Seeing the landscape: What, Where, Why, Who, How?
This is a story telling project. I want you to investigate a place of your choosing with a focus on the many layers (literally and figuratively) of geologic and human history. You can choose from several presentation options (I will give examples of a video tour, a narrated google earth tour (Links to an external site.), and a story map (Links to an external site.); you can offer your own idea as well!). No matter what format you chose, your material should use the tools (maps, cross-sections, and remote sensing images) and vocabulary that we’ve learned and practiced this quarter to explain the landscape/landform in question.
The text and/or narration of the tour you design should demonstrate your ability to investigate a place of personal interest with the eye of an interdisciplinary geomorphologist. I want you to (1) demonstrate that you understand key internal (tectonic) process that shape the earth at your chosen location (2) demonstrate that you understand key exogenic processes (wind, water, ice, gravity) and how they shape the earth and interact with one another and tectonic processes (3) discuss the processes and tools geologists and geomorphologists use to investigate the formation and shaping of earth’s surface and (4) put our curiosity and understanding about geology and geomorphology into a larger context relating to culture, history, economy.
When encountering a new landscape, our goal after this course is to not just appreciate it or wonder at it, but to inquire about it and investigate not only what it is, but why it is there in that particular place and not elsewhere, how it was researched and investigated and who it impacts. You will be pulling together an understanding of various geomorphological processes, skills in observation, and use of tools like satellite imagery, cross-sections, geologic maps, and the use of scientific papers to demonstrate your knowledge.
To begin, choose any location and landscape of interest to you. It could be a place you go to often and want to understand more completely, a place you’ve read about or seen in photos, a place you’ve always wanted to visit. This should not be a place we’ve spent time discussing significantly in class – no Cascade volcanoes or Discovery Park.
WHAT?
Start by naming the landscape. If it is a large geographic area, you can use general terms (a coastal beach, glaciated mountains, a prairie…). Then name particular landmarks and features by name at the location you’ve chosen (cirque lake, point bar, sand dunes…). Add photographs and maps of the features you’d like to focus on.
WHERE?
This will be the shortest question to answer. Be sure to provide an overview map showing where your chosen landscape is located. If it’s relevant, add a short description of where else on earth a similar landscape might be found.
WHY?
This is the largest and most detailed section. Why is this landscape here? It’s the fundamental question that I want you to learn how to answer this quarter!
Begin with a complete and correct description of the tectonic process(es) that formed the setting for your landscape/landform. Note that this may be different than the current tectonic processes in the region! Describe how the land in the area you are researching was originally formed (is it old seafloor? volcanic rock? a sedimentary basin?), how it came to be located at it’s present position (is it a result of ongoing volcanic processes here? was is an island arc that converged with the continent?), and any additional important information relating to tectonics (are there faults and folds? what kind? why?)
Next, include a complete and correct description of how at least two exogenic process have shaped the landscape/landform. This may include wind, rivers, glaciers, landslides/mass movements. Include information about the timescale over which the process acted/is acting as well as descriptions of the process.
WHO?
To whom is this landscape important and why? Are there stories or legends about it’s creation? Does it have cultural significance to people in the area now or in the past? Is it economically important for things like mining, power generation, tourism, etc.? Are there significant ecological impacts related to the landscape (for example, is the soil particularly fertile because of the geology? Are there particular species adapted to this landscape because of it’s structure or it’s isolation?)
HOW?
How did we come to understand this landscape? This ties back to the ‘Who’ section. Were there early stories about it’s formation that our modern understanding draws from? Were their scientific mis-conceptions that had to be re-studied and overcome? What tools were instrumental in understanding the formation? Are there any key people, papers, studies that led to our current understanding of formation? Are there and ongoing research studies that you can link to that share more information?
These components may not appear in order in your tour, and that’s ok! Just make sure you cover them all – run down this as a checklist when you’re done, but it does NOT need to follow this order or format.
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