Undergrad Area of Concentration
You may choose to follow a general geography major/minor or choose to concentrate your studies in one of four optional tracks, such as Physical Geography.
Physical geography integrates and inter-relates landforms, water, soils, climate, and vegetation as the major natural elements of the environment. The focus of physical geography is on the zone of the land, ocean, and atmosphere containing most of the world's organic life. Physical geography not only describes natural phenomena near the surface of the earth but, more importantly, seeks explanations of how and why the physical and biological processes act as they do. Physical geography includes processes studied in other physical and natural sciences such as meteorology, geology, biology, and soil science, however, physical geography is more than a mere composite of these other sciences. It takes a uniquely comprehensive approach to the processes of the natural environment, often with an emphasis on human modifications to the environment.
The following two courses are prerequisites to all upper division courses listed further below.
GEOG 1001 Environmental Systems: Climate and Vegetation**
GEOG 1011 Environmental Systems 2: Landscapes and Water**
Among upper division courses, the following sequences are suggested:
Climatology: GEOG 3301; 3601; 4211; 4231; 4331
Biogeography: GEOG 3351; 4351; 4371; 4401
Hydrology and Geomorphology: GEOG 3511; 4241; 4321; 4401
In addition, you will find it important to complete one course in statistics at the time you commence upper division work in physical geography. Students considering graduate school in physical geography are strongly encouraged to complete a year of coursework in general chemistry, physics, calculus, and statistics.
Upper Division Courses:
GEOG 3301 Analysis of Climate and Weather Observations** (Prereq: GEOG 1001 or ATOC 1050/1060, 3600 and a statistics course)
GEOG 3601 Principles of Climate** (Prereq: 1 semester calculus or instructor approval)
GEOG 3351 Biogeography (Prereq: GEOG 1001)
GEOG 3511 Introduction to Hydrology** (Prereq: GEOG 1011)
GEOG 4211 Physical Climatology - Principles (Prereq: GEOG 1001)
GEOG 4231 Physical Climatology/Field Methods (Prereq: GEOG 1001 and 4211 or 5211)
GEOG 4241 Principles of Geomorphology** (Prereq: GEOG 1011) (Restricted to Jr/Sr GEOG/GEOL/ENVS majors)
GEOG 4261 Glaciers and Permafrost (Recommended Prereq: GEOG 4241)
GEOG 4271 The Arctic Climate System (Prereq: GEOG 1001)
GEOG 4311 Watershed Biogeochemistry (Prereq: GEOG 1011, 3511)
GEOG 4321 Snow Hydrology (Prereq: GEOG 1001 and 1011; any statistics course)
GEOG 4331 Mountain Climatology (Prereq GEOG 1001 or ATOC 1050/1060)
GEOG 4371 Forest Geography: Principles and Dynamics (Prereq: GEOG 1001)
GEOG 4383 Methods of Vegetation Analysis (Prereq or Coreq GEOG 4371)
GEOG 4401 Soils Geography (Prereq 1011; Recommended Prereq inorganic chemistry)
GEOG 4411 Methods of Soil Analysis (Prereq: GEOG 1001 or 1011; Prereq/Coreq GEOG 4401/5401)
**core curriculum course
Caution: These courses do not count as hours in the Geography Major.
Check with the appropriate department for the prerequisites for these courses.
ATOC 1050 Weather and the Atmosphere (and 1070 lab)**
ATOC 1060 Our Changing Environment: El Nino, Ozone, and Climate**
CHEM 1111 General Chemistry 1**
CHEM 1131 General Chemistry 2**
EBIO 1210 General Biology 1**
EBIO 1220 General Biology 2**
EBIO 2040 Principles of Ecology
EBIO 3040 Conservation Biology
EBIO 3160 Paleoecology
EBIO 3180 Global Ecology**
EBIO 4060 Landscape Ecology
GEOL 3030 Introduction to Hydrogeology
GEOL 3040 Global Change: The Recent Geological Record**
GEOL 3520 Environmental Issues in Geosciences
GEOL 4360 Glacial Geology
MATH 1300 Analytic Geometry & Calculus 1**
MATH 2300 Analytic Geometry & Calculus 2
MATH 2510 Introduction to Statistics
PHYS 1110 General Physics 1**
PHYS 1120 General Physics 2**
PHYS 1140 Experimental Physics 1**
**core curriculum course
Caution: These lists are incomplete.
| Num | Num | Sect | Title | Hrs | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 100 | Env Systems 1 - Climate and Vegetation | 4 | Chapman | |
| 1011 | 200 | Env Systems 2 - Landscapes and Water | 4 | Cumming | |
| 3251 | 001 | Mountain Geography | 3 | Hart | |
| 3251 | 200 | Mountain Geography | 3 | McGrath |
| Num | Num | Sect | Title | Hrs | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | Env Systems 1 - Climate and Vegetation | 4 | Chapman | ||
| 1011 | Env Systems 2 - Landscapes and Water | 4 | Pitlick | ||
| 3511 | Introduction to Hydrology | 4 | Serreze | ||
| 3601 | Principles of Climate | 3 | Blanken | ||
| 4023 | 5023 | Quantitative Methods | 3 | Root | |
| 4093 | 5093 | Remote Sensing of the Environment LAB | 4 | Molotch | |
| 4321 | 5321 | Snow Hydrology | 4 | Williams | |
| 4501 | 5501 | Wtr Resources/Mgmt in the US West | 3 | Lander |
| Num | Num | Sect | Title | Hrs | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | Env Systems 1 - Climate and Vegetation | 4 | Barnard | ||
| 1011 | Env Systems 2 - Landscapes and Water | 4 | Rother | ||
| 3023 | Statistics for Earth Sciences | 4 | Spielman | ||
| 3251 | Mountain Geography | 3 | Cowie | ||
| 3351 | Biogeography | 3 | Gartner | ||
| 3511 | Introduction to Hydrology | 4 | Mueller | ||
| 3601 | Principles of Climate | 3 | Noone | ||
| 3930 | 5930 | Internship | 3 | Pitlick | |
| 4093 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | 4 | Petchprayoon | ||
| 4201 | Biometeorology | 3 | Molotch | ||
| 4241 | Principles of Geomorphology | 4 | Pitlick | ||
| 4271 | 5271 | The Arctic Climate System | 3 | Serreze | |
| 4371 | Forest Geography Principles & Dynamics | 3 | Barnard |
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Waleed Abdalati |
Remote Sensing of Earth’s Ice Cover |
Physical |
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Suzanne Anderson |
Geomorphology; Weathering; Hydrology; Glaciology |
Physical |
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Holly R. Barnard |
Ecohydrology; Stable Isotope Geochemistry; Forest Hydrology; Tree Physiology |
Physical |
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Peter Blanken |
Climatology; Biometeorology |
Physical |
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Noah Molotch |
Surface Water and Snow Hydrology; Remote Sensing; Ecohydrology |
Physical |
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John Pitlick |
Geomorphology; Water Resources; Natural Hazards |
Physical |
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Mark Serreze |
Arctic climate; global implications; and climate warming in the Arctic |
Physical |
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Konrad Steffen |
Climatology, Remote Sensing; |
Physical |
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Tom Veblen |
Biogeography; Conservation |
Physical |
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Mark Williams |
Alpine Biogeochemistry; Hydrology; Snow Hydrology; and Nutrient Cycling. |
Physical |
Aug 2011
Southern South American wildfires expected to increase
Jun 2011
NSF awards CU-Boulder $5.9 million grant for alpine ecosystem research
Apr 2011
Erich Mueller and Andrew Linke win Gilbert White Fellowships
Apr 2011
Sarah Hart Receives John Marr Ecology Fund Award
Apr 2011
Adina Racoviteanu Receives Outstanding Student Oral Presentation Award
Apr 2011
Danielle Perrot Receives Outstanding Student Poster Award
Mar 2011
Morgan Zeliff Receives the Young Investigator’s Award from the 2011 BASIN Isotope Conference
Feb 2011
Mark Williams’ “Water Resources in the 4 Corners” project featured at the CU Regents meeting
Jan 2011
Cameron Naficy Receives the British Ecological Society Small Ecological Project Grant
Jan 2011
Cameron Naficy Receives the University of Montana International Fund Award
Dec 2010
Waleed Abdalati Named Chief Scientist at NASA
Dec 2010
Cameron Naficy Receives the Sigma Xi Grant
Dec 2010
Mark Williams Receives Funding for Niwot Ridge LTER Program
Nov 2010
Tom Veblen Receives CU-Boulder Outreach Award
Oct 2010
Gamma Theta Upsilon wins trivia bowl
Sep 2010
Tom Veblen Receives NSF Funding to Study Fire and Climate Change
Jun 2010
Teresa Chapman Wins NSF Dissertation Award
Jun 2010
Geography Receives Two Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowships
Jun 2010
Water Resources Outreach in the Four-Corners Area of Colorado
May 2010
Tom Veblen, Andres Holz and Juan Paritsis win NSF grant
Sep 2011
CU Museum of Natural History exhibit Burning Issues: The Fourmile Canyon Fire
Dec 2010
Sedge Meadows of the Wyoming Basin Shrub-Steppe—Are they Wetlands?
Nov 2010
Spatial-complexity in scenarios of eco-hydrologic responses to warming in the Western US
Oct 2010
From research to service: Informing adaptation in a changing climate
Oct 2010
Info session for undergraduates.
Sep 2010
Chemical potamology: Balancing the dissolved and solid river flux
Apr 2010
Small Scale Snowpack Surface Roughness Variability Measurements
Apr 2010
Contribution of melting glaciers to the hydrology of Nepal
Jan 2010
Ice Sheets, Sea Ice and Satellites: Transforming Polar Paradigms
Nov 2009
Soil and snow avalanches: A connected system in the Italian Alps
Oct 2009
Not All Water Becomes Wine: Sulfur as an Opportune Tracer of Hydrochemical Losses
Sep 2009
Signals and noise: examining media representations of climate change
Sep 2009
Panel Discussion on research publications and funding in physical and human geography
Sep 2009
Melting ice and resource geopolitics competition in the Arctic
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Elizabeth Pike Primary Undergraduate Advisor |
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Darla Shatto Undergraduate Assistant |
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John Pitlick Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies |
Images taken by faculty and grad students associated with physical geography
For more information about Physical Geography, including grad students, publications, labs and facilities
See About > Physical Geography
