Paper Humphrey Geology 4880 Fall 2018

A report on the {Landform} located at {location}

The term paper for this course needs to follow this outline:

- Find a geomorphic landform within a 50 mile radius of Laramie

- Take a picture of it with a digital camera or phone

- Write about the landform, you should address (at least) these points

o Site specific description: location, size, angles, etc, materials, soils, rocks, vegetation etc.

o Your interpretation of the landform as a geomorphic feature

o How the local geomorphology relates (or fits into) to the larger setting in you region (is it unique, or one of many; or is your feature created by other different features in the area: ie is your “talus cone” the result of mass wasting of the face of Brown’s Peak?)

o What are the forming processes, the relevant time and length scales

o Where did it come from and where is it going (in a geomorphic sense)

o A literature review (not exhaustive, but it should include at least 5 references), some of this can be from the web, but your should include some hard copy (and therefore verifiable) material from the library

- The final product should be 5-10 pages of writing, not including the pictures and reference list.

- You can submit your final paper to me in Word format, or in paper format.

Big Note: Remember, I want your ideas, not a summary of what the literature says. I would much prefer you to be wrong about something interesting, than to be “right” because you are writing about meander bends and you are just repeating stuff from some web page. The way to ensure you write the way I want, is to write specifically about your feature. Then, even if you are basically just applying concepts from some other source, I will know that you have at least done the applying. As an example, if you really want to write about meander bends, find a specific meander bend and write about how your meander bend differs from the classic meander bend in textbooks.

Presentation

You will be expected to tell the rest of us about your landform on the last day of classes. Probably with a 5-10min power-point showing.