GEOG A150: California Geography

Course Outline of Record
Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	10/07/2020
Top Code	220600 - Geography
Units	3 Total Units
Hours	54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S)
Associate Arts Local General Education (GE)	OC Social/Economic Institutions - AA (OD2)
Associate Science Local General Education (GE)	OCC Social/Behavioral Sci - AS (OSD)
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)	Cal-GETC 4 Social & Behavioral Sciences (4) Cal-GETC 4E Geography (4E)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)	IGETC 4 Social&Behavioral Sci (4) IGETC 4E Geography (4E)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)	CSU D5 Geography (D5)

Course Description

A survey of California's physical and cultural environment and patterns. Topics will include physiography, vegetation, climate, resources, population, migration, ethnic diversity, economics, urbanization and current issues related to geographic factors. Field trips may be required. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. C-ID: GEOG 140.C-ID: GEOG 140.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

Student will identify, analyze and interpret spatial information for California.
Student will understand the spatial distributions, processes and controls of California’s features from the global to local scale.

Course Objectives

1. Identify the physiographic and water features in the state.
2. Describe the geographical relationship between climate and land use.
3. Explain the historic evolution of Californias ethnic groups.
4. Contrast the diversity of California from one physical region to another.
5. Identify the earthquake fault zones of California and evaluate the hazards these fault zones present.
6. Explain the origin and impacts of Santa Ana Winds and El Nino.
7. Explain the impacts of global warming in California.
8. Identify and locate the natural landscape regions of California, describing the complex of trees that makes California forests unique.
9. Describe the agricultural regions of California and explain why certain crops are unique to specific areas.
10. Explain the changing industries in California and their positive and negative impacts.
11. Identify the evolution of Californias cities and their characteristics.
12. Identify the migration pattern of immigrants to California and their impacts on the landscape.
13. Analyze and interpret Californias demographic data.
14. Compare and contrast the past, present and future growth patterns of Californias population and cities.

Lecture Content

The physical provinces ofCaliforniaand their distinctive geological characteristics. TheBasin RangeProvince The Modoc Plateau TheCascade Range TheKlamathMountains TheCoast Ranges TheTransverseRanges The Peninsular Ranges TheMojave Desert The Salton Depression TheSierra Nevada TheCentral Valley Earthquakes and faults, their impact onCaliforniaand location San Andreas Garlock Newport-Englewood Hayward-Calaveras Weather and climate The Koppen climate system as it applies toCalifornia Role of the Pacific High Santa AnaWinds El Nino Smog Influence of climate on Californias land use patterns Water River locations The Damming ofCalifornia The Central Valley Project, Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, and Colorado Aqueduct The Salton Sea disaster, The Santa Paula disaster, Owens Valley Impact of global warming on Californias water resources The natural landscape Chaparral, oak-grasslands, deserts, forests The special trees of Californina; the tallest, biggest and oldest trees in the world The timber trees ofCalifornia; Douglas Fir, White Fir, Ponderosa, Sugar Pine, Redwood The great parks;Yosemite, Kings Canyon,RedwoodNational Park, and significant state parks Settlement and Migration 1. Native Californians Spanish Exploration and settlement American migration Contemporary global migration Immigrations issues Agriculture Early development Cheap labor The “big four”, cows, cattle, grapes, cotton Agribusiness inCalifor nia Variety ofCaliforniaagriculture Economics Role of site and situation Resources – physical and human Extraction – agriculture, timber, oil, fish Film – rise of Hollywood Aerospace – rise of defense industry Deindustrialization, outsourcing and high tech industry Urbanization Early settlement patterns – site and situation Spanish urban form and distribution – California missions Impact of American settlement and migration Rise of the Freeway City and suburbs Demise of the downtown, exurbia and edge cities Rural California – demise of the small town Population Demographic measures Changes and projections Impacts of population growth

Method(s) of Instruction

Lecture (02)
DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

Small-group discussions Lecture Use of Powerpoint to show maps and diagrams of California Slides ofCalifornia Handouts covering the geographic regions of California, plus specialized maps, i.e., climatic patterns, flora and fauna, etc. Use of chalkboard. Instructor will provide feedback as students do in-class projects such as map-making of California and its various geographic patterns.

Reading Assignments

Assigned from textbooks and supplemental materials.

Writing Assignments

Essay and short answer exam questions Research paper analyzing one or more of the topics covered in class Written assignments related to topics covered in class

Out-of-class Assignments

Research paper, written assignments. Students will spend on average 6 hours per week completing assignments and preparing for class.

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Objective examinations covering text and materials. Short written papers exploring issues realted toCaliforniadiscussed during lecture. Map tests on specific locations inCalifornia Evaluation of maps drawn by students Evaluation of written material based on readings and study of California atlas.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Eligible Disciplines

Geography: Masters degree in geography OR bachelors degree in geography AND masters degree in geology, history, meteorology, or oceanography OR the equivalent OR see interdisciplinary studies. Masters degree required. Geography: Masters degree in geography OR bachelors degree in geography AND masters degree in geology, history, meteorology, or oceanography OR the equivalent OR see interdisciplinary studies. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Fairbanks, D.. California Cultural Landscapes, ed. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2009 2. Required Selby, W.A. Rediscovering the Golden State, ed. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons, 2006 Rationale: . 3. Required Hyslop, R.S., Garver, S., Wu, L. California Eclectic: A Topical Geography, ed. Kendall Hunt, 2009 4. Required Peters, G., et al. California, ed. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2004 Rationale: .

Other Resources

1. Atlas of California (2010) http://111.humboldt.edu/cga/california-student-atlas Articles from The California Geographer

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