Rock Creek9-mod.jpgK+SKeith Meldahl

Professor of Geology & Oceanography

Physical Sciences Department

Mira Costa College                                        

 

 

·                 Ph.D. in Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1990

·                 M.S. in Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1986

·                 B.A. in Geology, University of Chicago,1983

 

kmeldahl@miracosta.edu          Office phone: (760) 757-2121, ext. 6412

 

Consider making an Oceanography or Geology course part of your educational experience at Mira Costa College.  Here in coastal San Diego County we are surrounded by a fascinating and readily accessible geologic and oceanographic environment.  Studying oceanography and geology here is interesting, fun, and relevant to all of our lives.  Feel free to contact me if you have questions about oceanography or geology classes, including my ONLINE sections of Oceanography and Environmental Geology (see below).

 

I have taught college earth science for most of my professional life, first at the University of Arizona in Tucson, then at Oberlin College in Ohio, and now Mira Costa College, where I have been since 1997.


Hard Road West (my recently published book)

KM HRWcoverIn addition to teaching, I do research on the geology of the American West and how it influenced the route of the historic overland trails and the experiences of mid-nineteenth century overland emigrants.  I recently completed a book about my explorations along the historic California Trail—the overland route the forty-niners took during the California gold rush.   

Click here to see Hard Road West: History and Geology along the Gold Rush Trail on Amazon.com.

Click here to view my Powerpoint presentation on Hard Road West.  NOTE: All educators are welcome to download and view this presentation provided that they 1) use it for to educational purposes only; 2) acknowledge the source; 3) mention that the presentation is based on the book.  Thank you! 

Note: the above file is 15mb. 

CORDILLERA (my new book project)

I’m currently working on CORDILLERA: A Geologic Journey from California to the Rocky Mountains.  This book takes the reader on an armchair “field trip” across the American West and explains the science behind the scenery. 
Scarp at Lone Pine-reduced.jpg

The fault scarp above formed when the Sierra Nevada lurched upward six feet during a major earthquake in the Owens Valley in 1872.  Earthquakes represent the growing pains of mountains.  Every quake adds a little bit to the uplift to a mountain, and the rugged, spectacular topography of the American West is the product of millions of quakes over millions of years.  From CORDILLERA: A Geologic Journey from California to the Rocky Mountains. 

MW Oceanography

Syllabus          Course Notes          Animations         At-Home Quiz 1

World Plates (directions)        World Plates Map

 

Extra credit activities

World Geography          Current Research at WHOI and SIO     Math Puzzlers

The Future of the Poles          Science, Evolution, and Creationism

Information for ONLINE courses

OCEANOGRAPHY (OCEA101) ONLINE

Go to the OCEANOGRAPHY ONLINE HOME PAGE to learn about the course.

 

First-time login to ETUDES-NG: http://etudes.org/gateway/login-mcc.html 

Use the link above the first time you log in.  ETUDES-NG is the courseware program used to run OCEA101 ONLINE.  To participate, you need to be a registered student with a SURF id and password.  Your course section will not be available for login until the course start date.

 

Portal for ETUDES-NG: https://etudes-ng.fhda.edu/portal

          Use this link for all subsequent logins, after you have established your user ID and password at the “First-time login” link above.  

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY (GEOL120) ONLINE

 

Go to the ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY ONLINE HOME PAGE to learn about the course.  (Note: this course is currently being taught by Phil Farquharson; please contact him for course information.)

 

Presentation for Torrey Pines Docents

Adobe Reader (.pdf) format

Powerpoint (.ppt) format

 

Virtual Geology Field Trip of San Diego’s Backcountry

By Michelle Mudge