2001-2002 UAF Catalog

Course Descriptions


Degrees and Programs Index


Geography

Courses listed as offered in "alternate" years - Fall or Spring - may not match the dates shown below. Please call the Department (907-474-7494) to check actual course offerings for future semester.


GEOG 101 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
World Regional Geography (3+0) s
Introduction to physical, political, economic and cultural geography of major world culture regions. Examines each region in relation to others, and in context of global economic, political and environmental change. Also available via Independent Learning.


GEOG 201 (3 Credits) Spring
Environmental Management (3+0) s
(Cross-listed with EQS 201)
Social processes which affect the environment including law, environmental assessment, social/economic constraints, political processes and society's influence on environmental values. Topics include NEPA, energy sources and impacts, population control, resource development, conservation and preservation, acid rain, greenhouse effect, deforestation, pollution and hazardous waste abatement and treatment strategies. Case studies used. Course integrated with and complements NRM 101.


GEOG 203 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
World Economic Geography (3+0) s
Study of the world's major economic activities: their physical and cultural bases, spatial growth and distribution patterns, and their significance in interregional and international development.


GEOG 205 (3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Elements of Physical Geography (3+0) n
Interdisciplinary analysis of the processes that form earth's physical environment, and how those processes condition the human environment. Includes system interactions among weather, climate, landforms, soils, water resources, and vegetation including world and regional patterns. Also available via Independent Learning. (Offered every Spring at the Northwest Campus.)


GEOG 205X (4 Credits) Fall, Spring
Elements of Physical Geography (3+3) n
Interdisciplinary analysis of the processes that form earth's physical environment, and how those processes condition the human environment. Includes system interactions among weather, climate, landforms, soils, water resources, and vegetation including world and regional patterns. (Offered every Spring at the Northwest Campus.)


GEOG 301 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Geographic Field Research Techniques
Theory and application of geographic methods of conducting field investigations. Collection, analysis, synthesis, and interpretation and reporting of data concerning the natural and human environments. (Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 302 (3 Credits) Spring
Geography of Alaska (3+0) s
Regional, physical and economic geography of Alaska. Special consideration of the state's renewable and nonrenewable resources, and of plans for their wise use. Frequent class study of representative maps and visual materials. Also available via Independent Learning.


GEOG 303 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Geography of United States and Canada (3+0) s
Introductory systematic study of the area as a whole, followed by detailed study of the physical and cultural landscape forms, patterns, and associations of each major region in turn. Consideration of the United States and Canada in current world economic and political geography. (Prerequisite: GEOG 101, 205 or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 305W (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Geography of Europe (3+0) s
Europe's regional, physical, economic and cultural geography, natural resources, human-environmental interactions, physical and cultural landscapes, current political and economic transformations, historical and contemporary world influences. (Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 306 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Geography of Russia (3+0) s
The physical, cultural and historical geography of Russia and the Ukraine, Central Asia, Siberia and parts of Eastern Europe. (Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 309 (4 Credits) Alternate Spring
Cartography (1+9) s
Graphic techniques for presenting geographic data and patterns through the construction of thematic maps. Emphasis on map design. Materials fee: $150.00. (Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.)


GEOG 311W (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Geography of Asia (3+0) s
Regional geography of Asia, exclusive of the Soviet Union. Physical framework, natural resources, peoples, major economic activities, and characteristic landscapes of the major regions of Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India-Pakistan, and the Asiatic countries of the Middle East. (Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 315W (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Geography of Africa (3+0) s
Physical and cultural geography of Africa, by regions. Significance of Africa in current world cultural, economic, and political geography. Major emphasis on regions south of the Sahara.


GEOG 338 (3 credits) Fall
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (2+3)
(Cross-listed with NRM 338)
Geographic data concepts including mapping systems, data sources, editing data, GIS analysis and computer mapping. Introduction to Global Positioning Systems. GIS applications in natural resources management. (Prerequisite: Knowledge of PC's or unix workstations desirable.)


GEOG 339 (3 or 4 Credits) Spring
Maps and Landscape Analysis (3+0) or (3+3) n
Topographic map interpretation for landscape analysis and geographic data acquisition, including topographic features, vegetation patterns, and political and cultural features. Emphasis on topographic maps for remote data acquisition and environmental impact analysis. Optional laboratory for one additional credit. (Prerequisites: GEOG 101 or GEOG 203; GEOG 205.)


GEOG 341 (4 Credits) Spring
GIS Analysis (3+3)
(Cross-listed with NRM 341)
GIS analysis of natural resources including spatial query, attribute query, vector, grid, image, topographic and network analysis techniques. (Prerequisite: GEOG 338.)


GEOG 401 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Weather and Climate (3+0) n
Weather systems and climate classification. Emphasis on weather system processes, measuring weather variables, and physical processes of the atmosphere. (Prerequisite: GEOG 205 or 205X; or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2002-03.)


GEOG 402 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Resources and Environment (3+0) s
Interdisciplinary analysis of the earth as a natural resource base, and the management issues of resource extraction, allocation, development, conservation and preservation. (Prerequisites: GEOG 101, 205. Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 404W (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Urban Geography (3+0) s
A world survey of urbanization with particular emphasis on the accelerating urban revolution. Conditions favoring the rise of cities, locational and site factors, regional and interregional resource availability, and human factors. Changing functions and patterns of urban areas. National and international problems inherent in trends toward a predominantly urbanized economy and culture. Implications of urbanization in Alaska. (Prerequisite: GEOG 101. Next offered: 2001 - 02.)


GEOG 405 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Political Geography (3+0) s
Geographical analysis of the evolution, structure, internal coherence, and sources of strength of individual nation states, with emphasis on nations of the Pacific realm and Arctic periphery. Consideration of regional blocs, spheres of influence, and potential for international cooperation. (Prerequisite: GEOG 101.)


GEOG 408 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Quantitative Research Techniques (3+0)
Analysis of geographic data. Includes sampling techniques, lab techniques, and applied statistical analysis (computational and computer based). Nonparameteric and parametric statistical tests using geographic and environmental data sets, and interpretation of statistical results. (Prerequisites: Junior standing and college-level mathematics, or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2002-03.)


GEOG 427 (3 Credits) Spring
Geography of Cold Lands (3+0) s
(Stacked with GEOG 627 and NORS 627)
Comparative physical, human, and economic geography of cold regions in the north, especially Canada, Siberia, Greenland and Scandinavia. Special attention given to spatial patterns of settlement and natural resource development. (Prerequisite: GEOG 101 or 203 or 205 or permission of instructor.)


GEOG 438 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Arc Macro Language GIS Programming (3+0)
(Cross-listed with NRM 438)
Arc macro language. Programming of pop-up menus and tools for GIS editing, display, and analysis. (Prerequisite: NRM 338 or equivalent. Next offered: 2002-03.)


GEOG 463 (3 Credits) Fall
Wilderness Concepts (3+0)
(Stacked with GEOG 663 and NRM 663 and cross-listed with NRM 463)
Discovery of wilderness concepts, including the history and evolution of wilderness thought, the contemporary meaning of wilderness, and survey of economic and noneconomic wilderness values for individuals and society.


GEOG 464 (3 Credits) Spring
Wilderness Management (3+0)
(Cross-listed with NRM 464)
Wilderness ecology and land management practices on lands designated as wilderness. Plus, visitor management regimes are analyzed. Both national and international views of wilderness are presented. (Prerequisite: A basic course in ecology, resource management, or permission of instructor.)


GEOG 482W,O (3 Credits) Spring
Geography Seminar (3+0) s
Discussion of geographic thought including past, present and future directions of the discipline. Contributions of geography to science, philosophy, and ethics integrated through detailed review of contemporary literature and research. (Prerequisite: Senior Geography major and permission of instructor.)


GEOG 627 (3 Credits) Spring
Geography of Cold Lands (3+0)
(Stacked with GEOG 427 and cross-listed with NORS 627)
Comparative physical, human, and economic geography of cold regions in the north, especially Canada, Siberia, Greenland and Scandinavia. Special attention given to spatial patterns of settlement and natural resource development. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.)


GEOG 663 (3 Credits) Fall
Wilderness Concepts (3+0)
(Stacked with GEOG 463 and NRM 463 and cross-listed with NRM 663)
Discovery of wilderness concepts, including the history and evolution of wilderness thought, the contemporary meaning of wilderness, and survey of economic and noneconomic wilderness values for individuals and society.