Landforms

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Landforms

• Investigation 2
• Stream Tables

R. Beck Housman Elementary
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The Grand Canyon
Colorado River
How do you think the Grand Canyon formed?
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Stream Tables

• Materials
• 1 tray
• water
• ruler

• wood angle
• meter tape
• newspaper
• duct tape

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Procedure Stream Tables

• Use the wood angle like a bulldozer to push the
  sand material into the last 20 cm of the
• tray (away from the hole)
• Pat the sand material into a smooth, even slope.
  It is important to have it the same
• depth all the way across.

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Procedure Stream Tables
Position and tape the ruler to support the
standard water source over the sand material
slope. Place the stream table at the edge of the
table with a basin on the floor or on a chair to
catch the water that flows out of the stream
table.
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Procedure Stream Tables

• Position the standard water
• source.
• Then fill the 1-liter container
• with water and use it to fill the water source.

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The liter of water that will run through the
system represents the Colorado River flowing over
the plateau ( the flat earth material). The
water represents at least 1 million years of
water flowing over the plateau.
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Observations

• In your journals, describe what changes you see
  after you have run the water through the stream
  tables.
• You should see examples of
• delta
• canyon
• erosion
• Draw a diagram of your stream table in your
  journal and label the delta and the canyon. Show
  where the erosion took place.

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Comparing Stream Tables
How do you think the Grand Canyon formed?
Water flowing in the Colorado River eroded the
canyon.
What happened to the earth material in the stream
table that once filled the area that is now the
canyon?
It formed the delta or went into the basin with
the water.
What do you think happened to the material that
once filled the Grand Canyon?
It washed to the sea or formed a delta
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Word Bank
In your journal

• drainage basin a system of rivers and streams
  that drains an area like the Colorado Plateau.

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Word Bank

• erosion wears away earth materials by water,
  wind, or ice.

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In your journal
Word Bank
landform is a shape or feature of the earths
surface, like a delta or canyon.
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Word Bank

• delta a fan shaped (triangular) deposit of
  earth materials at a mouth of a stream.

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Word Bank

• canyon a
• V-shaped valley eroded by a river or stream.

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In your journal
Word Bank
Plateau a large, nearly level area that has
been lifted above the surrounding area
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Content/Inquiry
In your journal

• What happened\s when a river flows over a flat
  surface like a plateau?
• What are some of the landforms that can be
  created by rivers?

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Clean Up

• Put all stream tables and materials back in the
  materials station. Dump the water basins outside
  and clean off the desks.

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Part II Deposition

• The set up for this activity is the same as the
  last one. This time, pay particular attention to
  how the path of the stream changes and where the
  eroded earth material goes.

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Set Up

• Use the wood angle like a bulldozer to push the
  sand material into the last 20 cm of the tray
  (away from the hole)
• Pat the sand material into a smooth, even slope.
  It is important to have it the same depth all the
  way across.

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Set Up

• Position and tape the ruler to support the
  standard water source over the sand material
  slope.
• Place the stream table at the edge of the table
  with a basin on the floor or on a chair to catch
  the water that flows out of the stream table.

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Set Up

• Position the standard water source. Then fill
  the 1-liter container with water and use it to
  fill the water source.

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Conduct your experiment.
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Observations

• Where did most of the eroded earth material end
  up? (you should see sand mostly formed or around
  the delta and clay mostly ending up in the
  basin).
• Earth material carried by moving water eventually
  settles out in a process called deposition. The
  eroded materials were deposited in a new location.

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Vial Shake Up

• Fill a vial with sand and water. Place the lid
  on the vial and shake it for 5 seconds. Let it
  sit for a while.
• In your journal
• Make a prediction where you think the sand and
  clay will end up.

• Consider why the sand and clay were deposited in
  different places.

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Vial Observations
In your Journal

• Why do you think the sand was deposited on the
  bottom and the clay on top?
• The sand is heavier and settled to the bottom
  first when the shaking stopped.

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• Where does the water slow down first in the
  stream table? How do you know?

The water in the stream table starts to slow down
near or at the mouth of the stream. You can
observe the movement of the water by watching the
particles it carries along.
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• How does the result of the shake test explain why
  the sand and clay were deposited in different
  places in your stream table?

The sand is heavier so it is deposited first the
lighter clay is carried farther before it is
deposited.
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• Where do you think the material that was once in
  the Grand Canyon go?

The Colorado River eroded the material and
deposited it downstream.
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Consider Where the Water Flows

• When you ran water through the stream table
  earlier, what did you notice about how the water
  traveled over the earth?

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Consider Where the Water Flows

• This time, conduct the stream table flow activity
  using water with water color in it. In your
  journals, write down observations you see as the
  water travels over the plateau. Describe the
  waters speed, direction and final destination.

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Is a canyon created by erosion or deposition?
Erosion
Is a delta created by erosion or deposition?
Deposition
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Observation
Why did the water move back and forth in the
channel?
Water always flows to the lowest place. If a
barrier, such as a deposit of sediment, gets in
the way, water will find a way around it if
possible.
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Word Bank
In your Journal

• deposition the process by which eroded earth
  materials settle out in another place.

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Word Bank

• sediments eroded earth materials that have been
  deposited

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In your Journal
Word Bank

• basin a low area in which sediments are often
  deposited.

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Word Bank

• channel the course or path the water takes in a
  stream or river.

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Word Bank

• meander a curve or loop in a channel.

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Content\Inquiry
In your Journal

• What happens to earth materials that have been
  eroded by a river?
• Which earth materials are deposited first as the
  water in a river slows down?
• What happens to water flowing in a river?
• How could the Colorado River have formed the
  Grand Canyon?