big Bend, Carlsbad Cavern, and Cuyahoga Valley. The course, Geology and the National Parks is designed to explore the complex interplay between the internal and external geological processes that have been changing the Earth’s surface since its birth and the results of these processes as displayed in the national parks.
Based on the geological processes that have shaped and are shaping the land, the U.S. National Parks were broadly classified into five major categories in the 7th edition of “Geology and the National Parks” by Hacker, Foster, Tuttle, Tuttle, and Harris (2018). Columbus State Community College Geology Instructors used earlier versions of the Geology and National Parks textbook. The book is excellent, but proved difficult to use to teach an introductory geology course.
This textbook represents an adaptation that allows for basic geology instruction and review of significant National Parks. While the National Parks have been set aside for their various geological and sometimes biological signifi cance the same has also been done at state and county levels throughout the U.S. Therefore, in addition to focusing on the United State’s National Parks this textbook will also incorpo rate information on parks and locations in Ohio with similar features. In doing so, students will also gain an appreciation for the geology and beauty closer to where they live.
The course is designed for non-majors, but as the course’s name implies, Geology and the National Parks, the course primarily focuses on geology and utilizes the national parks as real-world examples of various geologic processes and their results. Therefore, the first five chapters of this textbook introduce geology as a science and provide the basic concepts and principles important to understanding the formation of the landforms and landscapes featured in the national parks. In addition to the introductory chapters, there will be additional discussion of geologic concepts focusing on the geology specific to the five national park categories to better understand the category. This textbook will use various chapters about the United States National Parks featured in the various editions starting with Harris et. al. (1975) textbook [Ann Harris is an Emeritus Professor of Geology at Youngstown State University in Ohio]. These park descriptions focus on the specific geological processes that sculpted the scenery of each selected national park; its brief cultural/human history, and its geologic history. As a bonus since this textbook is an ‘e-text’ it also contains digital material links that focus on the history and geology of the national parks.
Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction to Geology and the United State's National Parks
What Is Geology and Why Study it?
So, What Is Science?
Landforms versus Landscapes
National Park Systems: Brief History
Classification of National Parks
Problems in the National Parks
Earth’s Internal and External Sources of Energy
The Internal Structure of the Earth
Chapter 2 Overview of Plate Tectonics and Geologic Structures
Historical Development of Plate Tectonics
Driving Force of Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundaries: Divergent, Convergent, and Transform
Plate Tectonics Theory in a Nutshell
West Coast of North America
Mantle Plume and Hot Spots
Geologic Structures: Folds and Faults
The Coordination of External and Internal Processes
Chapter 3 Minerals and Rocks
Crustal Abundance of Elements
The Rock Cycle
Igneous Rocks
Plate Tectonics and Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Environment of Deposition of Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Depositional Environments
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphism and Plate Tectonics
Chapter 4 Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Wasting
Weathering
Physical (Mechanical) Weathering
Chemical weathering
Erosion -- the Movement and Transportation of Weathered Material
Mass Wasting/Mass Movement
Mass Wasting and National Parks
Chapter 5 Geology and Time: Understanding What It Is and How It Is Used
The Concept of Geologic Time
Creating a Timescale Using Relative Dating Principles of Geology
Correlation of Rock Layers
Realization that the Geologic Record Is Not Complete
What Are Unconformities?
Recognizing Unconformities
Radiometric or Absolute Geologic Dating
Assembling the Geologic Timescale
Reconstructing Geologic History of a National Park Close Together
Chapter 6 Category IV: Landscapes Created by Magmatic or Volcanic Activity
Parks and their Plate Tectonic Setting
What Is a Volcano?
Volcanic Activity Produces Many Different Landforms
Yellowstone National Park (Northwest Wyoming, Eastern Idaho, Southern Montana) - America's First National Park
Introduction to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
American Samoa National Park
Mount Rainier National Park and the Volcanoes of the Cascade Range
Chapter 7 Category I: Scenery Developed by Weathering and Erosion on Flat-Lying Rocks
National Parks their Location
What Similarities Link the Category I Parks?
Largest Number of Parks that are Geologically Related Are in Category I
The Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province
Grand Canyon National Park
Sea Transgression and Sea Regression and the Grand Canyon's Geology
A Transgression and Regression Example in the Grand Canyon
The Grand Staircase Parks - Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon
Arches National Park (Southeast Utah)
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Final Thoughts on Category I National Parks
Chapter 8 Category V: Landscapes and Structures in Areas of Complex Mountains
Mountains: How Are They Formed?
Mountain Ranges and Mountain Belts
The Western North American Cordillera Is Composed of a Series of Ranges
Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks are related to mountain forming
National Parks Featured from Category V:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hot Springs National Park
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Big Bend National Park
Death Valley National Park
Redwood National Park
Chapter 9 Category II: Caves and Reefs
Karst Topography
Karst Terrain
Is it a Cave or Cavern?
Solution or Karst Caves
The Karst Process
Chemical Reactions
The Role of Groundwater in Karst Formation
Where are Caves and Caverns Located in the United States?
Rocks of Category II National Parks
Ohio Caverns Located Near West Liberty in Champaign County, Ohio
National Parks Featuring Caves or Caverns
Carlsbad Cavern National Parks in New Mexico and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in West Texas
Carlsbad Cavern National Park in Southeastern New Mexico
Wind Cave National Park
National Parks with Living or Fossil Reefs Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas
Everglades National Park, Southern Florida
Biscayne Bay National Park Southeastern Florida
Virgin Islands National Park, on St. John's U.S. Virgin Islands
Review Questions
Chapter 10 Category III: Landscapes Shaped by Alpine or Continental Glaciers
Glaciers and Ice on Earth is Not Limited to Today
Glaciers
Types of Glaciers
National Parks that feature Landscapes Shaped by Continental or Alpine Glaciers
Yosemite National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Some Final Thoughts on Ohio' Glacial History
Some Final Thoughts on Ohio’s Glacial History
Review Questions
Douglas Shrake is a geologist and educator with more than three decades of experience teaching Earth and environmental sciences at colleges and universities throughout Ohio. He serves as an adjunct faculty member at Capital University, Ohio Dominican University, and Columbus State Community College, where he has developed and taught courses in physical geology, historical geology, environmental geology, Earth science, natural disasters, soils, and the relationship between science, technology, and society. His teaching emphasizes geologic processes, natural resources, field and laboratory investigations, and the application of critical thinking to understanding Earth's dynamic systems.
Shrake earned a Bachelor of Science in Geology from Ohio University, where he founded and served as the first president of the university's Sigma Gamma Epsilon chapter, and a Master of Science in Geology from Wright State University. His graduate research examined the paleoecology of an Upper Ordovician bryozoan-trilobite association, and he gained additional experience as both a teaching and research assistant in geology, paleontology, sedimentology, and geochemistry. He also served as Associate Editor and later Editor of The Ohio Journal of Science, overseeing peer review and publication while contributing to the journal's executive, finance, and publications committees. His career has been dedicated to advancing geologic education and promoting a greater understanding of Ohio's rich geologic heritage.