Transform Plate Boundaries
This video discusses the characteristics of transform plate boundaries where plates slide past each other. We examine four examples of transform boundaries between plates and describe how and why short transform segments offset the oceanic ridge system throughout the world's oceans. We take a closer look at the major transform boundary in North America, the San Andreas fault system and examine what the plate boundary looks like in the Californian desert and what might happen if it were to slip like it has done in the historical past. Finally, we give you an opportunity to see if you can identify the location of a transform boundary where it cuts across part of New Zealand.

What are Volcanic Hazards?
In this video we will describe the most common types of volcanic hazards associated with a volcanic eruption. We begin by considering the threat of an eruption from a Cascade Range volcano for citizens of Portland and Seattle. These are examples of composite volcanoes. Eruptions of these types of volcanoes produce tephra, lahars, pyroclastic flows and lava. Tephra represents the debris blasted into the air and can range in size from tiny glass shards to large blocks blasted out of the volcanic cone. When tephra combines with water it forms lahars that can transport all sizes of debris. Fast moving, toxic pyroclastic flows are among the most dangerous volcanic hazards. Lava plays a relatively modest role in eruptions of composite volcanoes but is a common product of shield volcanoes such as those in Hawaii.

Glacial Landforms
In this video we review the principal landforms created by glacial erosion (cirques, arêtes, striations, U-shaped valleys, fjords) and deposition (till, moraine, drumlins, eskers, kettle lakes, outwash plain, erratics). We discuss how a pair of glacial erosion processes - plucking, abrasion - work to break down rocks and modify the landscape. We compare and contrast glacial deposits made up of an unsorted mix of clay, sand and boulders and those that have been generated by running water. Finally, we start and finish the video by trying to figure out how a giant boulder ended up jammed in among the trees in Yellowstone National Park. The video ends with a short review quiz that asks you to identify four images of different landforms.

The Formation of Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
In this minivideo we will discuss the three steps in the formation of clastic sedimentary rocks - weathering, transportation, and lithification.

The Scientific Process
Science can help us address environmental challenges such as rising sea levels, the threat of natural hazards, access to resources, and changes to our climate system. This video uses a variety of examples from the geosciences and real life to provide an introduction to the processes of science. We discuss quantitative and qualitative data in terms of the composition of Earth's atmosphere and rocks formed by volcanoes. We describe interpretation using examples such as a large historical earthquake in the Pacific Northwest and the relationship between student grades and class attendance. Finally, we include a short activity for you to practice making observations, generating hypotheses, and making predictions.

Coal, Oil and Natural Gas
This video describes how fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal are formed and where they can be found. We set up side-by-side comparisons of what these materials are made of, how they develop, and the settings where they are preserved. We discuss how US consumption and production trends for oil and coal have changed in recent years.

Convergent Plate Boundaries
This video describes the physical features that can be observed at three different types of convergent plate boundaries and explains the geologic processes that produce these features. We characterize the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes associated with convergent boundaries and relate them to subduction of the cold descending plate and the addition of water to the hot overriding plate. We describe the difference between a volcanic arc and an island arc, and discuss why the crust is much thicker where to slabs of continental lithosphere collide. Finally, we use hands and oven mitts to produce simple analogs of the three convergent boundary types. Really.

How to Classify Volcanoes
This video describes the features geologists use to classify common types of volcanoes. We compare and contrast the features of two types of large volcanoes - shield volcanoes and composite volcanoes. One of these types produces structures that can be larger than Mount Everest while the other represent the majority of dangerous active volcanoes on Earth.We also explain that two other types of smaller volcanic landforms are relatively common and often form in association with their larger brethren. Finally, you can take a simple volcano recognition quiz to try to classify five examples of US volcanoes.

Tsunami Caught on Camera
A British Documentary on the Boxing Day Tsunami that hit Asia in 2004

The Geological History of Earth
This video discusses the major changes to the planet since its formation to the present day. We explain how Earth formed, where the Moon came from, how the atmosphere changed over time, where the water in the oceans originated, what the first life and fossils looked like, when more complex life forms began, a long period when little happened, when most of Earth became a snowball, and how extinction events allowed geologists to break down the most recent chunk of geologic time. You will learn the difference between an eon and an era, why we should be grateful for asteroid and comet impacts, and when oxygen started showing up in the atmosphere.