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Earthquakes
Earthquakes: The Lesson Pack
Earthquakes are just one of many kinds of natural disasters which occur in our world.
Our physical location on the earth may determine our vulnerability to experience a severe
earthquake. In the following lesson pack, we will relate earthquakes from around the
world and from Canada to places of high population density. We will also examine
potential relationships between elevation and earthquake occurrence on both a global and
a Canadian scale.
Background Information:
Teachers are encouraged to distribute this background information to their students.
A)
B)
C)
D)
Basic glossary of terms
Causes and Influences of Earthquake Damage
What does the “Big One” refer to?
References
Teacher’s Guide:
A) Planning considerations
B) Required Files
The Student Side:
A)
B)
C)
D)
ArcView Fact Sheet
ArcView Icons – Reference Guide
Student Exercise Instructions
Extension Exercise
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Earthquakes
Additional Earthquake Web Sites and Teaching Resources:
National Earthquake Information Center
This extensive site has great general information and includes a lot of recent
information and data on earthquakes.
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/
Response to an Urban Earthquake (USGS)
This site focuses on the real life impacts and consequences of an urban
earthquake, while also considering reconstruction in the city.
http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/northridge/norpub1.htm
Virtual Earthquake (California State University)
Locate the epicenter of an earthquake to become a “Virtual Seismologist”!
Careful measuring is involved here, therefore, this site is recommended for
intermediate/senior students who crave a challenging project.
http://cdl-flylab.sonoma.edu/
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Earthquakes
Background Information
Earthquakes: An Introduction
A) Basic Glossary of Terms
Let’s review some terms that are essential in understanding earthquakes around the
world.
Plates and Plate Tectonics
The crust and upper mantle of the earth is made up of about a dozen large plates and
many smaller plates that are constantly moving. The movements are very slow, only a
few centimeters each year. Crustal plates do not move smoothly past one another.
Instead, stress causes strain in the rocks along the plate boundaries until the sides release
and lurch into new positions. Ninety percent of the world’s earthquakes occur along the
boundaries of plates.
Earthquake
Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of stored elastic energy. This energy is
caused by sudden fractures and by the movement of rocks along a fault. Some of the
energy released is in the form of seismic waves, causing the ground to shake.
Earth’s Crust
The earth’s crust is the layer of rock located immediately below the earth’s surface.
Beneath continents, it is typically 35 km. thick and composed of granite. Under the
oceans, the crust is typically 5-10 km. thick and composed mainly of basalt.
Seismic Waves
Seismic waves are vibrations caused by the movement of rock within the earth’s crust.
When an earthquake occurs, these waves travel from the focus through the focus point
through the earth and up to the surface. The speed at which a wave travels depends upon
the type of motion, and the type of rock through which it passes. Speeds range from 1 to
10 km. per second.
Fault
Faults are fractures or breaks between rocks where movements occur. Earthquakes occur
along faults because they are weak zones in the rock. The only known seismically active
surface fault in British Columbia is beneath the ocean off the west coast.
Richter Scale
Developed by Charles Richter, this scale is a measure of the size (Magnitude) of an
earthquake. The magnitude is estimated from the amplitude of the seismic waves that are
recorded by very sensitive instruments called seismographs. The Richter scale is
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logarithmic, so that each whole number represents a tenfold increase in recorded
amplitude. A magnitude of 7.0, for example, indicates measured amplitudes that are ten
times greater than magnitude 6.0 and one hundred times greater than magnitude 5.0.
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale
This scale is used to describe the feeling (Intensity) of an earthquake. The intensity of an
earthquake varies greatly according to many factors (distance from the earthquake,
ground conditions, etc.). The scale ranges from I (Not felt except by very few under
especially favourable conditions) to XII (Damage Total).
Subduction Zone
A subduction zone is a region where plates collide, with one plate sliding beneath the
other. The world’s largest earthquakes occur along this type of plate boundary (the
Cascadia Subduction Zone extends from northern California to the north end of
Vancouver Island).
B) Causes and Influences of Earthquake Damage

How Do Earthquakes Cause Damage?
Earthquakes can cause damage in many ways, including:
Strong Ground Shaking
Landslides
Fires
Tsunamis (huge ocean waves caused by underwater earthquakes)
Liquefaction (when soil and sand behave like a dense fluid rather than a wet
solid mass during an earthquake)

What Influences the Amount of Damage?
The amount of damage caused by an earthquake depends on a number of factors,
including:
Magnitude of the Earthquake
Distance from the Earthquake
Type of Movement Along a Fault
Local Soil Conditions
Construction Type and Quality
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C) What is a Megathrust Earthquake or “Big One”?
The “Big One” is a very large earthquake that scientists have suggested may occur
because of abrupt movement or “failure” in the Cascadia Subduction zone, extending
from northern California to the north end or Vancouver Island. This zone consists of two
large converging plates. The plate to the west (the Juan de Fuca) is dipping below the
easterly North American plate at a rate of about 40 millimeters per year.
Scientists think that this fault of the Cascadia margin contains a lot of built-up strain,
which could release to create a giant earthquake. For thousands of years, these plates
have converged. The friction between these plates is great enough to hold them firmly
together, thereby locking them into place. This idea of locked plates is consistent with
the fact that there have not been exceptionally large earthquakes along the Cascadia
margin for several hundred years.
The “Big One” describes the next exceptionally large earthquake to occur in the event
that any portion (even the full length) of the Cascadia Subduction Zone ruptures. Just
imagine the physical, human, economic, urban, and global consequences.
D) References:
http://www.pcg.nrcan.gc.ca/seismo/eqinfo/gloss.htm
This is an excellent web site developed by the Geological Survey of Canada. It includes
many features. The glossary and a section called “Frequently Asked Questions” are both
valuable resources. More details about the “Big One” can be found here.
http://www-geology.ucdavis.edu/eqmandr.html
This site has more seismic information and includes maps and information on recent
earthquakes.
Christopherson, Robert W. Geosystems, An Introduction to Physical Geography.
Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992.
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Earthquakes
Earthquakes: Teacher’s Guide
A) Planning Considerations
Objectives:
1. Students will explore and manipulate various mapping tools using ArcView GIS.
2. Students will improve their cartographic skills and practice proper cartographic
conventions.
3. Students will understand both physical and human consequences of earthquakes.
4. Students will use their maps to describe, analyze, and interpret relationships between
physical phenomenon and population statistics.
Connection to Geographic Curriculum Themes:
Topics in this lesson can be applied to several themes in Geography and related courses.
They include:
1. Physical Geography
2. World Issues
3. Earth Sciences
4. Topography and Elevation
5. Global Cities
6. Urban Planning
Who Can Use This Exercise?
The exercise is designed to be accessible for all ability levels. Instructions have been
written to accommodate both beginners and more advanced ArcView users. Teachers
may wish to adapt sections of the exercise to meet specific needs.
Materials Required:
1. A copy of the ArcCanada CD-ROM Version 3.0/3.1.
Helpful Hints:
1. We strongly advise that teachers work through the exercise before distributing it to
students.
2. We also recommend that if you plan to load the ArcCanada files onto a network
directory, double-check to ensure they have copied properly. Remember to copy all
three files (the .shp, .dbf., and shx.) for each file that you need as well as any
additional files (such as .prj) sharing the same name (i.e. faults.shp, faults.dbf,
faults.shx, faults.sbn, faults.sbx).
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3. The student instructions explain the path from the ArcCanada CD-ROM to the files
they will use. If the path you have created is different, make sure you inform the
students of this change.
4. Timelines for completion of the exercise will vary. You may want to plan for several
classroom periods to complete the exercise if you decide to use the exercise as a miniproject. However, the instructions are designed to ensure that a student can create the
map in one classroom period (analysis may be limited).
B) Required Files:
The files used in this exercise are from the ArcCanada CD-Rom version 3.0.
Part 1
Disk 3:
world\shp\cntry00.shp
world\shp\quakes98.shp
world\shp\cities.shp
world\shp\plat_lin.shp
(World Country Boundaries 2000)
(World Earthquake Data 1998)
(World Cities)
(World Plate Line Boundaries)
Part 2
Disk 3:
continental\na\shp\faults
Disk 1:
national\shp\cd_2001.shp
national\shp \cities.shp
(North American Fault Lines)
(Canadian Census Divisions 2001)
(Canadian Cities)
Not available on ArcCanada Quakes2002.shp.
You can download this from the ESRI Canada website:
http://k12.esricanada.com/metadata/freedata.html
http://k12.esricanada.com/teachingmaterials/additionalres/index.html
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Earthquakes
The Student Side
Student Exercise
Problem:
During the course of this lesson, many questions will arise relating to earthquake
location, population density and elevation. It is essential that we attempt to find links
between all these factors and see how they relate to one another. We will focus on
earthquakes on both a global and on a Canadian scale.
Part I: A Global Perspective on Earthquakes
A) Getting Started:
It is very important to remember to save
your work as you go through the exercise!!!
2. Start ArcMap if it is not already running.
3. Click on the circle that opens A new empty map and click OK.
4. Click the Add Data button
if the Add Data box does not open automatically. This
will allow you to add the layers you wish to work with.
5. Navigate to the appropriate directory to retrieve the files for this exercise (check with
your teacher if you’re not sure where this is located). The layer you will add now is:
world\shp\cntry00.shp
6. Click Add.
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B) Earthquake Guessing Game
1. In the Table of Contents, make sure that there is a check mark in the small box
indicate that your Cntry00 layer is Turned On .
to
2. Using your own background knowledge of earthquake occurrences, use the New
Marker tool to mark places in the world where you think there is high earthquake
activity. To do this, click on the point button in the toolbar at the bottom of your
screen. It should look pressed in. Then, click on selected spots on the map. You will
have to reselect the New Marker tool for each point that you draw.
3. Pick 5-10 spots on your map where you think there is high earthquake activity.
(Think about what causes earthquakes, recent news stories you’ve seen/heard…etc.)
You will compare your results with other earthquake data later on in this exercise.
C) Tools That Put the “Fun” into “Fun”damental!
1. You need to add other layers so click the Add Data button
.
2. Navigate to:
world\shp\cities.shp
world\shp\Plat_lin.shp
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3. Click Add. (If a warning appears, click OK to all).
4. Make the cities layer Active by clicking once on its title. The layer should now
appear highlighted in blue compared to the other layers. It may already look like this.
This tells ArcView which layer we will be working with.
5. Make sure that only cities and Cntry00 are turned on .
6. Change the colour of cities by double clicking on the layer. This brings up the
Layer Properties box.
7. Select the Symbology tab.
8. Click on the symbol, this brings up the Symbol Selector box.
9. Change the colour of cities to anything you choose.
10. Click on OK.
11. Click on OK in the Layer Properties. Now your colour has been applied to the
cities on your map.
12. In order to set Measurement Units for your project, go to the View menu and click on
Data Frame Properties.
13. Click on the General tab.
14. Beside Map, click on decimal degrees if it is not already there. Beside Display, let’s
use kilometres.
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15. Click on OK in the Data Frame Properties.
16. Use the Zoom In tool
earthquake zone.
17. Use the Identify tool
18. Use the Pan tool
to zoom in to a part of the world you think is a potential
to click on and identify the cities in your given area.
to drag your map around!
19. Finally, use the Zoom to Full Extent tool
20. Turn on
to view your entire map.
the plat_lin layer in your Table of Contents.
21. With cities as the Active layer, (appears blue) take time to Pan
around the map. Identify
and Zoom
the names of some cities near major fault lines.
Which cities do you think have high potential of being affected by an earthquake?
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D) Selecting By Location
We want to find out which cities (if any at all) intersect with a major plate line.
1. Click on the cities layer to make it Active (appears blue).
2. Under the Selection menu, click Select By Location.
3. In the Select By Location dialog box, select the following:




I want to: select features from
the following layers: cities
that: intersect
the features in this layer: Plat_lin
4. We have asked ArcView to, “show us all the cities that intersect plat_lin.
Click on Apply and then Close the Select By Location dialog box.
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What happened? ArcView did some thinking, but why are there no visible results?
Zoom In
on some areas to investigate further (perhaps on Northern India).
Explain your findings. Open the Attribute table to check.
5. Use your Measure tool
to see how far 5 different cities lie from a major fault
line. The length will be displayed in kilometres at the bottom left corner of your
screen (click to begin your measurement, double click to finish your measurement).
6. Zoom to Full Extent
.
Now, let’s use Select By Location again, but this time:
7. From the Selection menu choose Select By Location.
8. Let’s change our focus to selection features that Are Within Distance Of instead of
Intersect. Therefore select:




I want to: select features from
the following layers: cities
that: are within a distance of
the features in this layer: Plat_lin
9. Type in 500 where is says “apply a buffer to the features in Plat_lin of:” and make
sure that kilometres is selected in the text box beside it.
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10. Click on Apply and then Close. All cities within 500 kilometres of a major fault line
are now highlighted.
11. Right click on the cities layer and select Open Attribute Table in order to view
the table for the cities and see how many cities were selected.
12. Click the Selected button at the bottom of the screen to show only all the highlighted
records in your table.
Below your table is a counter that keeps track of how many records have been selected at
a distance of 500 km. How many have been selected?
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13. Close this table and repeat this exercise with the following distances:
i) How many cities lie within 300 km. of a major fault line?
ii) …Within 100 km.?
iii)
…Within 10 km.?
What city from our dataset lies closest to a fault line? How close is it? Use your new
measuring skills to help you with this.
Compare your predictions for common earthquake locations to the earthquakes from
1998. You will have to add
the quakes98.shp to do so. How accurate were your
original predictions? Where were you right and/or wrong?
Delete all your point graphics. To do this, from the main menu choose Edit. Click on
Select All Elements. Handles appear around each dot. Now, click on Delete, also under
the Edit menu.
E) Layer Definition: “Show Me Major Earthquakes…”
We want to ask ArcView to show us all the earthquakes in the world that have been
recorded as being greater than 6.9 on the Richter Scale. To do this we will create a
Definition Query.
1. Make the Quakes98 layer Active.
2. Right click on the layer and choose Properties.
3. Click on the Definition Query tab.
4. Select the Query Builder button
.
5. In the Fields box, double click on “Magnitude”, then click on the “>” symbol, and
double click on the value “6.9”. These selections have been recorded into a larger
box below. Make sure the entire expression looks like this:
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6. Click OK.
7. Click on the General tab and change the Layer Name to Magnitude > 6.9.
8. Click on the Symbology tab and change the colour and size of your Magnitude > 6.9
layer so that the earthquakes are more visible. Click on the Symbol to bring up the
Symbol Selector box.
9. Here you can change the size. Try 8. Try a bright colour as well.
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10. Click OK to close the Symbol Selector.
11. Click on OK to close the Layer Properties and apply you changes. Now your
earthquake points should be easier to see.
12. Next, make sure the cities layer is Active.
13. Right click on the layer and select Open Attribute Table. Click on the field name
Pop_Rank so that the field name looks pressed in and the column is highlighted in
light blue.
14. Right click on the field and select Sort Ascending.
How many cities have a population greater than 5,000,000 (i.e. have a Pop_Rank of 1)?
15. Close the table.
16. Save
your work before proceeding to Part 2.
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Part II: A Canadian Perspective on Earthquakes
A) Adding Layers to North America
1. Zoom In
on North America. Let’s add 3 new layers to our map, North American
fault lines, Canadian cities, and Canadian census divisions.
2. Click on the Add Data button
for the appropriate directory:
to bring up the Add Data box. Ask your teacher
continental\na\shp\faults.shp (North American Fault Lines)
national\shp\cities.shp
(Canadian Cities)
national\shp\cd_2001.shp
(Canadian Census Divisions 2001)
Remember to use the Ctrl key to select more than one layer at a time.
You may have to Add Data
twice because one of the layers is from a different
ArcCanada CD, and might be in a different folder.
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3. Turn on all of your new layers and turn off all the old ones (you can leave
cntry00 on to improve the appearance of the map).
4. Make your faults layer Active (appears blue).
5. Let’s change its name to something more meaningful, perhaps “North American
faults”. To do this, right click on the layer and select Properties.
6. Click on the General tab and change your Layer Name. Click on OK.
7. Follow this same procedure to rename your new cities layer. As you may notice it
shares the same name as your old cities layer, but they are different. This may
become confusing. Therefore call your new cities layer Canadian Cities
(use the same procedure as you did to change the name of the Faults layer).
8. Double click on North American faults in your Table of Contents to bring up
the Layer Properties box. Select the Symbology tab.
9. Under the Show: window, choose Categories, Unique Value. Under Value Field,
choose FAULT_TYPE.
10. Click on the Add All Values button
are classified by their type.
11. Turn off
. Now, all fault lines in North America
the <all other values> value and make its label blank.
12. Change the colour scheme for your fault lines if you would like.
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13. Click on OK to close the Layer Properties and apply your changes.
Examine all of your newly classified fault lines. Zoom In
and explore where they lie.
B) Creating a Thematic Map
You will now create a thematic map to show the population distribution across Canada.
You will use this thematic map to see where the most densely populated areas of Canada
are located.
1. Make cd_2001.shp your Active layer, and make sure it is turned on .
2. Right click on it to open the Layer Properties dialog box. Select the Symbology tab.
3. From the Show: window, select Quantities, Graduated Colour. Change the Value
Field to Pop_2001. Choose an appropriate Color Ramp:.
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4. Click OK to close the Layer Properties box and apply your changes.
Zoom In
on the most heavily populated areas in Canada.
Where are they located?
5. Turn on
the Canadian Cities layer. (If you can’t see your cities, click on
the layer and drag it to the top of your Table of Contents. They should now be visible.
Are most of your cities located in the most densely populated areas of Canada?
What kind of fault lines lie close to these areas?
C) Querying Earthquakes in Canada
Now let’s query Canadian earthquakes and examine their magnitude in relation to others
we’ve just examined globally.
1. Add a new layer to your called Quakes2002.shp. Click on the Add Data button
and navigate to the layer.
NOTE: This layer cannot be found on the ArcCanada CDs. It can be downloaded
from the ESRI Canada website (ask your teacher for the appropriate link).
2. Make the Quakes2002 layer Active (appears blue) and Turn it On . You may
like to Turn Off a few other layers in order to view your Quake2002 layer more
clearly.
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3. Right click on the Quakes2002 layer and select Open Attribute Table to look at
its contents.
How many records does it contain?
Which 3 regions in Canada are most prone to earthquakes?
Do any of these areas surprise you?
4. Let’s perform a query to find out how many earthquakes in Canada have been
recorded as >= (greater than or equal to) 4.0 in magnitude. Use the Definition Query
tab. To get there right click on Quakes2002 and select properties.
5. Click on the Query Builder button
.
6. Make your query look like the following:
7. Click OK and select the General tab.
8. Change the name of your layer to reflect what you’ve mapped (this is the same
exercise you performed on a global scale, now simply do it on a Canadian scale).
©2006 ESRI Canada ● Schools and Libraries Program
12 Concorde Place, Suite 900 ● Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3R8● Tel: (416) 441-6035 ● Fax: (416)
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Earthquakes
Your map now shows only Canadian earthquakes where the magnitude was >= 4.0.
Also, your layer title should have changed in your Table of Contents.
9. Use the Identify tool
to find out more about these earthquakes.
on the areas of Canada that you’ve identified as earthquake areas of greater
than or equal to 4.0. Where are they mainly clustered?
Zoom In
D) How Do Canadian Cities Relate to Our Map?
Now, let’s find out which cities are located within 300 km of the earthquake areas that
you have identified as >= 4.0 in magnitude. This will give you an indication as to which
cities are at risk of experiencing future earthquakes.
1. With your Canadian Cities as the Active layer and turned on
Selection menu and choose Select by Location.
, go to the
2. Select the following:





I want to: select features from
the following layers: Canadian Cities
that: are within a distance of
the feature in this layer: Earthquakes >= 4.0
Apply a buffer to the feature in Canadian Cities of: 300 kilometres
©2006 ESRI Canada ● Schools and Libraries Program
12 Concorde Place, Suite 900 ● Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3R8● Tel: (416) 441-6035 ● Fax: (416)
441-6838 Email: k-12@esricanada.com ● World Wide Web: http://k12.esricanada.com
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Earthquakes
3. Click on Apply then Close.
Take a look at your map. You’ll notice that all the cities on your map within 300 km.
from earthquakes >= 4.0 have been highlighted in light blue.
4. Use your Identify tool
to examine each one.
E) Map Layout: The Final Frontier
Before we create our layout for printing, zoom
into an area in Canada with high
earthquake activity. Your selection should reflect the layers you’ve recently used in your
View.
1. Change the names of your layers to make them representative of your map.
2. Select the Layout view by clicking the Layout View button
your map view.
at the bottom left of
3. Right click on a blank portion of your layout and select Page and Print Setup.
Change the layout from Portrait to Landscape. Click OK.
4. Resize your map on the Layout.
5. To add relevant information to your map like a Title, North Arrow, Scale, Legend
and anything else that seems important to you, go to the Insert menu and select the
item to be inserted.
6. From the Insert menu, select Neatline to draw neat lines around your Legend and
Map.
7. Make sure your map is balanced, and that it has all the cartographic components of a
good map.
Ask your teacher about printing your map
. If your assignment requires a printed
map, make sure you adjust the colour scheme for your printer. If you're using a black
and white printer, you may want to use a grey scale, or hatching pattern instead of a
variety of colours.
Congratulations! You have completed your research.
©2006 ESRI Canada ● Schools and Libraries Program
12 Concorde Place, Suite 900 ● Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3R8● Tel: (416) 441-6035 ● Fax: (416)
441-6838 Email: k-12@esricanada.com ● World Wide Web: http://k12.esricanada.com
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Earthquakes
Extension Exercise
1. In this lesson, you focused on relationships between earthquake location and
population density. Shifting fault lines are the major causes of earthquakes around
the world. Use the library and the Internet to research the different types of faults
that exist and sketch each feature separately:
Rift Fault
Horst Fault
Tectonic Contact Fault
Thrust Fault
Research which types of fault lines lie closest to your community. What time period
do they date from? What effect would the above faults have on geographic patterns
such as drainage, transportation routes, and settlements of all size? (it may help you to
sketch some diagrams)
2. Why is it important to understand earthquakes on a global, national and local scale?
What kinds of “earthquake measures” (precautions) are communities taking to ensure
that a big earthquake will to cause as little damage as possible?
©2006 ESRI Canada ● Schools and Libraries Program
12 Concorde Place, Suite 900 ● Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3R8● Tel: (416) 441-6035 ● Fax: (416)
441-6838 Email: k-12@esricanada.com ● World Wide Web: http://k12.esricanada.com