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Burke Museum
Tues., Apr. 17, 2012 – Sat., May 12, 2012
6:30 – 8 pm
$100; registration required
Workshop dates: April 17 & 24, May 1 & 8
Field trip on May 12
We live atop a very special piece of real estate—one that has been more than a billion years in the making. This four-session evening course will take you on a tour of our region's geologic wonders. In our discussions, we'll be whisked back to a time when there was no Pacific Northwest —when Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia were nothing but open ocean. We'll then assemble all the familiar pieces of the Northwestern puzzle—most of them "foreigners." Places such as the Northern Rockies, the Okanogan Highlands, the North Cascades and San Juan Islands, the Olympics, and the volcanic Cascades. Along the way, we learn about our region's prospects for cataclysmic volcanic eruptions and city-rattling mega-quakes. Throw in some discussion of glaciers, landslides, and some of the Earth's greatest floods, and most of the region's key geologic processes will be pondered. Should be great fun!
April 17 "Starting from Scratch" – Creating the lands we call the Northwest
April 24 "Assembling the Puzzle" – Adding bits of Asia, the Earth's mantle, and our own chain of Hawaiian Islands
May 1 "The Volcanic Northwest” – Floods of Lava and majestic (but dangerous) volcanic peaks
May 8 "The Surface of the Northwest" – Floods of water, great masses of mud, vast sheets of ice, and an occasional Magnitude 9 seismic jolt.
Saturday, May 12, Course Field Trip – Destination? It's an Election Year—you get to vote.
Dr. Stan Chernicoff taught geology at the University of Washington for over 25 years. During his tenure he distinguished himself as a professor who has a unique rapport with his students and his subject. In 2000, he received the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teacher Award for his mastery of subject matter, intellectual rigor, lively curiosity, commitment to research, and passion for teaching.