Urban Geology (GEOL357) is a 4-unit General Education course designed to improve your understanding of the natural environment of urban areas.  The course satisfies part of the Upper Division Theme requirement of the General Education program.  All undergraduate students are required to complete a 12-unit Upper Division GE Theme.  Urban Geology is in Theme D: Urban Life and Environment.   The course is taught for General Education students and does not require a background in mathematics or science.

     Urban Geology is a lecture-only course.  Students meet for 100-minute class periods twice a week.  Student grades are typically determined by 2 to 4 exams, a written or oral presentation, and class participation. 

     Class periods may be used for lectures, group discussions, demonstrations, or visual presentations.  Typically Urban Geology is divided into two major topics: (1) the role of natural disasters in urban planning and development, and (2) the impact of natural resource supplies on the prosperity of modern cities.

     California has numerous urban centers.  As a Cal State LA student, you live in the largest.  The huge population of the Los Angeles area is within an intensely active geological environment.  The cities of the Los Angeles Basin are spread across earthquake zones, areas of potential soil liquefaction, flood and mudflow channels, and over slopes prone to landslides.   

     Cities may respond to geological hazards by planning and preparation for disaster or by simply waiting and responding to events.  The Los Angeles area governments built a flood control system after the great floods of 1938.  Grading codes designed to prevent landslides in hillside areas came after the disasters of 1952.  Regulations designed to improve earthquake safety were greatly improved after the earthquakes of 1933 and 1971.  GEOL357 is designed to make you aware of this history so that we may do better in the future.

            The green areas on this map of Long Beach may experience soil liquefaction during an earthquake and are less safe than the white areas.  Planners can use this knowledge to prepare for future seismic events.

     The natural disasters examined in this course are the ones that are most important to American cities: earthquakes, landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, severe weather, and hurricanes.  Although the course may emphasize urban planning for natural disasters, you will take home individual lessons that should make for better decisions and a safer family life.  It is not an exaggeration to say that this course could save your life.

     The San Andreas fault passes through the cities of San Bernardino, Lancaster, Palmdale, and only 3 miles from San Francisco.  Los Angeles also has active faults.  The Newport-Inglewood fault that produced the 1933 earthquake and a whole set of complex faults along the south sides of the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains present great danger.  You will learn how cities can plan and prepare for the dangers of these faults.

    Southern California cities have grading codes to help protect their residents from landslides and other hillside stability problems.  Homes can be destroyed and millions of dollars of property damage occurs especially in the years of high rainfall.  Cities such as Laguna Beach have hundreds of landslides within their borders.  You will learn of the successes and failures that cities have experienced in dealing with hillside hazards and development. 

     The rains of 1938 produced terrible flooding from Santa Barbara to San Diego.  The County of Los Angeles responded with a massive flood control program.  Debris dams, paved channels over alluvial fans, upper valley dams, and paved river beds have totally changed the natural environment along our river channels.  These changes have resulted in sand-starved coastal areas and severe erosion of our beaches.  Good planning and compromise is needed to protect against floods and preserve our beach resources that are so attractive to tourists and those seeking escape from the summer heat.

Map showing areas of potential flood danger near the Harbor and Santa Monica Freeways. 

     Did you know that millions of people live far too close to exceedingly dangerous volcanoes.  Naples, Italy and Mexico City are outstanding examples.  Volcanic disasters in these areas could create staggering death and disruption.  In California, the town of Weed lies adjacent to Mt. Shasta.  This course will examine why people have chosen to live with such dangers and what can be done to improve their safety.

     Hurricane Katrina affected 90,000 square miles and took nearly 1400 lives.  The city of New Orleans was nearly destroyed.  The city's position below sealevel and on subsiding land made it especially vulnerable to disaster.  Students will learn about levees, the behavior of large rivers, hurricanes, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Lessons from this disaster will be discussed.

     At least three types of natural resources that are very important to cities will be presented.  These resources are water, energy, and minerals.  Water is often described as the key to the development of southern California.  Southern California cities get their water from groundwater, surface runoff, and importing from other parts of the state.  Water is imported by aqueducts from the Colorado River, Owens Valley, and northern California.  The use, preservation, and protection of these water sources will all be studied.

     The Los Angeles Basin was once the largest oil producing region in the world.  Our energy hungry urban areas now import energy from other areas.  Energy importation often has the effect of turning on the lights in Los Angeles while making air pollution in Utah.  The past development of energy resources and the future of our supplies will be an important subject in this course.

     You can't have cities without steel, concrete, glass, and many other materials.  These products are all derived from mineral resources and require energy resources to be fabricated for the many needs of cities.  How great are the American resources of iron, manganese, titanium, aluminum, gravel, and limestone?  How do we obtain these resources and what are the consequences for the suppliers? 

     A project that students often do for completion of this course is an evaluation of the safety of their home whether it be an apartment or an individual house.  Students use their own observations and the internet to locate the nearest dangerous faults, evaluate the local ground response to earthquakes, assess landslide hazards, flood hazards, and any other concerns.  Students evaluate their own home for safety including examining the foundation and determining if the foundation and the house are properly attached to each other.  Students prepare an earthquake safety plan and assess the costs of putting the plan into action.

     This course is designed to create leaders whether they are leading their family or their community.  The purpose of the course is to train individuals who understand how to respond intelligently to issues that the natural environment creates for urban and suburban dwellers.  These issues are not restricted to geological hazards.  You will learn why energy is expensive and why it will be more expensive in the future.  Water is important and must not be wasted or polluted.  These things can't be achieved without an educated public.  The knowledge you gain through this course will make you part of that educated public and enable you to help others understand what is happening around them.  You will become part of the solution for achieving better urban environments. 

Urban Geology Photo Gallery

Contact us for more information about Geology 357 Urban Geology

Geology Office Physical Sciences Room 216
Telephone (323) 343-2400

                     General Education Courses in Geology
B2 Block Courses in Geology
              Geology 150 Earth Revealed       Geology 155 Oceanography       
B3 Block Courses in Geology       
              Geology 158 Natural Disasters
Under Division Theme Courses in Geology
        Theme A: The Challenge of Change in the Developing World

              Geology 312 Global Climate Change and the Developing World
              Geology 351 Environmental Geology of Developing Nations
        Theme D: Urban Life and Environment
              Geology 357 Urban Geology 

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