Fall Semester

105. INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
4 hours credit
Introduction to the variable physical character of the earth. Treatment of weather, climate, soil, vegetation, landforms and oceanic circulation with emphasis on processes, interrelationships
and distributional patterns.

Spring Semester
Choose any two courses below.
Not all courses are available each year.

103. INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOLOGY
4 hours credit
Introduction to the nature and character of the Earth’s crust and the geological processes that generate and shape landform features. Topics include minerals, rocks, earth structure
and plate tectonics, geological processes and associated landforms.

201. WEATHER AND CLIMATE
4 hours credit
Examination of weather and climate with emphasis on processes and distributional patterns. Interrelationships between climatic controls stressed.

311. COASTAL PROCESSES
3 hours credit
The study of coastlines and the geological forces that shape them. Two mandatory half-day Saturday field trips to Assateague Island.

312. SEVERE AND HAZARDOUS WEATHER
3 hours credit
Examines the physical and societal aspects of severe and hazardous weather in an effort to better knowledge of the atmospheric environment around us. Specific topics include
extratropical cyclones, thunderstorms, tornadoes, severe winter weather, hailstorms, lightening and tropical weather systems. Case studies are used to investigate human, economic
and environmental consequences of severe and hazardous weather events.

316. BIOGEOGRAPHY
3 hours credit
Study of spatial distribution of plants and animals, including the processes that led to those distributions. The course synthesizes knowledge from the fields of ecology, geology, climatology, paleontology and physical anthropology. Topics include patterns of biodiversity, evolution and extinction, communities and ecosystems, life on islands, earth history, paleoecology, human impacts and conservation. Two mandatory field trips to local natural areas.

401. SOIL, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT
3 hours credit
Study of basic chemical and physical properties of soil, focusing on surface hydrology of small watersheds and the related techniques used in environmental planning.

410. METEOROLOGY
3 hours credit
Analysis of physical processes and dynamics of the atmosphere. Topics include upper atmospheric flow, forecasting and severe weather.