Icefields to Oceans

Learn about geomorphology by examining the unique landscapes of northwestern BC and the inside passage of southeastern Alaska.

During this field school you will also be introduced to the current environmental and geopolitical issues concerning the many transboundary watersheds that we will cross, including the Unuk, Stikine, and Taku watersheds, each of which begin in the icefields of British Columbia and meet the Pacific Ocean in Alaska.

Courses | 6 credits:

GEOG 210 – Environments and Society
GEOG 203 – Geomorphology

Program outline

Geography

The Geography 210 component of the field school allows you to examine the environmental problems of today’s world in the context of different societies and societal responses. In this course, we will identify how individuals and cultures view key environmental issues, how we can objectively analyze these problems, and how solutions can be derived to mitigate or solve environmental issues at different scales, varying from site specific problems to the global biosphere. As a class, we will learn to listen to and evaluate responses to environmental issues from individuals, special interest groups, the ‘public’, politicians, and government agencies. Develop skills in objective analysis and use them to undertake a community-based project that examines the relationships between environmental issues, the needs of different types of economic development, and the sustainability of communities.

Geomorphology

In the Geomorphology 203 course we will examine the natural processes that shape the face of the Earth. It develops further on the material covered in Geography 160 and Geology 157. This course focusses on the fundamental principles that form the basis of geomorphology, in particular the processes that are active in the natural landscape and the landforms that are a consequence. A strong emphasis will be placed on the glacial processes and deposits that influence much of the landscape in northwestern BC and southeastern Alaska.