Open drainage.kmz
1. After reviewing the chapter on Fluvial Processes, open the Drainage patterns placemark and zoom to the first placemark.
What type of drainage pattern is this? Underground drainage and Dendriric drainage pattern
What is the name of the mountain you are looking at? Mount. Shasta - Sacred Mountains Next To Pluto cave
2. Zoom to placemark 2. What type of drainage pattern is this? Dendriric drainage pattern
What is the name of the mountain range that is causing this type of drainage? Sacramento mountains
3. Zoom to placemark 3. Although this is not a drainage pattern, it is an interesting pattern on the landscape (amongst the trees and meadows). What type of activity do you think has caused this pattern?
Fluvial processes caused by lava flowing throughout the landscape
4. Zoom to placemark 4. What type of stream channel is this? Low gradient stream channel
What fluvial conditions create in this pattern? Fluvial gradient – when the fluvial gradient is low then the gradient of the river will also be low.
5. Zoom to placemark 5. Why is there such a sharp contrast in color at the meeting of these 2 rivers?
The types of activities that takes place in the origin of the two rivers is different. One of the rivers acquired its color from the fluvial activities that took place where it originates from.
Open sacramento.kmz
6. Zoom to the Cutoff #1 placemark. This is an example of the political boundaries not keeping pace with shifting river channels.
What is the primary cause of these dramatic shifts in river paths? Volcanic and fluvial activities
7. Zoom to the Kentucky Bend placemark. This section of land is a part of Kentucky but only connected by land through Tennessee. In your opinion, was this part of Kentucky created due to error in the original boundary description along a particular line of latitude, or was there a shift in the river that may have caused this land to be separated? It seems that a shift in the river path must have caused this.
Open cumberland.kmz. Toggle the topographic map overlay on and off.
8. Zoom in and out and fly around the area to get a sense of the landscape. What is the general name given to the feature identified as “The Narrows? Out crop
What is the term for this type of stream? Water gap
9. Using the ruler tool measure the gap from point A to point B. How wide is it? 13”
What is the vertical relief from point B to the surface of the stream? 27.5”
In order to find the relief from point B to the stream you will have to read the elevation values from the bottom left hand corner of the screen. Be careful not to use the Eye altitude values – that is a number representing how far above the virtual ground you are.
10. How far south would you have to travel to find the next gap? 12 miles
How far north? 20.4 miles
Open oolitic.kmz. Toggle the topographic map overlay on and off.
11. How would you characterize the topography of the area with the high concentration of sinkholes?
Most f the topography is composed of calcium carbonate oolitic sand material
12. Zoom to the Lines placemark. What features are symbolized by the dotted lines? Roads
Turn the topographic map overlay off. Can you tell what they are yet? If not, zoom to the Closer view placemark. it is not easy as they look very faint.
Describe the pattern on the trees. Why do you think the forest has that pattern? What time of year was the imagery taken? How can you tell? What time of day do you think the imagery was taken? The trees are arranged in a manner likely to suggest that they are used for demarcation of the land and provision of boundaries.
13. Compare the lakes in the sinkholes on the map overlay with the imagery. Does it look like the landscape is wetter or drier since the map was made? The landscape looks drier
Open lakewales.kmz. Toggle the topographic map overlay on and off. The series of lakes you see here are formed from sinkholes due to the karst topography of the landscape.
14. Compare the topographic map with the image. What changes do you see on the ground that has happened since 1993 when the map was made? Most of the changes which are visible are due to human intervention. There has not been any form of eruption or any natural cause to the change in environment.
Has the landscape gotten wetter or drier since 1993? What is your evidence? The landscape looks drier this is evident through the presence of more streams emerging
15. What feature is indicated by the green dots on the topographic map? Citrus plantations
Compare the health of the trees at A with the trees at B. How would you describe their health?
Trees in A looks greener than their counterparts in B.
How would you describe the overall health and condition of the trees in the region between Lake Wales
and Highland Park? The trees are greener and hence healthier
16. The purple areas on the topographic map indicate new features since the last edition of the map. How would you describe the changes to the community around Lake Wales in terms of changes in population and changes in economic or agricultural activity? The population has increased and the economic activities have not changed much.
