1. COASTAL GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY
COASTAL LANDFORMS AND PHENOMENA OF ROCKY COASTS
Coastal processes are among the most dynamic geologic processes; change in the morphology of many
coasts can be observed on annual (or shorter) time scales. The ever-pounding waves generated by
winds at sea release tremendous quantities of energy along continental margins, constantly shaping
coasts. In this exercise, you will identify a number of commonly observed coastal landforms and
phenomena of rocky shores.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of the Pacific Northwest coast.
In Google Earth, enter the coordinates below into the query bar:
45.926455
-123.983773 Oregon coast, USA.
Using the coordinates above, scan north and south of this point to locate the following coastal
landforms and phenomena.
Bay (Baie)
Bay Mouth Bar
Beach
Breaker
Coast
Coastal Straightening
Dune
Estuary
Headland
Pocket Beach
Rip Current
Sea Cliff
Sea Stack
Spit
Surf
Tide-Dominated Delta Tombolo
Wave Refraction
Mark each landform or phenomenon you find with the ‘Placemark’ tool and label it.
Save several images from Google Earth showing these landforms.
Additional questions:
a. What is the dominant wave direction in the images you examined?
b. What is the dominant longshore drift direction in the images you examined?
c. What evidence did you use to identify potential rip currents in these images?
d. What do you think are the sources of sand along these beaches?
e. Where is the beach the widest in these images?
f. Is there evidence of human-induced coastal change along this coast? Briefly describe the
evidence for human impacts on this coast.
COASTAL LANDFORMS AND PHENOMENA OF SANDY COASTS
Coastal processes are among the most dynamic geologic processes; change in the morphology of many
coasts can be observed on annual (or shorter) time scales. The ever-pounding waves generated by
winds at sea release tremendous quantities of energy along continental margins, constantly shaping
coasts. In this exercise, you will identify a number of commonly observed coastal landforms and
phenomena of sandy shores.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of Oregon Inlet on the North Carolina Outer Banks.
In Google Earth, enter the coordinates below into the query bar:
35.773957
35.225622
-75.532792
-75.551944
Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, USA
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA.
Using the coordinates above, scan north and south of this point to locate the following coastal
landforms and phenomena.
Barrier Island
Beach
Breaker
Beach Ridges
Cape
Coastal Plain
Cuspate Foreland
Dune
Ebb Tide Delta
Estuary
Flood Tide Delta
Inlet
Overwash Fan
Recurved Spit
Rip Current
Salt Marsh
Surf
Tidal Channel
Tidal Creeks
Wave Refraction
Mark each landform or phenomenon you find with the ‘Placemark’ tool and label it.
Save several images from Google Earth showing these landforms.
Additional questions:
g. What is the dominant wave direction in the images you examined?
h. What is the dominant longshore drift direction in the images you examined?
i. What evidence did you use to identify potential drift directions in these images?
j. What do you think are the sources of sand along these beaches?
k. Where is the beach the widest in these images?
l. Is there evidence of human-induced coastal change along this coast? Briefly describe the
evidence for human impacts on this coast.
2. DESERTS AND WIND ACTION
GEOMORPHOLOGY OF ARID LANDSCAPES
Arid lands are those where annual evaporation exceeds precipitation. Worldwide, deserts occupy
significant areas of the middle latitudes, owing in part to the general circulation of the atmosphere. In
this exercise, you will identify a number of landforms associated with deserts.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of desert south of Death Valley National Park, California, USA.
In Google Earth, enter the coordinates below into the query bar:
36.112680
-116.774381 Death Valley National Park, USA.
Using the coordinates above, scan north and south of this point to locate the following desert landforms
and phenomena.
Mark each landform you find with the ‘Placemark’ tool and label it.
Save several images from Google Earth showing these landforms.
The list of coordinates below will take you to various parts of the world to see examples of different
types of sand dunes. Examine each image and identify the type(s) of dunes present and the wind
dominant direction(s).
LATITUDE
LONGITUDE
EYE ALTI (km) TYPE
32.911034
-115.045006
3
29.518642
5.393480
40
27.312686
7.795855
52
27.224491
8.644204
15
29.958540
-3.285948
13
28.56630
41.222551
10
21.699600
54.930310
25
14.064931
47.813351
10
-24.257854
15.094621
10
-24.234498
14.657788
4.00
-20.551653
-70.05628
1.5
WIND
DIRECTIONS(S)
3. GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
FAULTS AND FAULTING
Tectonism is ubiquitous on Earth, the fundamental process responsible for the terrains we find familiar.
In this exercise, you will visit a series of locations where distinctive geologic structures are exposed by
geologic processes. Your task will be to identify these structures as best you can.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of Great Glen Fault, Scotland. Can you determine the sense of offset?
In Google Earth, use the coordinates below to locate a variety of faults. Inspect each fault and try to
determine the sense of offset. Note: In some instances, it may be helpful to increase the vertical
exaggeration of the images. This can be changed in Google Earth by accessing ‘Tools’ from the main
menu bar. Under the ‘Options’ function you will see ‘Elevation Exaggeration:’ in the lower left of the
dialogue box. You can change the vertical exaggeration of the terrain model in Google Earth by typing
1, 2, or 3 (3 is the greatest vertical exaggeration, 1 is the least).
The list of coordinates below will take you to various parts of the world to see examples of different types
of geologic structures (faults). Examine each image and identify the type(s) of structure illustrated.
LATITUDE LONGITUDE EYE ALTI
FAULT TYPE
FAULT
FAULT DIP
(km)
44.969228
-108.414814
10
35.528348
-117.336538
2
38.734632
-109.507026
3.5
35.442394
-117.686327
4
36.601581
-114.551509
1
36.453616
-114.483167
4
39.426819
-113.366425
20
36.500986
-111.714474
6
57.034394
-4.796493
190
41.955153
0.845450
4
40.774071
32.047001
54
19.563824
41.577638
9
STRIKE (°)
(°)
HOW TO MEASURE STRIKE AND DIP?
Enable the ‘Measure’ tool in Google Earth (ctrl + 6 keys). Set the ‘Distance’ option to meters. Move
the cursor to the upper edge of an exposed stratum and click to start the measure tool. Note the
elevation of this first point.
Now move the cursor slightly down or up dip on the same stratum. Remember, dip is always measured
perpendicular to strike, so take care to move your cursor the correct way! When you have moved a
short distance, click the ‘Measure’ tool again. Note both the distance you moved and the elevation of
the second point. You should now have two elevations (those of the first and second point on your
profile) and the distance separating these two points.
To calculate the dip of this stratum, determine the difference in elevation between your two points.
Divide this difference by the distance separating the two points. This number should be less than 1.
This ratio is the tangent (tan) of the dip angle. To determine this angle, use a calculator to find the
arctangent (commonly the INV key followed by TAN key on scientific calculators).
4. GLACIERS AND GLACIATION
LANDSCAPES OF ALPINE GLACIATION
Episodically throughout Earth’s history, great sheets of ice covered large areas of the continents and
mountainous regions of Earth. Glaciers are powerful forces of erosion and deposition on Earth’s
surface. In this exercise, you will use Google Earth to identify features associated with alpine glaciers.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of alpine glaciers in southeastern Alaska, USA.
In Google Earth, enter the coordinates below into the query bar:
59.411909
-138.311455 Southeast Alaska, USA.
Using the coordinates above, scan north and south of this point to locate the following glacial
landforms and phenomena.
Alpine Glacier
Arete
Bergschrund
Braided Stream
Cirque
Col
Crevasse
Erratic Boulder
Equilibrium Line
Glacial Stream Lines
Hanging Valley
Headwall
Horn
Ice Field
Kettle
Lateral Moraine
Medial Moraine
Outwash Fan
Outwash Plain
Proglacial Lake
Receding Glacier
Rock Flour
Terminal Moraine
Terminus
Truncated Spur
U-Shaped Valley
Zone of Ablation
Zone of Accumulation
5. RIVER GEOMORPHOLOGY
FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
Images of rivers are plentiful in Google Earth. In this exercise, you will identify a number of fluvial
landforms.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of the Red River bordering Texas and Oklahoma, USA.
To acquire the image above, go to the following coordinates:
33.657612
-94.55.3215
Zoom out until your view is at an altitude of 10.00 km.
This is an image of the Red River, forming the boundary between the states of Texas and Oklahoma in
the United States. Use this image to identify the fluvial features listed in the table below.
Bar
Bed Load
Flood Plain
Lateral Erosion
Meander
Meander Scar
Meander Cut-off
Oxbow Lake
Point Bar
Point Bar Sequence
Stream Channel
Cut-bank
MOUNTAIN WIDTH AND VALLEY SPACING
In this exercise you will assess the valley spacing for different mountain
ranges.
This is an image of the Eastern rift valley of Taiwan showing river
outlets.
1. Open an excel spread sheet and determine the spacing S between
river outlets for these different mountain belts and the mountain
width W (distance between river outlet and main divide): (One
per group)
1. East Rift valley Taiwan ( 23°18'17.30"N 121°19'23.40"E)
2. West Coast South New Zealand (43°43'36.17"S
169°18'25.96"E)
3. East Coast Baffin Island (70°45'35.80"N 70°46'21.89"W)
4. North Eastern Tien Shan (43° 3'11.41"N 83°19'39.20"E)
5. Fold of South Tien Shan (41°39'17.86"N 82°19'11.61"E)
6. Eastern Alps Italia ( 44°39'54.10"N 7°18'32.13"E)
7. Fold of Zagros Iran ( 27°37'49.14"N 52°53'5.97"E)
8. Western Coast of the Andes (19° 2'41.14"S 70°14'11.87"W)
2. Compute the ratio between the two R= W/S and assess the uncertainty
3. Compare between the different groups. Explain the results.
VALLEY ORIENTATION AND TECTONICS
In this exercise you will assess the orientation of the different valley on the south-eastern part of the
south
island
of
New
Zeala
nd.
Open
an excel spread sheet and note for each main catchment its average coordinates and its principal
orientation
Discuss the results in the context of tectonics activity in New Zealand.
6. LANDSLIDES
LANDSLIDES GEOMETRIES
For this exercise, you will determine the geometry of several landslides and then estimate the resistance
coefficient of sliding.
The parameters defining the geometry of landslides includes, the landslide height H (the difference of
altitude between the source and the deposit), the landslide runout L (the horizontal distance between the
source and the deposit). In some case the lateral extent of the landslide source and deposits might be a
useful information too.
Open an excel spreadsheet
Determine the parameters L and H, and the associated uncertainty, for several landslides:

Hattian landslide – Pakistan (34° 8'20.22"N 73°43'38.91"E)

Tsergo Ri landslide – Nepal (28°12'43.15"N 85°36'0.32"E)

Eureka Valley landslide – USA (37° 4'31.73"N 117°39'4.77"W)

Quiraing landslide – Scotland (57°38'3.47"N 6°15'57.56"W)
Estimate the resistance factor R for these different landslides. Remember that the energy lost by friction is
Er = M g L R
7. ANTHROPOGENIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
THE BINGHAM CANYON COPPER MINE, UTAH, USA
For this exercise, you will use Google Earth and Microsoft Excel to calculate the quantity of rock
removed from the Bingham Copper Pit, one of the world’s largest open-pit mines. In addition, you will
be able to estimate the percentage of copper ore disseminated in these rocks and the quantity of rock
that must be removed for each ton of copper produced.
To locate the Bingham Copper Pit, enter the following coordinates into the query bar of Google Earth:
40.520978, -112.150242 (don’t forget the negative sign in front of the longitude coordinate!)
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of the Bingham Canyon copper mine (“Bingham Pit”), Utah, USA.
Congratulations! You have landed at the bottom of the Bingham Copper Pit southwest of Salt Lake
City, Utah, USA! Move your cursor around in the bottom of the main pit to locate the minimum
elevation and write it down in your notes.
Answer the following questions to help you determine the volume and mass of rock removed from this
pit:
a. What is the maximum elevation (meters) of the pit rim?
b. What is the minimum elevation (meters) in the bottom of the pit?
c. What is the depth of the main pit (meters)?
d. What is the radius of the main pit (meters)?
e. Using the formula for the volume of a cone (V=1/3 pi r² h) and the density of the rock (2.8
g/cm3), what is the volume and mass of rock removed from this pit (m³ and kg)?
f. Since mining began in 1904, 15.4 million tons of copper have been smelted from this mine.
What percentage of the total rock mass mined from the pit was copper? How many tons of rock
must be mined to yield one ton of copper?
8. PLANETARY GEOLOGY
GEOMORPHOLOGY OF IMPACT CRATERS
Among the most conspicuous, abundant, and widespread phenomena in the early Solar System was
cratering of planetary surfaces as the new planets were bombarded with remnant planetesimals,
asteroids, and other rocky and cometary debris scattered throughout the system.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of Manicouagan Crater, Quebec, Canada.
Earth was not immune from these impacts, though much of the geologic record of these events was
long ago recycled on our geologically active planet. Google Earth will take you to a number of the
best-known, most thoroughly documented impact sites on our home planet. Just enter the coordinates
below into the query bar of Google Earth and you will be transported to the locations of great
catastrophes in Earth’s history.
Name Location Diameter Age (years) coordinates
NAME
LOCATION
DIAMETER
AGE (YRS)
LAT
Aorounga
Chad
12.6 km
<345,000,000
19.10
19.25
Tin Bider
Algeria
6 km
<70,000,000
27.60
5.12
Roter Kamm
Namibia
2.5 km
3,700,000
-27.77
16.30
Oasis
Libya
18 km
<120,000,000
24.58
24.40
Clearwater E
Quebec
26 km
290,000,000
56.05
-74.11
Clearwater W
Quebec
36 km
290,000,000
56.21
-74.51
New Quebec
Quebec
3.44 km
1,400,000
61.27
-73.66
Gow
Saskatchewan
5 km
< 250 million
56.46
-104.48
Deep Bay
Saskatchewan
13 km
99 ± 4 million 56.40
-102.99
Barringer
Arizona
1.186 km
49,000
-111.02
35.02
LON
Now use a excel spread sheet to compute the velocity of the impactor for the previous impact craters
assuming:
- that the impactor diameter is either equal to the crater diameter or two times smaller
- that the angle of impact is either 45°
You can use this empirical formula:
Dtc= 1.161 (ρi/ρt)¹/³ L⁰ .⁷ ⁸ vi0.44 g–0.22 sin1/3θ
This equation relates the crater outer rim diameter Dtc (m) to the density of the target ρt and impactor
ρi (kg.m−3), the impactor diameter after atmospheric entry L (m), the impact velocity at the surface vi
(m.s−1), the angle of impact θ, and the Earth’s surface gravity g (m.s−2).
9. VOLCANOES AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
GEOMORPHOLOGY OF VOLCANOES
In this exercise, you will compare the geomorphology of composite volcanoes (stratovolcanoes) and
shield volcanoes using Google Earth.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of Mount Fuji, Japan.
In order to compare some geomorphic attributes of composite and shield volcanoes, it will be necessary
to construct topographic profiles across a number of examples worldwide. To do this, you will use the
‘Measure’ tool in Google Earth and enter data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
To construct a topographic profile, begin by enabling the metric measures in Google Earth. This is
accomplished by clicking on ‘Tools’ on the menu bar at the top of the page, then clicking on ‘Options’.
When the ‘Options’ dialogue opens, you will see in the lower left of the dialogue an ‘Elevation’ option.
Choose Meters, Kilometers, then ‘Apply Settings’.
Next, you should start up the Microsoft Excel program as you will be entering data generated from
Google Earth into this spreadsheet. When the spreadsheet opens, label one column ‘Distance (m)’ and
one column ‘Elevation (m)’.
Now, return to the Google Earth window and enable the ‘Measure’ tool by clicking on the word
‘Measure’ (or simultaneously using ‘ctrl + 6’ keys on your keyboard). When the ‘Measure’ dialogue
box appears, use the drop down window to choose meters as the units of distance. Also select the tab
labeled ‘Path’.
Note that the ‘Measure’ icon on your image appears as a box with tick marks along the mid-points.
This box can be used to add points along your profile with approximately equal spacing; simply click
the first point, then move the box until one of its tick marks is aligned with this point; now click again.
The next point is located approximately the distance from the center of the box to a tick mark. This
distance varies depending on the level to which you are zoomed into the image. In addition, from point
to point, the distance is not precisely the same, but it is close enough for the exercises we are
attempting to conduct. If you add a point and want to delete it, simply right click on your mouse and it
will disappear.
You can determine the approximate spacing to each point by noting the cumulative distance along your
profile and entering this distance at each point into the spreadsheet.
To begin your topographic profile, go to the first entry in the table below and enter the coordinates of
the volcano in the Google Earth query bar. When Google Earth relocates to this position, zoom out
until you can see the entire volcanic edifice.
Select a point along one edge of the volcanic edifice as your starting point and click on the ‘Measure’
tool. Note the distance reads ‘0.00’ meters. Type this value into the ‘Distance’ column of your
spreadsheet. Note the elevation of this point by placing the ‘Measure’ cursor over it. A pointing finger
icon will appear and you will be able to read the elevation (“elev”) of the point along the bottom of the
image window to the right of the longitude.
Increment to your next point along your traverse by moving the ‘Measure’ cursor approximately by the
half-width of the cursor box, then click again. This is your second profile point. When you click this
point, note the distance along your profile (read from the ‘Measure’ dialogue box) and the elevation of
the point (read along the bottom of the image to the right of the longitude). Enter the distance and the
elevation into their respective columns in your spreadsheet. Repeat this process until you have
completed a traverse across the volcanic edifice displayed on Google Earth.
To plot this topographic profile in Excel, choose the ‘Chart’ function from the ‘Insert’ menu at the top
of the screen.
For ‘Chart Type’, choose, ‘XY (Scatter)’. Choose the scatter plot option ‘Scatter with data points
connected by lines’. Make the ‘DISTANCE’ column the X-axis and ‘ELEVATION’ column the YAxis of your plot.
To add a second topographic profile to the first from the ‘Chart’ dialogue box, click on the ‘Series’ tab
at the top of the box. In the ‘Series’ box in the lower left corner, click on the ‘Add’ button. Type
‘Mount Fuji’ in the ‘Name’ box to the right, then for ‘X values’ add the data from the ‘DISTANCE’
column from Mt. Fuji; ‘Y values’ will be the ‘ELEVATION’ data from Mt. Fuji.
Describe what you observe on the resulting topographic profile for these volcanoes.
Note that both profiles are nearly triangular above 1000 m elevation. Given that each volcano is nearly
circular, each is actually cone-shaped. Use the Internet to locate the formula for the volume of a cone.
Once you have located the formula for the volume of a cone, calculate the volumes of Mauna Kea and
Mt. Fuji above from the 1,000 m elevation to each volcano’s summit. How do these volcanoes compare?
Table 1.
Location of shield volcano and composite volcano for this exercise.
NAME
LATITUDE
LONGITUDE
Mauna Kea, Hawai’i
19.815332
-155.472645
Mount Fuji, Japan
35.366673
138.733347
IDENTIFYING VOLCANIC LANDFORMS
Volcanoes are important features of Earth’s surface geology. For this exercise, you will visit a number
of localities around the world where volcanic landforms can be observed. Your task will be to identify
the different volcanic landforms in the table below.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of SP Crater, northern Arizona, USA.
Enter the geographic coordinates for each feature below in the query bar of Google Earth. Once the
feature has been located, zoom in or out to the indicated altitude, then identify the volcanic feature
centered in the image. Remember, (+) values are north latitude and east longitude; (-) values are
south latitude and west longitude.
Composite Volcano
Shield Volcano
Cinder Cone
Caldera
Lahar
Pyroclastic Flow
Lava Dome
Lava Flows
Volcanic Crater
A
LATITUDE
(deg)
LONGITUDE
(deg)
ALTITUDE
(km)
35.366673
138.733347
20.0
LANDFORM
B
19.540564
-155.534218
170.0
C
13.551444
40.744028
12.0
D
35.558949
-11.605573
5.75
E
14.916362
-24.375447
28.5
F
-0.378905
-91.514776
32
G
50.855056
155.558648
18
H
46.199442
-122.188722
5.0
I
46.248469
-122.166488
6.5
J
42.93680
-122.104928
18.2
K
41.587152
-122.474640
14.8
L
56.569979
158.579963
7.9
M
41.396334
-122.19003
19.0
N
-3.064728
37.358316
11.9
O
14.986742
120.222811
14
P
13.254101
123.685199
15
Q
2.425559
98.842043
68.5
R
-7.951140
112.951327
13.2
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
1. What type of volcanic rocks would you expect to be erupted from ‘B’ above?
2. Of what type volcanic rock do you think the feature in ‘H’ is composed?
3. Use the ‘Measure’ tool to estimate the diameter of the feature in ‘J’. What is the diameter of this
feature?
4. The feature in ‘J’ is approximately circular. What is its area?
5. Use the ‘Measure’ tool in Google Earth to determine the distance from the feature in ‘K’ and
the summit of its parent volcano. How far is it?
6. Use the ‘Measure’ tool in Google Earth to determine the distance from the feature in ‘O’ and
the summit of its parent volcano. How far is it?
7. Use the ‘Measure’ tool to determine the length and width of the feature in ‘Q’.
VOLCANIC ISLANDS AND ATOLLS
Among his many contributions to our understanding of the natural world, Charles Darwin hypothesized
on the formation of atolls across the Pacific Ocean. For this exercise, you will have an opportunity to
experience observations like those made by Darwin during his time aboard HMS Beagle.
Fig. 1. Google Earth image of Bikini Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Based on his observations of Pacific island archipelagos during his cruise on HMS Beagle in the first
half of the 1800, Darwin hypothesized that atolls represented the final stage in the cycle of volcanic
islands. For this assignment, you should attempt to locate a series of images from various places across
the Pacific Ocean to illustrate Darwin’s Atoll Hypothesis—Darwin’s idea was confirmed by the Royal
Society Coral Reef Expedition of 1896-1898, during which the island of Funafuti was drilled to reveal
coral overlying volcanic rocks.
Fig. 2. Darwin’s hypothesis for atoll formation (From “Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs”,
1842).
To begin the assignment, start Google Earth and go to the Pacific Ocean.
Search the images of Pacific islands until you find a compete series showing a) high volcanic island
with little or no reef development, b) high volcanic island with fringing reefs, c) eroded volcanic island
with barrier reef and developing lagoon, d) atoll.