Google Earth



GO THERE with Google Earth

Exercises

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|1a. Make sure no boxes are checked in the layers window. Use Fly To and enter the prime coordinates, 0.0, 0.0 (intersection of the |

|prime meridian and the Equator). What is the local name for this area? (Hint: Move the pointer over the placemarker, and a name |

|should appear). |

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|Do you think the name is correct? Why? |

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|How would you get there if you could go? |

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|What is the minimum height from which you can view the area, even it the view is fuzzy? |

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|Zoom out to an eye elevation of between 7500 and 8000 miles. Click on the Tools Folder on the main toolbar, and click on Measure. |

|Using the measure tool, draw as vertical a line as you possibly can from the placemarker ┼ to the northernmost edge of the planet. |

|What is the distance? |

|should be around 4630 miles |

|Based on the length of your line, approximately how far would a complete trip around the world be if you traveled along this |

|north-south line? |

|about 18,400 |

|How long would it take in a jet airplane traveling along that path if the jets average cruising velocity is 500 mph |

|around 30 hours depending on the length of the line |

|Clear the line you have drawn, and draw another line using the measure tool that extends from the prime coordinates to the eastern |

|edge of the planet that is as level (horizontal) as you can make it. What is the length of this line? |

|should be around 4820 |

|Which is line is longer—the north-south line, or the east-west line? |

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|Based on the length of the new line, approximately how far would a complete trip around the world be if you traveled along this |

|east-west line? |

|about 18,400 |

|How long would it take in a jet airplane traveling along that path if the jets average cruising velocity is 500 mph |

|(around 30 hours depending on the length of the line) |

|Based on your observations, is the Earth a perfect sphere? |

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|What is the difference between its north-south and east-west measurements? |

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|Postulate a natural reason why the Earth has different north-south and east-west measurements. |

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|Clear the line you have drawn, and redraw another north-south line using the measure tool from the prime coordinates to the |

|northernmost edge of the planet. |

|Which continents does this north-south line cross? |

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|If you were the sun in this view, would people located in towns/cities along your north-south line see the sun’s position as a |

|sunset, sunrise, or midday? |

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|Why? |

|Using the left (west) navigational button, rotate your view of the planet till your north south line is as close to the right |

|(eastern) side of the planet as you can get it. If you were the sun in this view, would people located in towns/cities along your |

|north-south line see the sun’s position as a sunset, sunrise, or midday? |

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|Why? |

|If you were the sun in this view, would people located in towns/cities in (Brazil) South America see the sun’s position as a |

|sunset, sunrise, or midday? |

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|Why? |

|Using the right (east) navigational button, rotate your view of the planet till your north south line gets as close to the left |

|(western) side of the planet as you can get it. If you were the sun in this view, would people located in towns/cities along your |

|north-south line see the sun’s position as a sunset, sunrise, or midday? |

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|Why? |

|If you were the sun in this view, would people located in towns/cities in Pakistan, westernmost India, and on cruise ships in the |

|middle of the Indian see the sun’s position as a sunset, sunrise, or midday? |

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|Why? |

|If you were the sun in this view, would people located in towns/cities in eastern Australia and the island nations of Samoa, Tonga,|

|and the Phillipines see the sun’s position as a sunset, sunrise, or midday? |

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|The sun always seems to rise in the east (the “orient”), and set in the west. If you were to look down on the north pole from a |

|satellite in space, which direction (clockwise, or counterclockwise would the Earth’s rotation be? |

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|A description of north south lines on the Earth’s surface such as yours seem to define a north-south belt of areas where the sun is|

|either setting, a series of north-south areas where it is setting, and a series of north-south areas where it is directly |

|overhead. These north-south belts are often called time-zones, and the lines dividing the globe into these north south belts are |

|also named after the suns highest position in the sky, which is midday, or “meridian” (latin, “meri”=mid and “dia”=day). How many |

|time zones are there on Earth? |

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|What is the angular distance in degrees for a time zone (HINT: divide the total degrees of longitude on Earth by the number of time|

|zones) |

|15 degrees |

|Using the left (west) navigational button, rotate your view of Earth back to its original position with your north-south line at |

|the center of your view. In the Layers Panel, click on the borders folder. How many countries does your line cross? |

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|Click on the view folder and click on lat/long grid. What happens to your line? |

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|Use the north (= towards top of screen) arrow on the Navigation panel to rotate your view along your line to the north. The name |

|of your line will become apparent as you continue to rotate your view using the towards top of screen arrow. What is the name of |

|your line? |

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|What is the latitude of the red dot marking Greenwich in Google Earth? |

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|Describe the North Geographic Pole. Zoom in to about 20 miles eye elevation. |

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|In what country is the pole, and to whom does Santa pay taxes? |

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|Move your pointer around the circumference of an approximately 100 mile diameter circle around the pole, and pay attention to the |

|latitude and longitude of your pointer. |

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|Describe how the lat/long varies around the pole. |

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|What does the variation in latitude and longitude around the pole imply about lat and longitude? |

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2. Clearwater Lake, Canada. Measure the distance across the length in three directions and record them (a.b.c.) ___________________

How much do the distances differ? ____________________

What do you think made the lake based on your observations? ____________________

2a. Measure the distance across the lake immediately east of Clearwater Lake, Ontario. _________________

Do you think its origin is similar to that of Clearwater Lake and why? ___________________________

3. Manicougan Lake, Ontario. Measure the distance across the lake in three directions and record each. _____________________

How is it different from Clearwater Lake, Ontario. ________________

How is it the same?_________________________

Zoom in from the farthest point directly above Manicougan. At what eye altitude can you first detect it? __________

At that altitude, about what size is it compared to some other geographic entity._________________

At and eye altitude of 227 miles, measure the north-south distance across the densely populated area of Montreal (deep gray to pink gray). ______

How does this compare with Manicougan Lake. ____________

What would happen to Montreal if it were affected by the same kind of thing that formed Lake Manicougan? ___________________

What is the length of Long Island in New York? _________

The 911 disaster would be what approximate percentage of the destruction if Long Island was affected with the force suggested by the size of Lake Manicougan?_____________

4. San Francisco Bay area—zoom out to around 250 miles. Turn off roads and turn on county boundaries, leave on terrain and cities towns for reference. Find the trace of the San Andreas Fault by looking for a long NW-SE trending lineament that is prominently exposed in Marin County, just northwest of San Francisco on the northern side of the bridge. Measure its length in Marin County. ___________ .

Is it exposed anywhere north of Marin County?________________

In what Caleefornia county does the SAF last appear on land and what is the lat/long its last inferred position on land? (Hint, you may want to tilt the view about 45 degrees with and elevation exaggeration of about 1.5 which will help you to see the topography around the fault). ____________________

Describe the topography of the SAF. Is is a ridge or a valley. In what general direction(s) does water that rains onto the fault zone? ____ What can you infer about how faults control water drainage, based on your observations?_____________

• Draw a straight line from Bird Rock at the northernmost land exposure of the SAF in Marin County along the axis of the fault to the southeast corner of San Mateo County.

o If the fault ruptures north of the Bay area, will the damage to Caleefornia’s infrastructure (i.e. major roads and cities) be extensive? __________

o List the freeways south of the Bay Area that would be severed by a 30 foot rupture along your trace of the SAF in San Francisco and San Mateo County. _______, ______, ______, ______

o Has there been any apparent foresight in planning the transportation corridors in those areas, based on your observations, to mitigate fault severance by movement on the SAF? ___________________________

5. Visit Lee Vining, CA. Is the position of the site locator icon correct, based on what you know about towns? Why_______________________

What is the name of the lake near Lee Vining? __________________

What is the elevation of the lake? ___________ How would the clothing choice of Lee Vining locals differ from those of Las Vegas, NV for Labor Day Weekend?_________________

Zoom out to about 16-18 miles and center the lake in your view. Turn on the earthquake layer. The cluster of quakes you see near NW of the lake is centered at the _____/____ highway junctions. Make a 3.5 mile SW trending line from that highway junction to the center of a brownish black prominent feature along the lakes NW shore (NW of Negit Island). Describe the vegetation of that feature? _________ Tilt the view completely to view a profile of the feature. Describe its profile _________________________. What do the shape and lack of vegetation imply about the age and/or origin of the feature? ________________

What can you infer about the origin of the lake near Lee Vining, based on its shape?________________________

Compare and contrast the shape of the feature with the shape of the lake. _____________

A series of smaller, circular features become visible about a mile south of the lake shore. Are they more like dried up lakes similar to this one, or to the feature on the NW shore of the lake? ______________

Do the circular shapes of the geographic features in this area near Lee Vining indicate a common origin? ______________ What does this imply about the nature of the cluster of earthquakes N of Lee Vining? _______________________________

How do the two knobs of land on the southwest shore of the lake differ from the knob on the NW side?________________

The knobs on the SW shore are deltas, formed from insoluble sediment influx transported by fluvial (i.e. river and creek) systems into a valley or depression. Notice the green vegetation along the creeks. The SW most knob is formed by __xxx__ creek, which drains Tioga Pass, the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park. These two deltas are the source of most of the water in the lake. The LA Metro Water District has diverted some of the creek water into the California Aquaduct for almost a hundred years, but today, the lake level is fairly stable. Where is the river that drains the lake? __________________

Except for aquaduct, where does the water go?___________

How do you think the concentric lines NE of the Lake formed? _________________

The water of Lee Vining Creek flows across the rocks of the Sierra Nevada to the west (just east of Yosemite National Park). The rocks in this part of the Sierra are granite, and composed of mainly feldspar (90% of the rock, including: potassium feldspar (potassium aluminosilicate) and plagioclase feldspar (sodium aluminosilicates)), less than 10% quartz (silicon dioxide), and a little biotite (iron phyllosilicate). The water dissolves and picks up small amounts the chemical compounds that make up these rocks. If you were to boil the lake water to remove germs, what would it taste like? (Don’t say yucky!!) (NOTE: Hard water is rich in dissolved calcium, soft water is rich in dissolved sodium) ___________________________________________________

The shores of the lake are not richly vegetated—there are no trees, etc. Why do you think plants do not like to grow near the lake? ______________________

Go South of Lee Vining to Lake Crowley, which is about 11 miles southwest of Mammoth Lakes, CA. View the area at a height of between 22 and 25 miles. How many earthquake epicenters are there NW of Lake Crowley compared to the lake near Lee Vining? ________________

What does this imply about the area around Lake Crowley, based on your observations of the Lee Vining area? ___________________________

Does Lake Crowley have a different origin that the lake near Lee Vining, and how do you think it formed?___________

List two major differences to support your reasoning a. ___________ b. ____________

6. Dead Sea—Go to the Dead Sea (use fly to if you can’t find it). View the Dead Sea from an altitude of about 150 miles. Turn off all boundaries except for international ones. What is the nature of the topography of the western border of Jordan, and how does this compare to the features you observed in the bay area of California?_______________________________________________

What does this imply about the origin of this part of the world? _____________________

The finger-like bay at the southern terminus of the western Jordan boundary is long and narrow. How is this bay topographically related to the area along the western Jordanian Boundary? ___________________

Would this narrow seaway be more or less salty than the rest of the Red Sea that it opens into? Explain your answer ____________________________

Does water from the Dead Sea drain into this bay? __________________

From what source does the Dead Sea get most of it water? ____________

What is the elevation of the Dead Sea? ________________

How would the water taste there if you could boil and drink it, compared with the lake near Lee Vining? _________________ .

What do you think the structures are at the south end of the Dead Sea (e.g. fish ponds, etc.)? _________________________________

Why are those structures located at the south, instead of the north shore of the Sea? ______________________________

7. Military and Secret Government Installations in southern Nevada(about 100 km northwest of Las Vegas, near 37°07′N 116°03′W)

Use fly to to go the area 37 degrees North, 116 degrees West. This area is known as Yucca Flat, and is slightly north of a large tan splotch called Yucca Lake.

Is Yucca Lake a good place to waterski? __________________Why? _____________

Yucca Flat has some unique features, most are less than 0.1 miles in diameter. Are they mounds from giant gophers, termite mounds, or depressions in the valley floor? _______

Move your hand pointer over the area covered by the objects and observe how the elevation of the area containing the objects varies. Which direction would water flow in Yucca Flat? _____________________

Where would it end up? ____________________________

Where would any contaminants from the objects end up, if they were moved as either particulates or as soluble compounds across the surface of Yucca Flat? _________

How would that affect any development on the shores of Yucca Lake? __________

This is the major area for testing nuclear weapons in the world, and is called the Nuclear Testing Facility. Over 925 ANNOUNCED nuclear devices were detonated at the NTS, between 1951 and 1992 (seismic records indicate many UNANNOUNCED) get seismic record from CSUSB courtesy wbl).

See oblique photo of Sedan, the largest underground nuclear device detonated on July, 6, 1962 over 600 feet below the valley floor, producting a crater that is 320 feet deep and 1280 feet in diameter. Use fly to measure the maximum disruption to the landscape by Sedan.________________________. How does this compare with the diameter of the crater itself?______________________

Using the measure tool, what is the diameter of the largest circular disruption in the area? _____________________

Do you suppose it was caused by a bigger or smaller detonation than the detonation that formed Sedan?_____________________________________________



1.4 mile dia

.6 mile dia

sedan max 0.5 circular disruption of landscape

xx. Use these coordinates to fly to the brown objects in the Nevada Desert Near the proposed Nuclear Waste Repository about 12.5 miles southwest of Beatty Nevada: 36° 47’ 26.08” North and 116° 34’ 43.17” West.

How many the large complete brown objects are in this area? ___________________

Describe the shape of the apparently complete brown objects _____________________

Turn on the terrain and view the objects from an oblique tilted view. Are they topographically higher or lower than the surrounding landscape? _______________

Use the rotate left button and rotate the objects to view them from all sides.

What direction does water drain down these objects when in rains?______________

After the water flows off the objects in the valley, where does it go? ___________

Which river would it enter? __________________________________________

Does it ever cross US highway 95?____________________________________

Use the measure tool to locate the crest of a north-south trending ridge of layered brown rock that is about 5 miles due east of the largest brown object. This is Yucca Mountain, and is the site for a proposed nuclear waste repository in the US. Radioactive waste placed into Yucca Mountain must remain geologically unaffected for at least 10,000 years. Yucca Mountain is essentially a tilted block of layers of 12 million year old (i.e. Miocene) tuff, a rock produced during violent pyroclastic volcanic eruptions. What color are the rock layers?___________________________________________

Are the layers of rock along the eastern face of the crest of Yucca Mountain fairly continuous or do they appear offset, which might indicate comparatively recent faulting and tectonic activity?_________________

Use the Google browser bar, use the following addreses to obtain three governmental documents from the Federal Government on the geology of the Yucca Mountain Repository.

xx. Use Fly to and the following coordinates to go to northern Death Valley just north of the small town of Stovepipe Wells: 36 degrees 39’ N 117 degrees 14’ W. Zoom out to an eye altitude of about 10 miles. Describe the shape of large blue-green object centered on that point.____________________________

What is the name of the canyon from which this object emanates?__________________

Wave your panning hand over the bluish object. Where is the highest point?___________

What is the elevation of its lowest point? _____________________________

What happens to materials coming out of the canyon and how does that relate to the shape of this blue-green feature?____________________________________

Do you think these objects grow?_________________________________

Under what conditions, based on your observations of the current surface you are observing?__________________________________________________

Use the measure tool to determine the maximum width of this object to the nearest 0.5 mile.____________________________

Is the object wider or longer, based on your measurements?______________________

A little over a mile up the canyon, observe the color of the material as it covers the small feeder canyons. How does the material covering the small feeder canyons compare or contrast with the main material that makes up the large object we zoomed on in northern Death Valley? _________________

Is the material in the object about the same composition as the material in the walls of Marble Canyon? ___________________ What is the evidence to support your hypothesis?_____________________

Do these types of objects occur anywhere else in Death Valley? What features do they share in common with the object you just described?_________ __________ ________

Using wikipedia or another internet source, briefly define the following terms:

delta_____________________________________

Alluvial fan________________________________

Bajada____________________________________

Point bar___________________________________

Which of the items you just defined would best describe the main object you analyzed?_________________

Which of the items you just defined would best describe the area on both sides of northern Death Valley that begins about 5 miles north of the object you just described?_________________________

How are the whitish flat areas in Death Valley, both north and south related to the objects you just described?_________________________

Borax is commonly used as a soluble additive to laundary products (.e.g. 20 mule team borax), was discovered in the Death Valley area in the nineteenth century. Where does the borax in Death Valley proper come from, based on your observations? ___________________________________

xx.

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What do expert geologists suggest about the size of the volcanic field near Crater Valley, and how does that change the likelihood of basaltic volcanos disrupting the repository site?________________________



What is the likelihood of earthquakes and faulting to disrupt the nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, based on studying faulting activity in the area for the past 2 million years?____________________________

Based on your short analysis, do you think that Yucca Mountain might be a good site for 10,000 year storage of nuclear waste?_________________________________



What do expert volcanologists suggest is the probability of future volcanic activity similar to the one that violently formed the layers of volcanic ash that make up Yucca Mountain? ____________________

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