Connor-Carstensen landforms course Archives

Reading the landscape of Lingít Aaní

Update 2026

Back in the 2022 UAS fall semester, Geologist Cathy Connor and I offered a field-intensive Geo-393 course, modeled after the little book we wrote together in 2013. I concurrently started a course manual, in my standard Scoping & Journals format, figuring to eventually tie a bow around it for archiving on JuneauNature.

That was 4 years ago! The “manual” became a scaffolding for landforms-related reporting that never arrived at an obvious finale. It also swelled into hundreds of pages, too massive to post here as a single document. One reason it refused to conclude has been the apparently escalating series of ‘serious stuff coming downhill’—events powerful and massive enough to serve as landforming agents. This subject, in its social manifestation, merited a new category page: CULTURE>Dodging nature’s tantrums

So. I’ve split the course manual into 3 separate documents:

● 1geo393.pdf. with Parts I Scoping & II Journals 38mb At almost 200 pages, I had to export this one a pretty low resolution. Labels on some maps are too soft to read. Let me know if you’d like the full res pdf.
● 3tantrums.pdf: Parts III Dodging nature’s tantrums & IV Appendices. 22mb
● 4stereopairs.pdf, with 3D views of our field sites. 17mb

Glacier day, 20220924. Photo by Bruce Simonson

Rest of this page list links to resources already on JuneauNature, plus new materials developed specifically for the class. As the course progressed, I moved materials from this Reading the landscape category page to archival content pages. Links below keep everything sequential.

First 2 classes: Getting used to maps & navigation

We kicked off the course with custom geopdfs, centered on Áak’w, little lake (Auke Lake), and University of Alaska Southeast campus, launchpad for our quest to understand the shape of Áak’w & T’aaḵú Aaní.

The Cruise! Glaciers, rocktypes & seafloor landforms in T’aaḵú Aaní

On Sunday Sept-11 we motored 53 miles SE through T’aakú Aaní, exploring landforms from the water. In Avenza, we used geopdfs showing bedrock geology, Lingít placenames, cultural sites, glacial position lines at fiord-head, and a hillshade bathymetry. S’awdáan resources are here.

Jilḵáat, to cache (Chilkat River), from our day-3 stop at 8.3-mile. Photo by Cassie Mox

Evening class-3: S’awdáan debrief: Jilḵáat intro

What an amazing trip! Even better than pure-blue skies, there were enough puffy clouds and mixed haze for lovely photography. Pre-trip Chilkat resources archived here.

Evening class-4: Jilḵáat debrief & roadtour prep

Our follow-up class to the Chilkat tour focused on the Beach Road Land Slide, and a free-ranging 3D investigation with Discovery’s stereoscopes. Then Cathy prepped us for the Saturday field visits to Áak’w Tá, little lake bay (Auke Bay) and Áak’w Táak, inland from little lake (M-word Valley) Chilkat stuff archived here.

Bay&Valley day: marine&glacial landforms

In the morning we visited coastal sites at Aanchg̱altsóow, nexus town (Auke Rec) and K’aan Héenak’u, porpoise little bay (Smuggler’s Cove). Then, in the afternoon, we turned upvalley, for a look at ancient deltaic landforms and much younger morainal features. Bay&Valley archives here.

Mass wasting finale

This page has resources for a downtown-centered day of geo-explorations. Morning on mainland, then afternoon across the bridge to Sandy Beach and Blueberry Hills. (Hey! there’s a pair of names I don’t have to feel guilty about using . . . . except of course, for all the toxic waste in that sand, and . . . Dang! History’s kinda stingy with stuff we invaders can be proud of.) Geopdfs and historical stuff here.

Presentations day

Foliated tonalite walls, at the famous tiderip constriction, placid for our floatplane drop-in, August, 1994.

On Oct_5th we heard impressive student investigations into topics of special interest. Reading the landscape was officially over, for fall, 2022. But a real landscape tracker never hangs up her/his hand-lens & soil-probe & avenza geopdfs. We’ve heard from several friends who weren’t aware this class was happening and would have loved to join. If you’re among them, let Cathy Connor & me know.

For example, one spinoff from this class was friends’-trip to Ford’s Terror. Last time I was there was 1994. Here’s what it looked like.a quarter century ago.

Thanks to all who participated, and those who smoothed the way!

RC & CC