Section Info: GEOL-210-01

Course Title: Plate Tectonics

Start Date: 09/09/2026 End Date: 12/22/2026

Term: Fall Semester 2026

Description: Plate tectonic theory explains the origins of volcanoes and earthquakes, continental drift, and the locations of mountain belts and oceans. This course focuses on the geometry of plate tectonics. Topics include mid-ocean ridge systems, transform faults, subduction zones, relative plate motion, earthquake analysis, triple point junctions, and stereographic projection.

Distribution(s): II - Math & Sciences

Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate

Credits:4.00

Faculty	Phone	Email address
Michelle Markley	413-538-2814	mmarkley@mtholyoke.edu

Meeting Dates	Method	Meeting days	Meeting times	Building name	Room	Frequency
09/09/2026 - 12/22/2026	Lecture	Tuesday and Thursday	10:30AM - 11:45AM	CLAP - Clapp Laboratory	301	Weekly

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Requisite Courses
Prereq: Any one course in Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Geology, or Physics.	Take previously	Required

Comments

Additional Comments

Course Tags
GEOL0001	GEOL-1: Geology major and minor	This course counts toward the Geology major and minor.

Cross-listed Sections

None

Course Availability
Section status: Waitlisted	Capacity: 20	Enrollment: 20	Available: 0	Waitlist: 10

Please note: The "Available" count will equal 0 in a Waitlisted course where spaces in the course have recently opened and students have not yet been moved into them from the waitlist.

BOOK INFORMATION

Book List	Required	Publisher Full Price
To be determined.

Additional Book Comments

This is NOT the complete book list for this class.