Name:_____________________________________ Date:________________________
Google Earth Exercise 1: Geomorphology Due Tuesday Mar. 19th 2013
The exercise below contains three KMZ files. The KMZ files will run directly in Google
Earth™ software. If you do not have the Google Earth™ application installed on your
computer, you can download it from earth.google.com.
This exercise is designed to familiarize you with some of the features seen on the
lanscape. Download the 3 kmz files (part1.kmz, part2.kmz and part3.kmz) from
http://www.azcsank.com/Class_follow_up.html.
Part 1
Open the file part1.kmz in Google Earth and answer the following questions:
1. Pinnacles National Monument and the Neenach Volcano. The Pinnacles and the
Neenach Volcano were formed 23 million years ago on the San Andreas Fault. Doubleclick the Neenach outcrop placemark and look around. Double-click the View southeast
from Neenach outcrop placemark. Do you see evidence of the San Andreas Fault? What
evidence do you see? Use the ruler tool to measure how far the outcrop is from the main
fault line in kilometers.
2. Check the box for the SAN ANDREAS FAULT folder and zoom out until you can see
both Pinnacles National Monument and Neenach Volcano. Use the ruler tool to measure
the distance between them. What has the rate of movement been if they were located at
the same place 23 million years ago (in centimeters/year)?
3. Check and double-click the CARRIZO PLAIN folder. You are looking northeast
across the Carrizo Plain. The side of the San Andreas Fault closest to you is on the
Pacific Plate and the other side is on the North American Plate. Take a look around and
look for evidence of the fault. Do you notice ponds or linear features or offset streams?
Zoom in to the points A and B. They are on two sections of an offset stream. The
movement of the fault has shifted the path of the stream over time.
Use the ruler tool to measure the distance between points A and B in meters. __________
Use the rate of movement for the San Andreas Fault that you calculated above, to
determine when the two points were in the same location (before the offset occurred).
4. Check and double-click the HAWAI’I and the EMPEROR SEAMOUNTS folder. The
Hawai’I-Emperor Seamount chain has been formed by a plume of magma upwelling
from the mantle and burning through the crust as the crust moves over the hot spot.
a) What is the linear distance from the hot spot’s present location, the island of
Hawai’I to the Meigi Seamount?
b) The age of Midway Island is ______________.
The distance from Midway to the hot spot is ________________.
Given this information the average speed of the Pacific Plate in centimeters per
year is
_____________________
Part 2
Open the file part2.kmz in Google Earth and answer the following questions:
1. Double-click on the Pattern 1 placemark. Which type of drainage pattern is this?
What is the name of the mountain you are looking at? _____________________
2. Double-click Pattern 2. Which type of drainage pattern is this?
What is the name of the mountain range causing this type of drainage?
3. Double-click Pattern 3. Although this is not a drainage pattern, it is an interesting
pattern on the landscape. What do you think has caused this pattern? (Hint: turn
the US National Parks and USDA National Forests layers on to display their
boundaries.)
4. Double-click Pattern 5. Which type of drainage pattern is this? What fluvial
conditions create this pattern?
What important city is just to the north of this placemark?
5. Double-click the Cutoff #1 placemark. This is an example of political boundaries
not keeping pace with shifting river channels. Double-click the Kentucky Bend
placemark. This area is actually part of Kentucky that was created as a result of
surveyors’ errors and the shifting Mississippi River. Check and double-click the
SACRAMENTO RIVER folder.
a) How many times does the county boundary cross the Sacramento
River within the red boundary line?
b) Do you notice any political boundary issues similar to those you saw at
Cuttoff #1?
6. Check and double-click the CUMBERLAND GAP folder.
a) Zoom in and out and move around. What is the general name given to
the feature identified as “The Narrows”?
b) What is the term for this type of stream?
7. Use the ruler to measure the gap from point A to point B. How wide is it?
8. What is the vertical relief from point B to the surface of the stream, using the
elevation shown by Google Earth’s status bar? How far south would you have to
travel to find the next gap? How far north?
Part 3
Open the file part3.kmz in Google Earth and answer the following questions:
1. Travel to Point Reyes, CA. What process formed Tomales Bay?
2. Double-click on the Goat Rock placemark. What is the name of this coastal feature?
3. After observing the sizes of the beaches north and south of Goat Rock, in what
direction is the longshore current transporting sand?
4. Double-click the Island Beach folder. The coastal environment on the east coast of the
US has been heavily developed, however, as we know beach environments are not the
most stable.
a) Turn off the topographic map overlays and zoom to placemark Point C.
Observe the pattern of sand accumulation on the north and south sides of Barnegat Inlet.
What direction do the prevailing waves come from?
b) Check the box for the BARNEGAT 1884 folder. How much of the north side
of the island (from placemark Point D north to the edge of the map had been developed
by 1884. Divide the area using a grid and estimate the percent that had been modified or
built up. Deselect the BARNEGAT 1884 folder.
c) Barrier islands often cushion the force of hurricanes, protecting the mainland.
What is the maximum elevation at the placemark at Point B? Point D?
d) If a hurricane passed through this region, the storm surge could easily be 2 m.
A general guideline to coastal development is to not build within 3 m of sea level to
prevent flooding and storm damage. What is the maximum elevation at Point A? How
much of the area around Seaside Park would be inundated with 2 m of sea level rise?
What about the community of Ocean Gate just to the west of Point A?