Continental Scale Landscape Analysis:

Introduction:

Landforms occur in patterns across the surface of the globe, and geographic regions are often defined by these landform complexes. One way of looking at landforms is through elevation changes. Another is by differences in the age of the rocks, ancient crustalline rocks are found in the core of the continent and at the center of older mountain ranges, younger rocks are found as sedimentary deposits. Can we use a map of elevation (and rock age) to identify large scale patterns in the landscape? What are the physiographic characteristics of North America?

Data and Methods:

The shaded digital relief map by Thelin and Pike is a classic map displaying a wide variety of landforms. This map was combined with a generalized geologic map of the US to provide a combined look at both the surface expression and the subsurface structure.

Using the maps, the descriptive documents that come with each map, answer the following questions (where indicated … draw and clearly label the features as requested)

The map is available on-line at:

And

Analysis:

To assist in performing the analysis, consider the following questions Examine the overall map, characterize the large scale patterns. Can you identify areas of folding? Areas that appear to be shaped primarily by water? Are there general patterns to the rivers? The mountains? Identify folded mountain ranges, how are folded ranges created?Identify the mountain ranges that trend E-W

The Mississippi embayment is an area of flat land and very young sediments that show where the Gulf of Mexico filled in much of the lower Mississippi valley; sketch and label the Mississippi embayment

Glaciers covered much of North America as recently as 11,000 years ago. Can you identify landforms that are associated with the presence or melting of glacial ice? Identify the extent of the most recent continental glaciation.How might the features of Coteau des Prairies be of interest to scientists trying to understand Mars?

In general, where are the oldest rocks found? Is there a pattern to the youngest rocks?Locate the MichiganBasin and the Nashville Dome, do the ages of the rocks have the same pattern in each feature (older-younger or younger to older?)

Locate the coastal barrier islands, what is the difference between east and west coasts? (Mexico is not an ocean!)

Locate the Black Hills, describe their appearance, speculate on the process that created the Black HillsIdentify the basin and range province… how might it have been formed?

Sutter Buttes is plainly visible as a small but obvious ‘bump’ in the central valley of California. What sort of event would produce an isolated and singular ‘bump’ like this?

Faults show up as straight lines, no other natural feature is as straight, identify what you suspect may be major fault zones, locate other linear features that may be fault controlled structures.

Conclusions:

Attach maps to your write up and label the features on the maps that help answer the questions posed in this document.