Views of Earth

1
Views of Earth
2
Plains

• Plains are large, flat areas of land that have
  only small changes in elevation.
• Often have thick, fertile soils
• Coastal plains are found near the ocean.
• Kansas is on an interior plain called the Great
  Plains.

3
APPALACHIAN PLATEAU
OZARK PLATEAU
4
Plateau

• A plateau is a large, flat area of land that is
  higher than the surrounding land.
• Edges rise steeply from land around them.

5
Mountain

• A mountain is a high, natural place on Earth.
• Elevation can vary greatly between mountains.
• There are 4 main types
• Folded
• Upwarped
• Fault-block
• Volcanic

6
Folded Mountains

• Formed from forces inside Earth that have pushed
  layers of land together, like a throw rug pushed
  against a wall.
• The Appalachian Mountains are an example.

7
Upwarped Mountains

• Blocks of Earths crust are pushed up by forces
  inside Earth.
• Examples Adirondacks in New York, Southern
  Rockies, and the Black Hills of S. Dakota.

8
Fault-Block Mountains

• Made of huge, tilted blocks of rock separated
  from surrounding rock by faults.
• Examples Grand Tetons of Wyoming and Sierra
  Nevada of California

9
Volcanic Mountains

• Form when molten material reaches the surface of
  Earth through a weak area in the crust.
• Molten material can gradually build up into a
  mountain shape.
• Examples Mount Rainier in Washington, Mount
  Shasta in California, Mauna Loa in Hawaii

10
Volcanic Mountains
11
Canyon

• A canyon is a deep valley with very steep
  sidesoften carved from Earth by a river.
• Grand Canyon, Arizona is an example of a very
  large canyon.

12
Mesa

• A mesa is a land formation with a flat area on
  top and steep walls - usually occurring in dry
  areas.
• Smaller than a plateau.
• This one is in Arizona.

13
Sea Level

• Sea Level is the average height, or elevation of
  where the sea surface meets the land.

14
Valley

• A valley is a low place between mountains.

15
Glacier

• A glacier is a slow-moving river of ice.
• There are valley glaciers and continental
  glaciers. Some glaciers even float in the ocean.

16
VIEWPOINTS

• To pinpoint a location on Earth, mapmakers use a
  series of gridlinesor coordinates.
• These coordinates are made up of
• Lines of latitudelines that run around the
  Earth, parallel to the equator.
• Lines of longitudelines that run from pole to
  pole.
• The lines are divided by degrees.
• There are 360 degrees in a circle (Earth).
• Each degree is divided into 60 minutes.
• Each minute is divided into 60 seconds.

17
LATITUDE

• Used to measure distances north and south in
  degrees
• The equator divides the earth into a northern and
  southern half or hemisphere.
• Lines of latitude start at the equator and go
  north to the north pole (¼ of the way around the
  earth) to 90 degrees.
• Lines also go south of the equator to the south
  pole (also ¼ of the way around the earth) to 90
  degrees.

18
LINES OF LATITUDE
90N
0
90S
19
LONGITUDE

• Begins at the prime meridian (0 degrees), which
  cuts pole-to-pole through Greenwich, England
• Points west of Greenwich are measured from 0 to
  180 degrees to the other side of Earth going
  west.
• Points east of Greenwich are measured from 0 to
  180 degrees to the other side of Earth going
  east.
• There are 360 degrees in a circle, so both halves
  add up to 360.

20
LINES OF LONGITUDE
0
21
PRIME MERIDIAN v. EQUATOR

• The prime meridian does not circle Earth. It
  goes from pole-to-pole through Greenwich England,
  but does not go from pole-to-pole on the other
  side.
• The other side of the earth is 180 degrees.
• The equator DOES circle Earthall the way around
  its belly.
• The lines of latitude measure north and south and
  are like rungs of a ladder (lat-itude, lad-der).

22
TIME ZONES

• The earth is like a big clock. But its a
  24-hour clock, not a 12-hour clock!
• Thats because each day takes 24 HOURS.
• There are 24 time zones around the world, which
  divide the earth into a clock.
• The International Date Line is where the
  Earth-clock starts each new day, and the rest of
  the world follows.
• The IDL is really close to the 180 degree line of
  longitude.
• Time zones are not perfectly arranged. People
  have adjusted them somewhat to suit themselves.
  Go figure!

23
24
23
1
2
The 24 hour spot is one hour ahead
of the next spot west, since
Earth rotates to the
east.
22
3
21
20
4
5
19
Direction of Earths Rotation
6
18
7
17
8
16
9
15
14
10
11
13
12
24
MAPS

• Maps help you tell where you are and where you
  are going.
• Map projections are made when points and lines on
  a globes surface are transferred onto paper.
  All flat maps have some type of distortion.
• There are 3 types of map projections
• Mercator Projection
• Robinson Projection
• Conic Projection

25
Mercator Projection

• Used mainly on ships
• Advantages of using this kind of map
• Shows correct shapes of continents.
• Disadvantages
• Areas of continents are distorted.
• Lines of longitude appear parallel (when they
  really arent). This makes the poles appear
  larger.
• Greenland looks larger than S. America (which it
  is not).

26
Mercator Projection
27
Robinson Projection

• Shows accurate continent shapes and more land
  areas
• Lines of latitude are parallel (as they should
  be).
• Lines of longitude are curved (as they should
  be).
• Less distortion near poles.

28
Robinson Projection
29
Conic Projection

• Road maps and weather maps are conic projections.
• Used to produce maps of small areas
• Made by projecting points and lines from a globe
  onto a cone.

30
Conic Projections
31
Topographic Maps

• Show the changes in elevation of Earths surface.
• Used by land developers, hikers, and farmers to
  see how they need to work with the rise and fall
  of the land
• Use connected lines to show changes in elevation.
• The closer the lines, the steeper the slopes.
• Lines cannot cross one another because one
  continuous line is always at the same elevation.

32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
Map Terms

• Map Scalethe relationship between the distances
  on the map and real distances on Earths surface
• Map Legendexplains what the symbols used on the
  map mean.
• Compass or compass roseshows the directions on
  the map. North is usually toward the top.

35
Legend
Compass Rose
Scale
36
Geologic Maps

• Show cross sections of Earth so we can visualize
  what is under the surface
• Geologists determine what
• is below the
• surface by
• drilling into
• rock and soil
• to get core
• samples

37
3-Dimensional Maps

• Google Earth is a good example of a 3-D map.

38
Landsat and Other Satellite Imagery

• Satellites circle Earth collecting imagery and
  other data
• for weather
• for climate change
• for spying
• for geologic changes
• for mapmaking

39
Some Satellite Images
40
GPS

• Stands for Global Positioning System
• Uses at least 3 satellites (out of 24) to
  triangulate your location.
• Triangulation involves pinpointing the exact
  location of where the 3 satellites data (or
  more) intersect one another.
• http//videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/38-h
  ow-gps-works-video.htm

41
WEATHERING AND SOIL
This formation is called a tor.
42
WEATHERING

• Weathering is a process that breaks down rock
  into smaller pieces.
• Two different types of weathering
• Mechanical
• Chemical

43
Mechanical Weathering

• Mechanical weathering occurs when rocks are
  broken apart by physical processes.
• Something has to hit, grind, or crack rock.
• Those things can be
• Plants and animals
• Ice Wedging
• Chuck Norris

44
(No Transcript)
45
Mechanical Weathering by Plants and Animals

• Plant roots are very strong and can push rocks
  apart.
• Animals dig and burrow, loosening sediments and
  bringing them to the surface to weather more.
• Tiny living organisms also help break down rock.

46
Mechanical Weathering by Ice Wedging

• Ice wedging occurs in climates where water enters
  cracks and freezes.
• Water expands when it freezes, pushing rock
  apart.
• This process repeats itself, the crack widens,
  and the rock eventually breaks apart.

47
Surface Area and Speed of Weathering

• As rocks break apart into smaller pieces, more
  surfaces are exposed to weathering.
• The inside of the rock is now also exposed to
  weathering, so weathering will occur faster.

48
(No Transcript)
49
Chemical Weathering

• Chemical weathering occurs when chemicals break
  down rock or change the rock into different
  minerals.
• These chemicals can come from
• Natural acids
• Plant acids
• Oxygen

50
Chemical Weathering by Natural Acids

• Water can chemically react with carbon dioxide
  and create a weak acid called carbonic acidthe
  same acid found in many soft drinks.
• This acid reacts with rock that contains calcite,
  like limestone, and dissolves it.
• Other rocks are also affected.

51
Cave Formation from Chemical Weathering

• Caves form when acidic groundwater dissolves
  underground limestone.
• Stalactites can form on cave ceilings from
  dripping dissolved rock.
• Stalagmites can form on the floor when the drips
  hit

52
Chemical Weathering from Plant Acids

• Plant roots and decaying plants give off acids
  that can dissolve rock.
• Plants thrive on the broken down rock (new soil)
  and take the nutrients into their roots.

53
Chemical Weathering by Oxygen

• Oxidation is the process of oxygen chemically
  combining with other matter to change it.
• Rust is caused by oxidationoxygen combining with
  iron.
• Many rocks contain
• iron and will turn
• reddish through
• oxidation. The
• reddish material
• is softer and
• eventually crumbles
• like rust.

54
Weathering by Climate

• Climate is the pattern of weather in an area over
  many years.
• Warm, wet climates cause weathering to happen
  more quickly.
• Chemical reactions happen faster with water and
  heat.
• Cold, dry climates slow weathering down.

55
How Climate Affects Different Types of Rock

• Soft rocks break down easier in wet climates.
• Limestone
• Marble
• Hard rocks dont allow water to soak in as much,
  so they are harder to weather in wet climates.
• Granite
• Basalt

56
Soil Formation

• Five things affect soil formation
• Climate
• Types of parent rock
• Slope of land
• Types of vegetation in the area
• Amount of time rock has been weathering

57
THE NATURE OF SOIL

• Soil is a mixture of weathered rock, decayed
  organic matter, mineral bits, water, and air.
• Can take thousands of years to form
• Decayed organic matter turns into nutrient rich
  material called humus.
• http//www.ucopenaccess.org/courses/APEnvSci/cours
  e20files/multimedia/lesson17/animations/2c_soil_f
  ormation.html

58
Soil Profile

• Make-up of different layers of soil
• Horizon O top organic layerhumus.
• Horizon Atop layer of soil.
• Fertile layer with more humus and less rock and
  mineral particles than other soil horizons

59
Horizon B

• Horizon B middle soil layer
• Contains less humus and is lighter in color than
  A horizon
• Minerals travel from A horizon to B horizon in a
  process called leaching.

60
Horizon C

• Bottom layer
• Has very little organic matter and is not
  strongly affected by leaching
• Contains rock the parent material of the soil
• Soil Formation Animation