Department of Geography: Field Trips

The Geography Department at CWU offers a number of field-based courses, with many student field trips taking advantage of the great diversity among various local landscapes. Several different classes visit and study physical and cultural features of the places that are depicted within the satellite image below, looking toward the south high over the middle reaches of the Columbia River:

Key: Grand Coulee Dam Lake Chelan Wanapum Dam Kittitas Valley Alpine Lakes Wilderness

In addition, we usually offer every other year an intensive five week field camp entitled Geography of the West, under the direction of Dr. Karl Lillquist. In 1997 this took place in the Basin and Range province of central Nevada; and in 1999 the Great Columbia Plain and the channeled scablands were the focus of investigation. The Geography of the West is open to students from all over the country, and 10 credit hours may be earned in upper level geography. Visit with the participants of the first two field camps:

Geography of the West Field Camp 1997

Some scenes from various field trips for regularly offered classes:

Western AUSTRALIA with Dr. Hickey - GEOG 493 Field Experience

Geomorphology (GEOG 386) - Dr. Karl Lillquist's students on a Little Ice Age lateral moraine of the Emmons Glacier at Mount Rainier.

Cultural Geography (GEOG 308) - Field trip led in the past by Dr. Kuhlken and Dr. Uebelacker (and now Dr. Abbott) includes a stop overlooking the Kittitas Valley to view irrigation canal network and field patterns.

Wine: A Geographical Appreciation (GEOG 498) - A popular summer course offering from Drs. John & Nancy Hultquist. Here the class gets a rare tour of a private vineyard west of Yakima.

Economic Geography (GEOG 304 - Dr. Kuhlken or Dr. Nancy Hultquist) - In a typical field trip students study the farming and ranching landscapes of the region, including this bison ranch in the Kittitas Valley.