This course is a field-based exploration of high mountain environments with an emphasis on alpine ecology and geomorphology. Students build on foundational principles of ecology, botany and physical sciences through field exploration of montane forests and meadow complexes, treeline ecosystems, alpine habitats and glacial landscapes. Topics include plant and animal identification, montane forest ecology, alpine habitats, alpine plant and animal adaptations, sky island biogeography, mountain weather and climate, mountain building, glaciology and mountain geomorphology. This course involves significant wilderness foot travel in remote mountain environments.
Students enrolled in this course will co-enroll in AS334 Mountain Expedition Skills Practicum
Course Faculty
David Scott Gilligan
David grew up on the Eastern Seaboard but came of age in the American West. After beginning his studies in Philosophy and Religion at Flagler College in Northeastern Florida, he…
Laura Beebe
From the warm sands of the Gulf of Mexico to the frigid shores of the Bering Sea, Laura has lived and learned in a diversity of landscapes and cultures. As…