Geog 1 Lithosphere Study Guide, Readings and Exercises (Review also Geog 1 syllabus.)
Physical Geography, A Self-Teaching Guide: Chapters 8-11, Skim 12-14
EARTH 2E: Skim 36-41, Study 62-63, our specific rocks in 62-73; 86-9, 108-9, 122-5, 128-131,
136-140, 144, 150-1, 154-7, 169, 178; Map 488-489. Skim 198-203, 386-9.
Lithosphere Map Features: On large world map, carefully locate, color in brown pencil and
label major mountain ranges highlighted in Earth (Sierra Nevada in CA). Then neatly label all
large islands, peninsulas, archipelagoes (island chains), plus San Andreas Fault, Great Basin,
Great Plains, East African Rift Valley, Tibetan Plateau, Siberian plain, Great Barrier Reef.
Rock Cycle, Earth 2nd Ed. pp. 62-63: Learn all terms surrounding the large diagram, + as
homework, look up ‘Rock Cycle’ on Google Images, study about 5-8 diagrams of it, and watch an
animation (visualization) about how rocks change form, then relate it to our book.
Rock Drawings Exercise –Draw rock samples in class, label by type and name, what they’re made of,
and describe texture & a few characteristics. Read about these rocks in Earth 62-73: igneous – intrusive
(from magma): granite (diorite, pegmatite are intrusive in San Gabriels)
igneous – extrusive (from lava): basalt [our reefs, tide pools], obsidian
sedimentary: shale (from clay), sandstone (sand), limestone (crushed skeletons of marine organisms,
calcium carbonate, forms Karst landforms by carbonation), conglomerate (pebbles)
metamorphic: slate (from shale), quartzite (sandstone), marble (limestone), gneiss (from granite), schist
(from either granite or gneiss
Seismic Activity: Why do earthquakes happen? How are they measured?
What are an epicenter & focus of a quake? What are P-waves & S-waves? (p. 36)
How should we all prepare for a major earthquake?
What should we do during an actual earthquake? afterward?
See diagrams: INTERNAL PROCESSES make Earth’s surface more uneven & mountainous (powered
by inner heat energy (“How do mountains form?”)
uplift: convection, expansion of hot molecules
volcanism: shield volcanoes – ‘oozing’ lava flows, composite stratovolcanoes – explosive lava, ash, gas,
dust (cone-shaped famous mountains, majestic-looking) What good things come from volcanoes?
faulting: normal fault (fault block mountains – San Gabriels, eastern Sierra Nevadas),
strike-slip fault (lateral movement - San Andreas)
folding (tilts rock layers): symmetrical fold, anticline, syncline, recumbent fold – tilted on its side as a ‘C’
(big one at Royal Palms State Beach by White Point in San Pedro)
convergence of tectonic plates (e.g. Andes, Himalayas)
EXTERNAL PROCESSES make Earth’s surface more even (powered by solar radiation, water, wind, +
gravity), and help answer the question, “How is the land surface shaped (topography)?”
weathering of rocks– physical (disintegration), chemical (decomposition)-carbonation, oxidation,
biological (tree roots grow into rock cracks & split them)
erosion (transport of earth materials) ; rivers (fluvial), coastal (by waves, currents, tides), glacial erosion
(ice sheets pushing, scouring, and dragging rocks as they move)
deposition: settling out, earth materials are “let go”
mass movement/mass wasting: downward movement of rocks by gravity (landslide, mudflow, avalanche,
rock fall, cliff slide), slope stability, angle of repose, over-steepened slope
86-89, 488-9 Plate Tectonics Map & boundaries, correlations with earthquakes and volcanoes
Convergent boundaries (subduction zones) – mountain ranges, ocean trenches, island arcs
Divergent boundaries (sea-floor spreading, rifting) – mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, East
Pacific Rise), rift valleys (East African Rift Valley, Death Valley, Dead Sea, etc.)
Transform/transverse boundaries (San Andreas Fault). Recommended map: as a study tool,
1. carefully color-code and draw in convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries;
2. using both books, label all large plate names, + draw in arrows showing plate movement; &
3. correlate with geographic patterns of earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, & island chains.
Study 90-97: Landforms are individual relief features; topography is the “surface configuration,”
terrain or shape of the land. Land is pushed up by internal processes and sculpted by external
forces + gravity: there is constant interplay between uplift & shaping.
EXERCISE: Draw simple diagrams of these landform shapes, label by name and type
(category), so you can recognize and understand how they are shaped.
Skim 197-203. River (fluvial, stream) landforms are shaped by runoff/erosion (upper courses) &
deposition (lower courses) by running water: canyon/valley (also called gorge, ravine, gully, wadi,
arroyo), drainage divide is between canyons (ridge), drainage basin (watershed), dendritic
(branching) pattern of tributary streams, bluff/ river bank, floodplain, oxbow lake (Harbor/Machado
Lake), delta at river mouth: triangular (Nile), bird-claw (Mississippi).
Coastal landforms: skim 430-7, 396-7: erosion and deposition by waves and currents (caused by
wind and Earth’s rotation) form beaches, wave-cut cliffs, marine terraces (wave-cut platforms),
headland/point, basalt reef (“igneous toe” of our local points), cove (bay), sea cave, sea arch, sea
stack, sand dune, spit, longshore current (drift), deltas.
Our San Pedro, Palos Verdes Peninsula, & CA coastline display many of these.
Study 278-9; skim 280-297. Desert (arid) landforms are mainly shaped by running water during
storms (‘fluvial’): alluvial fans, basin &range topography, mesa, butte, plateau (AZ, NV, UT).
WINDS (‘aeolian’) also erode & deposit sand dunes in deserts & coasts.
Study 240-1; skim 242-9, Karst landforms are shaped by carbonation of limestone by
groundwater (chemical weathering – dissolving & deposition): caves, stalactites, stalagmites,
pillars, sinkholes, tower Karst (also known as “haystack hills”).
Skim 252-5. Glacial landforms are scoured by frozen water, the tremendous power and weight of
moving ice sheets and rocks they drag (top 255): U-shaped and hanging valleys (Yosemite,
Sierras, Alps), horn (pyramidal peak, Matterhorn), arête (jagged ridge), cirque