Geo Lab Activity 1 Google Earth.2022 (1)
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Fall 2022 Geology 101
Name Colton Johnson
Lab 1: Introductory Google Earth Activity
The purpose of this activity is to introduce you to Google Earth
and to explore several types of geological features that we will discuss in more detail later in the course. Do your best to answer all of the questions, even if you are uncertain. Type your answers in the boxes; they will expand as needed.
Instructions
A. Setup
1. Download and install Google Earth
on your computer. Once it is installed, open the program by clicking the icon on the desktop.
2. Familiarize yourself with the following features: Navigation Controls
,
Search Pane
,
Places
,
Layers
,
Toolbar
.
3. Clear the My Places box
4. Set the Layers to show “Borders and Labels” and “Roads”.
5. Under the Tools
menu, click Options,
then set Units of Measurement to “Feet, Miles”).
(For Mac Users, find Preferences
under Google Earth Pro on the menu.)
B. Practicing some basic functions
1.
Type “Rockville, MD” into the Search Panel
and click on “Search”. This will take you to Rockville and automatically create a red place marker in the center of town. 2.
Find the MC campus by traveling north (toward the top of the screen) along Route 355 (Hungerford Drive). Locate the Science Center. It looks like this:
a. What is the latitude and longitude of the building? 39.09699, -77.1593
b. What is the elevation in feet of the sidewalk outside the building?
428ft
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Fall 2022 Geology 101
2. a
. What is the date of the image? 10/2019
b. On the Toolbar, open the Historical Imagery
tool and move the slider to view the image from the year 2005. Name two
differences you observe on the campus between 2005 and the recent image.
The Science Center hadn’t been built yet
Many of the buildings look different
3.
Restore the image to the current date by unclicking the Historical Imagery tool , and use the Ruler
tool to measure the distance from the Science Center to the center of Rockville (as marked the red placemark). a
. What is the distance in miles? 1.1 miles
b.
What is the distance in kilometers?
1.76 km
4.
Back at the Science Center, use the Path Tool to create a path following the sidewalk around the pond next to the Science Center. Follow the shape of the sidewalk by clicking the mouse to create short line segments, as shown below:
a. What is the length of the path in feet?
1286 ft
b. What is the length of the path in meters?
392 meters
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Fall 2022 Geology 101
C. Now for some exploring . . .
5.
Copy and paste latitude and longitude 36°24'12.45"N 111°52'42.98"W into the Search Panel and click Search. This will take you to the Grand Canyon. Notice that it creates a placemark down in the bottom of the canyon. Move your cursor over the placemark.
a. What is the elevation of the bottom of the canyon in feet? Is it higher or lower than Rockville?
2837 ft
higher
b. Move your cursor to a point on the rim
of the canyon above the placemark. (Be sure to zoom out to an eye altitude of 20,000 feet or so. The canyon is big
! What is the elevation of the rim?
3640 ft
c. How deep is the canyon here in feet?
~800ft
6. Still at the canyon, use the cursor to drag the Street View
icon so that it is on the blue line
in the bottom of the canyon. Once you have entered Street View, use the cursor to look around at the river and the walls of the canyon. In this course we will talk about the different types of rock: Igneous
, Sedimentary
, and Metamorphic
. Notice the layering in the rock that makes the canyon walls. Which type of rock is it?
sedimentary
7. Exit Street View and type “Mauna Loa, HI” into the Search Panel. This will take you to Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano. Later in the course we will talk about the different types of volcanoes. Mauna Loa is what is called a shield
volcano. a. Describe any features you see that indicate that it is a volcano.
Incendiary rock covers the top
Gas is constantly emitted from the top
It is a mountain
b. Despite being in Hawaii, Mauna Loa is tall enough that there can be snow at the summit (enough to ski). What is its elevation in feet?
13088
Below is an elevation profile of Mauna Loa. As is typical of shield volcanoes, it is broad and domelike in shape. Page 3
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Fall 2022 Geology 101
8.
Next we will visit the Mayon Volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Type “Mayon Volcano” into the Search Panel.
a. What is the elevation in feet of the top of the Mayon Volcano?
7973 ft
b. Which mountain is taller, Mauna Loa or Mayon?
Mauna Loa
Below is an elevation profile of Mayon.
Mayon Elevation Profile
c. The Mayon Volcano is a typical stratovolcano (also called a composite volcano), . Describe Mayon’s shape and how it differs from that of Mauna Loa, a classic shield volcano. Later in the course we will discuss why these volcanoes have different shapes.
It is much more pointed and steep
9.
Zoom out from Mayon until you can see all of the Philippine Islands. Notice that to the
east of the islands is a dark blue band of deep water. This is an oceanic trench, called the Phillipine Trench. The deepest and most famous trench is the Mariana Trench. Type “Challenger Deep” into the Search Panel to travel to the Mariana Trench. This is the deepest part of the world’s oceans. Use the cursor to see if you can find the deepest point,
and record your result in feet here:
-34525 ft
10.
From the deepest point on Earth, travel to the highest point on Earth by typing “Mount Everest” into the Search Panel. a. How high is Mount Everest in feet?
29000 ft
b. Compare the height of Mount Everest with the depth of the Mariana Trench. Which is more extreme? If you were to drop Mount Everest into the Mariana Trench, how much, if
any, of Mount Everest would be sticking out of the water?
Mariana Trench
None of Mount Everest would be sticking out of the water
c. Zoom in for a close look at the peak of Mount Everest. You may be able to see some layering of the rock that makes the summit. It is a type of sedimentary rock called limestone, which forms from sediments laid down in shallow tropical seas. Why is rock Page 4
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Fall 2022 Geology 101
that formed below sea level now the summit of the world’s tallest peak? Suggest a possible explanation:
Everest could have been pushed above sea level after millions of years through the shifting of tectonic plates
11. Type “Mount Kilimanjaro” into the Search panel and travel to Tanzania, east Africa. Like Mauna Loa and the Mayon Volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro is a volcano. (Notice its crater.) Below is an elevation profile of Kilimanjaro.
a. Which does it resemble more, Mauna Loa or Mayon? What type of volcano do you think it is?
Mayon
Stratovolcano
12. Notice the white snow and ice fields on the top of Kilimanjaro. Click on the Historical Imagery tool and view the sequence of images since 1976. How has the snow cover on the mountain changed over this period? What might have caused the changes?
There is much less slow than there used to be
Global Warming
13.
Now, fly back to Maryland by typing “Assateague Island” into the Search Panel. Assateague Island is a long, narrow strip of sand called a barrier island
. North of Ocean City Inlet, the barrier island is called Fenwick Island. Before 1933, when a storm opened inlet, the two islands were attached. What appears to have happened since then? (Look closely.) a. Can you suggest a cause for the change?
Sea levels rising
b. Where else along the Atlantic Coast can you find barrier islands?
Delaware, New Jersey, New York etc.
14. Finally, choose your own place to visit! It can be a place you have always wanted to visit, or a place that is special to you. It can be a natural wonder (like a mountain or a river) or it can be a cultural wonder (like a building), but it should be someplace exotic and photogenic.
a. Enter the name of the place, its latitude and longitude and what it is that makes the place fascinating.
Cliffs of Moher
52.9715, 9.4309
Incredibly steep ocean cliffs
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b. Using the Save Image tool on the toolbar, give the image a title and add your name. Save the image and then paste it into this box.
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