InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Assessments > World Campus: Online Only > Greenland vs. Cascadia
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Initial Publication Date: December 7, 2016

Greenland vs. Cascadia

Greenland (fly to 60 º 00' 00" N 44 º 00' 00" W at an eye altitude of approximately 3,000 km)

1. What is the most appropriate Inman and Nordstrom (1971) tectonic classification for this location? Be sure to check out this USGS.gov web page (moving slabs) to get some additional insight on tectonic boundaries relative to Greenland. Keep in mind that the west coast of Greenland faces a formerly active spreading center and that the east coast of Greenland faces the currently active Reykjanes spreading center that runs through Iceland.

2. Zoom in to an eye altitude of 300 km and examine the morphology of the southern tip of Greenland. What process do you think is dominantly shaping this coastline?

3. Examine some of the photos in Google Earth along the coastline in this area. Do you think this is a submerged or emergent coastline?

4. Is this an erosional or depositional coastline?

Cascadia (fly to 46 º 12' 00" N 122 º 11' 00" W at an eye altitude of approximately 1,500 km)

5. Compare this coastline to the one you just observed in southern Greenland. Look at the morphology of the coast and the bathymetry of the seafloor just to the west, noting in particular the narrow shelf, steep dropoff, and submarine canyons. What ist the most appropriate Inman and Nordstrom (1971) tectonic classifcation for this location?

6. Zoom in to ~50 km eye elevation. What kind of geologic feature is this?

7. Based on your observations and what you have learned about plate boundaries, what type of plate tectonic setting does Cascadia represent?


These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »