GEOG- 1600 
Instructor: Robert C. Stinson 
Welcome to
Geography Of Natural Hazards! 

Instructor Information Center Campus
Instructor: Robert C. Stinson 
Office: N-129 Center Campus 
Office Phone: 586.286.2273 
E-Mail: stinsonb@macomb.edu
Course Description  A geographic study of natural hazards, how mankind is affected by these hazards and possible mitigation methods. 

 
Texts Kovach, Robert L., Earths Fury, Prentice Hall, 1995. 
Tobin & Montz, The Great Midwestern Floods of 1993, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1994. 

 
Course Outline  I. Chapter one: Introduction 
Chapter Two: Volcanoes 
Chapter Three: Earthquakes 
EXAM ONE 

II. Chapter Four: Earthquake Engineering 
Chapter Five: Landslides and Land Movement 
Chapter Six: Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought 
EXAM TWO 

III. Chapter Seven: Atmospheric Hazards 
Chapter Eight: Oceanographic Hazards 
EXAM THREE 

IV. Chapter Nine: River Floods 
Fire as a Hazard 

 
Electronics Policy All pagers, cell phones and similar devices must be TURNED OFF! Vibration alert mode is acceptable. Tape recording lecture is encouraged. 

 
Attendance  At the end of the second week a seating chart will be taken. Students may sit where they wish, but once the seating chart has been made, students are ask to remain in that seat for the rest of the semester or to inform the instructor if they wish to change seats. It is my policy that class attendance is highly desirable if the student is to benefit from this class. I will try to make the course as interesting as possible. Attendance is not required but if I can't match a face to your name when making out final grades, you weren't in class often enough and I wont cut you any slack. 

 
Methodology  The methodology employed in this course is that of lecture and discussion, with an emphasis on developing critical thinking skills. Reference will be made throughout this course to current events of geographical importance. An attempt will be made to show the relevance of the subject matter to your every day life experience and the inter-relationship of Geography and the other social sciences. If you do not understand the meaning of a word or expression or term, please ask for an explaination. You are probably not the only person who does not understand. Do not get hung up on memorizing facts! Emphasis will be put upon application of knowledge and critical thinking skills. This requires that you pay attention to the context as well as the content of class discussions and lectures. 

It is highly recommended that you consider tape recording class sessions. By doing so, you can concentrate on understanding processes and applications of knowledge presented, rather than trying to write down every thing the instructor says. You will be expected to understand how facts apply to different situations by reasoning out logical processes, sequences and consequences. Exam questions will stress critical thinking rather than rote memorization. 

 
Journal You are REQUIRED to keep a journal during this course. You will be required to have at least ten (10) entries in this journal.
Each entry is to be an entry about natural hazards. Each entry must contain the following five parts: 
1. Date of the event or information 
2. Source of the event or information 
3. Title or topic of the event or information 
4. A one paragraph summary of the content 
5. a short discussion, displaying critical thinking, of the 
importance, implications or consequences of this event or 
information. 

Sources of these entries will typically be public media such as: TV news programing, radio news programing, newspapers, weekly
news magazines, and monthly magazines. 

Journals MUST be typed. Journals are due no later than the last week of class. Journals may be turned in early but not piecemeal.
All ten entries must be turned in at once. Late journals will be accepted for reduced credit until the final exam. 

Journals are worth 25 grade points, which is one letter grade! 

 
Extra Credit  You have the option of earning extra credit in this course. The maximum extra credit which you can earn is 20 grade points, which
is about one letter grade. There are two ways that you may earn extra credit. 
Option One: you may submit extra journal entries beyond the ten required entries. You will earn two (2) grade points for each
extra journal entry. 
Option Two: You may choose to write a research paper about some specific natural hazard event or the natural hazards of some
specific region. 

 
Exams There will be four exams during this course. Exams will be multiple choice and 50 questions in length. I will drop your lowest exam score. Your final grade will be determined by the sum of your three highest exam scores plus your journal score plus any extra credit. The grading standard will be straight percent: 

Cheating will be consequated by a failing grade (E) and an administrative report. KEEP ALL EXAM ANSWER SHEETS as a record (proof) of your progress in this course. 

 
Grading Grading will be on a curve but no stricter than: 
  • A = 91 - 100 % 
  • B = 81 - 90 %
  • C = 71 - 80%
  • D = 61 - 70% 
  • E = 60% or below 
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