National Park Science
Instructions:
Use the emphasis and vocabulary to guide your research. Each word listed has
important context for your park. Researching these terms will increase your
understanding of the science that makes your park unique.
Park
Emphasis
Vocabulary
Acadia
-Glacially sculpted landscape.
fjard, glaciation, Pleistocene,
isostatic depression
Arches
-Unique rock formation and erosion.
evaporite (salt bed), salt dome,
faulting, sedimentary, erosion
Big Bend
-Tectonically exposed rock.
rifting, fault, thrust fault, erosion
Carlsbad Caverns
-Limestone formation and erosion.
Capitan reef, limestone,
sulfuric acid, speleothems
Crater Lake
Denali
-Volcanic formation creates record breaking lake.
subduction, stratovolcano
caldera, magam chamber
-Uplift vs. Erosion… and still growing.
subduction, terranes, batholith, granite
Everglades
-Rock formation leading to diverse ecosystems.
limestone (shelf), pinnacles, sloughs,
marl prairies
Glacier
-Glacially carved mountains.
Lewis overthrust, Pleistocene glaciation,
U-shaped valleys, arêtes, cirques, horns
Glacier Bay -Mountain formation and active glaciers.
convergence, terranes, tidewater glaciers,
advance vs. recede
Grand Canyon -A river exposing billions of years of rock layers.
deposition, superposition, uplift, plateau
Grand Teton
-Fault block mountain formation.
fault, fault block mountain, Teton fault
(normal fault), Pinedale glaciation
Great Smokey
Mountain
-Ancient mountains once as large as the Himalyas.
Alleghanian orogeny, convergence,
Pangaea, erosion
Hawaii Volcanoes
-Unique volcanic Archipelego formation.
hot spot, shield volcano,
Hawaiian eruption, basalt, Pacific plate
Katmai
-Dramatic volcanic landscape.
stratovolcano, pyroclastic deposits,
fumaroles, caldera, subduction
Kenai Fjords
-Glacially sculpted landscape.
fjords, tidewater glaciers,
icefield, subduction, terranes
Kings Canyon/ Sequoia
-Mountains of erosion resistant granite.
batholith, granite, subduction,
glacial valley
(and some really big trees)
Lake Clark
-Two active volcanoes covered in glaciers.
stratovolcano, fumaroles, lahar
batholith, subduction
Mesa Verde
-Geology for cliff dwellings.
sandstone, Cretaceous sea, fossil beds,
Colorado Plateau (uplift)
Mount Rainier
-Large glaciated volcano.
subduction, lahar, pyroclastic flows,
stratovolcano
Petrified Forest
-Ancient life preserved in exposed rock.
layers
Fossils, Late Triassic, Pangaea, Colorado
Plateau, erosion
Redwood
-Unique old growth forests.
Mendocino triple junction, fog,
temperate, Sequoia sempervirens
Rocky Mtn
-Convergent, subduction mountains without the typical volcanoes.
Subduction, Laramide orogeny,
erosion, glacial horn
Wind Cave
-Unique cave formation and features.
equalize (atmospheric pressure),
limestone, boxwork, frostwork
Yellowstone
-Supervolcano with geothermal features
Yosemite
-Large sculpted granite mountains
Yellowstone caldera,
Island Park caldera
hotspot, geysers(s)
subduction, batholith,
granite domes, U-shaped Valleys
Zion
-Sedimentary layers lifted, eroded, and exposed
Colorado Plateau,
Grand Staircase, sedimentation,
strata, erosion
Additional resources
Acadia
http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/marine/sites/nov98.htm
http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/publications/reports/acad_gri_rpt_body_print.pdf
Denali
http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/geologicformations.htm
http://www.nps.gov/dena/forteachers/upload/DENA_Geology_Teacher_Guide__080212.pdf
Glacier Bay
http://suite101.com/article/the-geology-of-glacier-bay-national-park-a125835
http://www.isset.org/site_of_the_month/glacier_bay/glacierbay.script.html
Grand Canyon
http://www.nature.nps.gov/views/layouts/Main.html#/GRCA/geology/
http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/geologicformations.htm
Great Smokey Mtns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleghanian_orogeny#Subsequent_erosion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_the_Appalachians
Hawaiian Volcanoes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Islands#Geology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_eruption
Katmai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_Ten_Thousand_Smokes
Kings Canyon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_Batholith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_valley#Glacial_valleys
Mesa Verde
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous_Sea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_plateau
Mount Rainier
http://geology.com/usgs/rainier/
Rocky Mountain
http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/romo/geol_feat_proc.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_horn
Wind Cave
http://www.nps.gov/wica/naturescience/wind-cave-geology.htm
Yosemite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_dome