Homework 2 (Due Monday, Oct. 23)
Name:
15pts
1. So let’s see what you absorbed from going through the Topographic Maps website.
Below is a topographic map of the Mt. Jackson, Colorado quadrangle. Refer to the
map as you answer the questions below.
a) What is the contour
interval of this map?
(1pt)
Hint: Carefully count the
number of contour lines
between index contours
and don’t forget the units.
b) Draw a circle around
the part of the map
that has the steepest
topography. (0.5pts)
c) By convention, the
top of the map is
North. See the lake
with a big C on it?
Does the stream to
the northeast flow
into or out of the
lake? (0.5pts)
d) At the top right of the map it says 1:24,000. That is the map scale. What does that
mean? Can you articulate specifically what 1:24,000 means in regular English?
(2pts)
e) From which direction would it be easiest to climb Avalanche Peak? (0.5pts)
f) Place an x on what looks like the best place to build your vacation cabin, keeping in
mind that you need a relatively flat plot and want to avoid flooding and landslide
dangers (and assuming you had a helicopter to get there). (0.5pts)
g) What is the elevation where there is a big letter D? (0.5pts)
The following questions refer to the assigned article Baron, JS and Poff, NL, 2004.
Sustaining Healthy Freshwater Ecosystems.
2. Baron and Poff describe “five dynamic environmental factors that regulate much of
the structure and functioning of any aquatic ecosystem.” Which of those do people
influence? (1pt)
3. According to Baron and Poff, is flow variability, including extreme events like floods,
beneficial to freshwater ecosystems? Why or why not? (2pts)
4. What is biodiversity and why are biologists such big fans of it? What’s better about
having lots of different species rather than a few, but more abundant, species that
might be more useful for us? (2pts)
The following questions refer to Glennon, R, 2002. How Does a River Go Dry
(reading 4 in your coursepack).
5. Draw a cross section (sideways cut-away view) that includes the ground surface, a
sandy aquifer, the water table and a well. Depict in your cross-section what can
happen to the water table if the pumping rate of the well exceeds the recharge rate.
(2pts)
6. What can be the environmental consequences if too many wells pump up the
groundwater near a stream in an arid region? (1pts)
7. What are two potential negative consequences of “chanelizing” a stream as shown in
the photo on the next page? (1.5pts)
The following questions can be considered study questions. They are not to be
turned in as part of the homework. They are just basic things you should
know.
How much drinkable water is available in the ground versus in lakes and streams?
What is recharge?
What is an aquifer?
What do we mean by aquifer mining and why is it significant?
What is porosity?
How do you define the water table?
What does the term “baseflow” for a stream refer to?
What is the difference between a gaining and losing stream?