Geography Minor

Offered autumn and spring. Introduction to the earth’s major natural environmental systems, their spatial distribution and interrelationships, including weather and climate, vegetation and ecosystems, soils, landforms, and earth-surface processes.

Offered autumn and spring. Prereq. or coreq., GPHY 111N. Introduction to concepts and techniques needed to understand and analyze the information contained in various types of maps, graphs, aerial photos, imagery, and other graphics and geographic data sets. This is prerequisite to GPHY 385.

Offered autumn and spring. Introduction to Human Geography focuses upon the linkages between geography and society including analysis of regions, ethnic groups, urban landscapes, migration and population change, geopolitics, economics, and cultural differences.

Offered autumn. An overall view of how the lands and peoples of the world are organized into coherent geographical regions, how landscapes differ from region to region, and how the people differ in terms of their traits, beliefs, ways of life, and economic livelihood.

Consent of Instructor. A field-based course offered during winter session in the winter splendor of the North Fork of the Flathead River and Glacier National Park. Topics addressed include physical geography, geology, winter ecology, national park management, environmental history, and the changing economy of the region.

Offered autumn.  The physical, cultural, economic, political,  and historical geography of the state including Montana’s mountains and the prairies.

Offered intermittently. A survey of the biophysical and cultural geography of Sub-Saharan Africa. Emphasis is on the region's cultural-historical development and current ecological, demographic, and economic patterns.

Offered intermittently. A survey of the biophysical and cultural geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa.  Emphasis on environmental change; rehistory; patterns of cultural and historical change; issues of socio-economic, religious, and political diversity; and the broader political significance of the region.

Offered intermittently. Physiographic regions of North America; highlights of historical geography blended with physical and cultural aspects of the continent. Lesser known places are explored.

Offered autumn. The study of the geographical setting of the Crown of the Continent of North America, including the richness of physical geography, history, culture, and models of conservation. Examines ongoing research initiatives, impacts of climate change, regional transformations, and the relationship between people and this mountainous environment.

(R-9) Offered intermittently. Selected regions will be listed as appropriate in each Class Schedule.

(R-12)  Offered autumn and spring.  Through extended backcountry travel, experiential examination of regional landforms, climate, hydrology, soils, and patterns of vegetation and wildlife.  Local landscapes, natural-resource endowment, and societies with particular emphasis on human-environmental interaction.  Geographical skills and techniques, including map reading and navigational skills.  Offered by the Wild Rockies Field Institute as part of a semester-long, 12-credit field experience with corequisite courses in allied fields.

Offered intermittently. Investigation of regionalism as a concept and its future in the Rocky Mountain West. Regionalism as a geographical, economic, political, and cultural entity.

Offered intermittently. A study of the geography and mountain-society interactions in High Asia.  The course includes attention to the theory and methodology of mountain geography, with attention to physical and human systems and their interaction.

Offered intermittently. In-depth treatment of a geographic region, a particular regional problem, or the methodology of regional geography. Topics vary.

Offered every term. Open to sophomores or juniors or with Consent of Instructor. This course is designed as a practical introduction to the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for storing, retrieving, analyzing and displaying spatial data. It will also cover the history of cartography and the conventions of the modern map-making process. Students need to register for a required lab section.

Offered autumn and intermittently in spring. Prereq., GPHY 112N or Consent of Instructor. Field techniques used by geographers and planners in making field observations and in collecting data.