Physical Geology and Earth History

At the end of this course, the students should be able to: 1. identify the different landforms and the processes that produced them; 2. explain the phenomenon of weather and other surface processes of the earth and their significance in mineral deposition; 3. describe geologic structures, their classification and their deformation processes; 4. identify earth mineral and energy resources and their classification; 5. identify the importance of energy sources – water current, wind, gravity, glacial and their roles in mineral deposition; and 6. carry out practical identification of common mineral forming rocks.

Planet Earth - its composition from core to crust. Weathering and other surface processes- principles, agents: - physical, biotic, chemical processes. Landforms and major earth structures: principles and processes of erosion, transportation, sedimentation and evolution of landforms. Water current, wind, gravity and glacial ice as agents of erosion and their deposition landforms. Ocean processes- turbidity currents and turbidites. Deformation processes and structures- joints, faults and folds; classification of faults and folds. Igneous intrusions: -discordant and concordant intrusion. Concordant and discordant intrusion – sills, laccoliths, lopoliths, dykes, cone sheet, batholiths, plugs, stocks, bosses, veins, etc. Earth resources – waters, energy and minerals. Minerals and rocks -origin, distribution, identification and general classification. Practical identification of common rock – forming minerals and rocks. 200 Level