Reference no: EM131494683

Lab Assignment: Landforms

Adapted for UMD GEOG 211 by Amanda Hoffman-Hall

Source: Amy Brock-Hon, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

In this lab, you will use Google Earth to visit landforms across the Earth that have been formed by the processes described in lecture. If you have not yet covered a type of feature, or are not in the lecture course, this lab will require some additional research on your part. Consider this lab as a holistic review of everything you've learned in Physical Geography!

Stop 1

This stop brings us to a fabulous nick point in a stream that sits on the border between two countries. Zoom into the placemark, adjust the navigation tool to where north and south are reversed. Tilt the horizon and zoom into the feature. This placemark is showing a nick point in a stream. A nick point is a point of rapid erosion and incision at which as streambed is eroded to a new base level by a stream. A waterfall is a nick point. Zoom out to where you can see the whole system (~12 miles) and answer the following questions:

1A) This famous nick point is called what?

1B) Which direction is the river flowing?

1C) What are the names of the two bodies of water that the river connects?

1D) The Niagara escarpment is 170 feet high. What does this suggest about the elevation between the two bodies of water connected by the river?

Stop 2

Stops 2 and 3 bring us to a river in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska. This river runs nearly 280 miles and drains an area approximately 12,300 square miles.

2A) What fluvial feature is marked at stop 2?

2B) What is the name of this river?

Stop 3

Make sure that you zoom out in this area and observe the spectacular scars of the system!

3A) What fluvial feature is marked at stop 3?

3B) This feature is the result of what river process?

3C) What term is a way to quantify rivers, by dividing the distance along the river "as the fish swims" by the distance over the land "as the bird flies"?

Stop 4

This stop brings us to the Portuguese Bend Reserve in Palos Verdes, California. The Portuguese Bend Reserve consists of rolling hills, five distinct steep canyons and rock outcrops, with coastal sage scrub habitat.

4A) The feature under the placemark - what is this called?

4B) The two features surrounding the placemark (out into the water) - what are they called?

Stop 5

Now we're off to one of the most famous features in Japan, snow-capped and depicted often in art and photography from the country.

5A) What geologic feature is this?

5B) What drainage pattern is observed at this stop?

5C) Is this feature active or inactive?

Stop 6

For Stop 6 &7 we're going to look at two very similar - but also different - landforms.

6A) What is the name of this formation (note that it travels up and down the coast, it is not just directly under the pushpin)?

6B) This landform is created by the convergent boundary between the South American plate and the __________ plate.

6C) Where the two plates meet, the denser oceanic lithosphere of the 6B Plate is forced down and under the more buoyant continental lithosphere of the South American Plate, descending at an angle into the mantle in a process called ____________.

Stop 7

7A) What is the name of this formation (like 6A, this formation is not JUST under the pushpin, but travels far northeast and southwest)?

7B) True/False: The feature in 7A is also currently near a convergent boundary, between the North American and African plates.

7C) Which formation older? 6A or 7A?

Stop 8

Next we're going to travel north! Quite a bit north. Hint: To help with the following questions, turning on Photos in the Layers tab can be useful.

8A) What is the name of the feature at this stop?

8B) The long inlet to the east of the pushpin, which was carved by 8A, is known as a what?

Stop 9

For Stop 9 we're going closer to home. I should hope any University of Maryland student will be able to discern where we are!

9A) What is the name of the feature at this stop?

9B) The feature in 9A is similar to the inlet described at Stop 8, but created differently - what is this inlet called?

Stop 10

Off to Stop 10 towards the western coast of the US. Data from previous labs may prove helpful for this one.

10A) Notice the dry stream bed at this location. Observe the channel geometry, notice is bends nearly 90 degrees. This would make it a _______ drainage pattern.

10B) Zoom out from this location. Does your overall location give you some clue as to why the stream bed bends in such a way? It is likely due to _______activity.

10C) More specifically, what is the (quite famous) name of the feature causing the stream bed to bend?

Stop 11

Stop 11 is going to take us to a National Park in Utah. For this stop make sure you have Photos turned ON in the Layers tab - it will give you a much better view of the formations here.

11A) As hinted by the name of the park itself - when looking through the photos, what are the famous formations, such as Double O, Tunnel, Skyline, Surprise, and Delicate, called?

11B) Prior to the formations in 11A forming, they start out as more solid structures before being eroded away - you can see examples of them in the photos and aerial views. What are these structures called?

11C) This park receives on average 0.51 in of precipitation and 2 in of snow per year. While water is certainly a driving erosional force within the park (just look at the river to the east of the pushpin!) the dry climate and features within the park all point to what other type of erosion occurring there?

Stop 12

We're leaving the contiguous United States now...but not the US! The island we're visiting is extremely active! So much so that the USGS publishes consistent updates on their website.

12A) What is the name of the feature visible under the pushpin?

12B) What type of feature is it?

12C) 12B has been continuously erupting for quite some time! In what year did it start erupting, making it the longest-lived rift zone eruption of the last two centuries?

12D) On the same island as 12B is its more famous neighbor, Mauna Loa. What typeof feature is Mauna Loa?

12E) The type of feature found on this island is usually seen at tectonic plate boundaries, however these examples are nowhere near a plate boundary. Instead, they are considered intraplate, more commonly referred to as ___________.

Stop 13

At this next stop you will want to zoom and tilt to get a better view of the feature to the east of the pushpin.

13A) The feature here is evidence of what?

13B) The event that caused the feature in 13A occurred after a 15 day period of near-record what?

Stop 14

Head south...way south for this next stop. This is the Rio Negro River in Brazil which is a major tributary of the Amazon River.

14A) What type of channel pattern is represented by this river?

14B) Follow the river until it joins the main channel and follow the main channel east until it reaches the ocean. What is this feature called?

Stop 15

Stop 15 brings us under the sea!

15A) What is the name of this feature?

15B) How deep is it at its deepest point? (While you can use the elevation information at the bottom of the Google Earth window, it would be best to research this) Report in feet.

15C) While the eastern part of this feature has been named the Gonâve Microplate, what two major plates meet here at a transform boundary?

Stop 16

Stop 16 brings us back up out of the sea, but not far removed. Along the coast of Florida there are many interesting features, some of which are seen here.

16A) The two white sandy features nearly closing off the inlet are what type of feature?

16B) If the two features met in the middle, completely closing off the inlet, what would it then be called?

Stop 17

Not far from Stop 16 is Dog Island, an island inhabited entirely by dogs (just kidding).

17A) What type of island is this?

17B) This feature, as well as the features in 16A, are evidence of what type of coastline?

Stop 18

Now we're viewing one of the most famous peaks in the world, which gets it notable shape from a certain erosional process. When you first approach this stop you'll start on the north side of the peak. Fly around the peak to get a better view.

18A) Notice the sharp, almost knife-like ridges that lead up to the top of the peak. What are these ridges called?

18B) Between the features in 18A are a specific type of valley - what are these referred to as?

18C) When three or more of the landforms in 18A and 18B meet, a pyramidal peak is formed, also called a _____ - as is the case with this famous peak!

Stop 19

Stop 19 brings us to Wisconsin. If you are not familiar with the processes that formed much of the landscape in Wisconsin take the time to research it now.

19A) Based on your research, what type of lake is Elkhart Lake?

19B) What type of process is dominating the formation of the landforms at Stop 19 and 18?

Stop 20

Our last and final stop!

20A) These looks like waves! But they are not - what are they?

20B) Which of the following is NOT a type of the feature identified in 20A?

20C) Which desert is Stop 20 located in?

FINAL LAB QUESTION

21) Pick ANY landform - it can be a specific landform, like Mt. Rainer, Ayers Rock, or Dauphin Island, or a "type" of landform, such as a tarn, bluff, sea stack, plateau, beach, volcano, alluvial fan, etc. It can be one we visited in this lab, or discussed in lecture, or a landform that you learn about on your own.

For whichever landform you pick you are going to write a detailed explanation of how it is created/formed. Is it created by erosion or deposition, or both? Are glacial, fluvial, aeolian, coastal, or other processes involved? In order to receive full points your essay must be at least 500 words and contain sufficient detail of all of the facets that work together to create your chosen landform. This is the time to bring together everything you've learned about Physical Geography! Answer this question in the Lab 10 Essay Answer Sheet.