GE 112
Lab assignment 1.
A. Where have you been? Using the maps provided, identify the places you have traveled.
Write a brief description of the destinations and record a single story about one of your
adventures in seeing the world.
(this part of the assignment is so I can learn more about 'who you are'… )
An aside: Henry David Thoreau wrote: "I have traveled widely in Concorde…"(the New England town
where he was born and died. He was able to extrapolate observations of the people there into a global
philosophy.)
B. Pick a place to travel to: someplace you have never been, someplace new. e.g. Alaska,
Mongolia/Lake Baikal
What are the characteristics of this area?
 What are the biomes that characterize
this place? (see Ch 10 and 11) Make a
map showing the spatial extent of at
least 3 biomes in the vicinity of your
destination; describe the biomes in a
brief report. Locate photographs of
these biomes and include them in your
report.
Useful links (?):
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/vegmaps.
html
http://www.picturesofplaces.com/
Goode's World Atlas
Travel websites of various flavors etc.
 Locate climate data for your
destination. Describe the overall
climatic patterns. How do these
patterns affect the development of
Biomes/vegetation?
Useful Links (?):
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/onlinep
rod/drought/xmgr.html
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/i
ndex.html
etc.
An example of a search process: Using
the Yahoo! Search engine the search
term "Climate information Mongolia"…
hit #2
"2. Information for Mongolia - Climate, ...
... The summer climate, when most visitors
are likely to be in Mongolia, could be
described as being
similar to Scandinavian summers. ...
www.ridingtours.net/asia/mongoliaclimate.htm"
http://www.ridingtours.net/asia/mongoliaclimate.htm
 Describe and illustrate the
physiography of your destination.
Where are the mountains, the
coastlines? What are you going to
see when you get off the airplane, or
get out of the car?
Useful Links:
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/2minr
elief.html (global relief maps)
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html
(state-by-state relief maps)
http://www.usgs.gov/reports/misc/Misc._Inve
stigations_Series_Maps_(I_Series)/I_2206/I
_2206.html
http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/wgmt/shdrelmap.
html
Put the information above in your lab
notebook
Suggestions for writing the report:
Part A, has a map and a single page of text that is attached to the maps. I would like this to
be handed in alone next week.
Part B of this lab will receive the full report writing treatment…
1. The first section is the introduction, for this lab, you will need to describe the place you
have chosen to profile. Why did you pick this place? If your destination is too small to
have multiple biomes, what larger area are you going to choose to map?
2. Following the introduction you will list the places you got your data… for this lab, that
will be a list of web sites with annotation (descriptions of each web site).
3. The methods section is pretty sparse for this exercise… you are looking to find ‘virtual’
descriptions and photographs… so your methods are pretty brief.
4. Analysis: What biomes are found in (or around) this destination? Include images of each
biome with the description. Include and describe a map that shows the distribution of
biomes near your site. What is the climate of this place like? Along with the description
of the climate, include and describe a climate map, and if appropriate climatic data from
stations near your destination. And finally, What does this place ‘look like’? Where are
the mountains? The plains? The beaches? Include and describe a physiographic map that
includes your destination.
The conclusion… is a thumbnail of a place… you have just described a place, simply tie
it together with a statement about the place.