Geography and Society – First Discussions
Lesson Objectives
As a result of the reading and the class discussions, you should be able to…

Define the following terms or phrases: geography, natural disaster, vulnerability, risk,
mitigation, risk assessment, adaptive capacity, coping capacity.

List and discuss at least 4 geographic factors that can control the development and
success of a society.

Relate Jared Diamond’s examples of how geologic characteristics were important in the
development of Polynesian culture on different islands.

List at least 5 different types of natural hazards.

List several reasons why a natural hazard event may be considered a natural disaster.

Discuss two reasons why so many people live in areas prone to natural hazards.

Explain why disasters are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude. What is
driving increased disaster risk?

Explain how poverty can contribute to vulnerability to natural hazards.

Provide some examples of how our development practices and our environmental
impacts can heighten the risk of disaster.

Relate the factors a disaster risk reduction practitioner would use to determine the
vulnerability of a population to a natural hazard.

Relate some of the elements of a disaster risk assessment.
Topographic Map Lab
As a result of the lab and the readings, you should be able to…

Define and use the following terms or phrases: latitude, longitude, elevation, contour,
closed contour, vertical exaggeration.

Calculate or determine the following on a map: contour interval, gradient, relief,
declination, scale, river flow direction, location using latitude and longitude system,
distance using scale.

Create a topographic contour map given elevation data.

Relate how the spacing of contours relates to slope.
Paradigm Evolution in our Models of the Earth + Earth’s Structure
Lesson Objectives
As a result of this lesson and the readings, you should be able to:

Define the following terms or phrases: geology, paradigm, model, and equilibrium

Differentiate between Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism.

Compare the paradigms of Vertical Impermanence and Permanence and relate
observations used to support them.

Describe and illustrate Darwin’s theory on the formation of coral atolls.

Discuss Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift, the evidence he advanced to
support it, and why it was not accepted by the scientific community.

Recreate an annotated cross-sectional model of the Earth’s structure.

Identify and differentiate between the two types of seismic waves that enable us to
distinguish the layers of the Earth.
Plate Tectonics
Lesson Objectives
As a result of the readings and class, you should be able to:
o Define the following terms or phrases: Lithospheric Plate, Seafloor Spreading, Rifting,
Mid Ocean Ridge, Rift Valley, Transform Fault, Subduction, Trench, Paleomagnetism,
Seamount, Divergent Boundary, Convergent Boundary, Transform Boundary,
Continental Margin, Hotspot
o Summarize the major points of the Theory of Plate Tectonics.
o Explain how data collected on the magnetism, depth, and the age of oceanic crust support
the Theory of Plate Tectonics.
o Explain how the distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, and the Hawaiian Island chain
relate to plate tectonics.
o Identify at least 2 characteristics that allow us to differentiate between:
- Oceanic crust and Continental crust
- Crust and Mantle
- Lithosphere and Asthenosphere
- Normal and Reverse Paleomagnetism
- Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift and the Theory of Plate Tectonics
o Relate a mechanism that could account for the movement of tectonic plates.
o Explain the physiographic and geologic hazard differences between the east and west
coasts of the U.S. in the context of the Theory of Plate Tectonics.
Volcanoes
Lesson Objectives
As a result of this lesson and the reading, you should be able to:
 Define the following terms or phrases: Shield Volcano, Stratovolcano, Flood Basalts,
Lahar, Pyroclastics, Lava.

Distinguish between the volcanism found over hot spots, subduction zones, and spreading
centers in terms of their rock composition, volcano type, magma viscosity, and danger.

List and discuss at least three of the hazards associated with volcanoes.

Relate the benefits associated with volcanoes and volcanism.

Discuss which areas of the United States are at most risk from volcanic eruptions and
why.

Explain two of the techniques used to predict volcanic eruptions.
Disasters Trends: Natural and Unnatural
As a result of the lecture and the readings, you should be able to…

Define the following terms or phrases: ecosystem resilience.

Explain the distinction between a natural and an unnatural disaster.

Relate at least 5 ways we can foster unnatural disasters.

Relate the following disaster trends over time: Death toll, economic losses, total disasters.

Identify the most commonly occurring natural hazard/disaster type.

Identify at least 3 secondary impacts from a natural disaster that do not get included in
estimates of the economic cost of the event.