This course provides Civil Engineering students with an understanding of the physical world in which they work and live. The course deals with the following topics: structure of the earth, plate tectonic theory and continental drift, minerals, rocks and their mode of formation, erosion and weathering, soil formation, folding and fracturing of rocks, earthquakes, volcanoes, glacial landforms and permafrost, ground and surface water, rock mass stability, mass wasting, and the physiography of Canada. The engineering significance of each topic is illustrated by practical examples. Laboratory activities include mineral and rock identification and interpretation of topographic and geological maps.