This course primarily emphasizes learning to identify minerals and rocks and then applying this knowledge to analyze the significant geologic processes that act on and within the Earth. These processes include plate tectonics, rock mechanics, structural geology, geologic mapping, ground and surface water, deep time, and elements of mining and petroleum engineering. Field trips are conducted to illustrate how local geology influenced development and construction in the Hudson Valley. The course is capstoned by an open-ended geologic mapping project which requires the creative application of geology to propose a practical solution to a stated need. Cadets use a geologic exploration simulation to convert given resources into a product containing elements that professional geologists would create.
