GEO 131: Introduction to Physical Geography is an OER course that provides a comprehensive overview of Earth's natural systems and the forces that shape its physical landscape. Students will explore key topics such as weather, climate, hydrology, ecology, geology, and tectonics. Through both lectures and hands-on lab exercises, students will examine the processes of volcanism, erosion, soil formation, and glaciation, and learn to apply geographic theories to real-world issues. The course emphasizes understanding the distribution of natural features and the scientific principles that explain Earth's physical geography.

This model-making activity gives students an opportunity visualize Newtonian forces acting on a single point as well as combined forces acting to produce synclines and anticlines in Earth's crust. Students will analyze models to interpret findings of plate movements.

These series of lesson are designed to help students understand the theory of plate tectonics. This content could easily be adapted to reach younger or older audiences.

This textbook is a comprehensive lab manual for the core curriculum Introductory Geosciences classes with both informational content and laboratory exercises. Topics include basic laws and theories in Geology, the Earth's interior and plate tectonics, water and climate change, igneous rocks and volcanoes, and earthquakes.

This article profiles Dr. Anne Grunow, curator of the United States Polar Rock Repository, and discusses her work as a polar geologist.

In the Mapping Earthquakes to Save the World activity, students leverage real-time data to plot earthquakes on a world map. The fate of the world is in their hands – the President of the United States has asked for their help to save humankind. Students identify patterns in their data and connect earthquakes with tectonic plates, making recommendations back to the President about where people are safe and where people are most at risk. This activity was heavily inspired by a project from the Stevens Institute for Technology Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education.

In the Mapping Earthquakes to Save the World activity, students leverage real-time data to plot earthquakes on a world map. The fate of the world is in their hands – the President of the United States has asked for their help to save humankind. Students identify patterns in their data and connect earthquakes with tectonic plates, making recommendations back to the President about where people are safe and where people are most at risk. This activity was heavily inspired by a project from the Stevens Institute for Technology Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education.

In this classroom activity, students will work in groups to observe how patterns of topography, bathymetry, earthquake locations and depths, and the location of volcanoes vary across regions of the Earth. They will then use this data to predict and map the locations and types of major plate tectonic boundaries. Finally, they should begin to form an intuition about the 3D nature of these plate tectonic boundaries by sketching a cross sectional concept diagram through a convergent boundary, plotting surface topography, earthquakes' locations below the surface, the position of volcanoes at the surface, and inferring the location of the plate tectonic boundary at depth.

Students explore Mercury and Venus, the first and second planets nearest the Sun. They learn about the planets' characteristics, including their differences from Earth. Students also learn how engineers are involved in the study of planets by designing equipment and spacecraft to go where it is too dangerous for humans.

This Ology website focuses on Planet Earth. It includes activities, things to make, quizzes, interviews with working scientists, and more to help kids learn about the Earth.

Students are introduced to the fabulous planet on which they live. Even though we spend our entire lives on Earth, we still do not always understand how it fits into the rest of the solar system. Students learn about the Earth's position in the solar system and what makes it unique. They learn how engineers study human interactions with the Earth and design technologies and systems to monitor, use and care for our planet's resources wisely to preserve life on Earth.

This article features children's literature about erosion, glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanoes for use in the elementary classroom.

Every volcanic eruption and earthquakes are a reminder that Earth is very much alive and in motion. Created by Big History Project.

A Google Earth animation files was developed to show the Pangaea breakup. The animation is utilized to illustrate the evidence for plate tectonics and plate motion. Three student exercises are build around this resource: the first exercise allows students to explore the evidence for plate tectonics within Google Earth. The same file is then used in a Hot Spot and Plate Movement exercise that was developed as two versions, one for introductory students and a second for upper level geology majors.

Learn how plate tectonics plays a critical role in shaping the onshore and offshore terrain around La Jolla.Ę Dr. Neal Driscoll will present new offshore data illustrating the interplay between sediments, tectonics and sea level. (56 minutes)

As part of an NSF-funded collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and science centers across the country to increase awareness of polar research and Earth's polar regions, join Donna Blackman, chair of the National Science Foundation's Ridge 2000 program, for an exciting excursion to the worldŐs mid-ocean ridge volcanic system. Learn how these oceanic spreading centers shape our Planet and support an amazing abundance of life in an otherwise inhospitable environment. (29 minutes)

Join oceanographer Kevin Brown as he describes the phenomena that we experience as "earthquakes" and relates what scientists understand about the physics of these sudden and at times catastrophic movements in the earthŐs crust. Learn how Brown and other Scripps scientists are using a variety of techniques to better understand when, where, and how earthquakes occur. (50 minutes)

The southern San Andreas Fault in California has not had a large earthquake in approximately 300 years, yet the average recurrence interval for the previous five ruptures is about 180 years. Join Scripps Oceanography geoscientist Neal Driscoll as he presents new findings on a possible relationship between these earthquakes and the flooding of Lake Cahuilla, which forms episodically as the Colorado River switches course and flows north into the Salton Trough. Learn how new data on the timing and magnitude of past earthquakes are being used to assess the potential for large earthquakes in the region. (58 minutes)

Physical Geology is a comprehensive introductory text on the physical aspects of geology, including rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciation, groundwater, streams, coasts, mass wasting, climate change, planetary geology and much more. It has a strong emphasis on examples from western Canada, especially British Columbia, and also includes a chapter devoted to the geological history of western Canada. The book is a collaboration of faculty from Earth Science departments at Universities and Colleges across British Columbia and elsewhere.