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.

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.

Divergent Plate Boundaries (or How do you make an ocean?)
This video describes the characteristics of divergent plate boundaries including the distribution of earthquakes, the elevation of the sea floor, and the age of the rocks along the oceanic ridge system. We spin some globes, fade some maps and label some sketches to show you what happens when a continent is split apart to form a new ocean basin. You will visit remote locations in east Africa and the Red Sea and figure out why the Pacific Ocean is wider than the Atlantic even though they are the same age and were formed by the same processes.

Metamorphic Rocks (& toast)
This video discusses the formation of metamorphic rocks, one of the three major groups of rocks on Earth and the bedrock under much of North America. We explain that toast is a metamorphic form of bread and describe the conditions necessary for metamorphism to occur (burial of rocks, proximity to magma, plate tectonic settings). You will learn about the metamorphic temperature window, how developing a foliation is similar to squeezing a marshmallow, the names of some common metamorphic rocks, and what happens when sandstone and limestone are subjected to higher temperatures and pressures.

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.

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.

Continental Drift
This video describes the evidence Alfred Wegener used to formulate his continental drift hypothesis and examines why this idea did not gain wide acceptance when it was originally proposed. Wegener pursued four lines of evidence to support continental drift and the existence of the supercontinent, Pangaea. His evidence included the fit of the continents, matching features between now separated land masses, reconstructions of past climates, and the distribution of several fossil species.

Sedimentary Rocks
In this video we will classify the three major types of sedimentary rocks (clastic, chemical, biochemical) and give examples of each. You can learn how to casually drop terms like haboob, coccolithophore, and conglomerate into conversation. Finally, we explain how each type of sedimentary rock is formed and the settings where they could be found.

Tectonic Plates
In this video we describe the three major compositional layers of Earth and the characteristics of a tectonic plate which is composed of lithosphere representing parts of the crust and mantle. The lithosphere is divided into pieces we call tectonic plates. Ah, you say, but can you demonstrate what you mean using an orange? Why, yes, yes we can. After the orange demo, we illustrate how to use maps of earthquake locations to draw outlines of Earth's major tectonic plates and give them names. Following the video we want you to be able to take a blank map of the world and draw a reasonable sketch of where the major plate boundaries are located.

Earth's Elements and an Introduction to the Silicate minerals
This video identifies how rocks are composed of elements that build minerals. We identify the most common elements in the crust, as well as in the whole Earth. Viewers will recognize common elements from their breakfast cereal that are also key components in the rocks below our feet. We will learn that only a handful of elements combine with silicon and oxygen to form the silicates, the world's most abundant group of minerals. Finally, we describe the characteristics of silicate minerals, and how they break down to form simple commodities like sand and gravel deposits.