Exercise 5 Reading and Interpreting Topographic Maps

Archaeology Lab

ANTL 207

Exercise 5 – Reading and Interpreting Topographic Maps

2 November 2011

Choose a partner for this exercise – a person you haven’t worked with before.

Log on to: This is National Geographic’s TOPO! EXPLORER web site.

You will have to register first. Look for the “New User? Start Exploring…Register Here.” You’ll sign up for an account (there are no obligations) by providing a NON-UNCW e-mail account, so use your Gmail, or Yahoo, AOL, etc. account instead. Log into that e-mail account and open the message from Topo! Explorer. Copy and paste the “activation code” that’s in that message into the box in the Topo! Explorer web page.

In the upper right corner of the page click on Download TOPO! Maps and you should then see a map of the United States. Zoom in on North Carolina. Try to keep it in the center of the frame. Then click on Explore at the bottom of the page.

Click on the “Places’ tab in the upper left corner.

Use the up and down arrows and the + and – in the upper left corner of the map itself to zoom into downtown Raleigh. Before you zoom each time try to keep the word Raleigh in the approximate center of the frame. You’re zooming into the Raleigh West USGS Quadrangle. Keep zooming in until you see pink shading on the map then answer the following questions:

1). Name 5 different kinds of information that are depicted on USGS Quadrangle maps (place names, features, etc). Be sure to use the direction arrows or click and drag the hand to move around and see different features.

2). Find the State Capitol building. Then using the Search feature (located above the Places, Trips, Photos, Videos tabs in the upper left of the screen) type in “Raleigh, North Carolina” then hit Enter. A white bubble appears. What information is given in that bubble? In terms of cardinal directions where is the spot that’s marked in relation to the Governor’s Mansion building? If you were to plot the Latitude and Longitude of the Governor’s Mansion would the Lat/Long numbers be larger or smaller than those that appear in the white bubble? Why would the Lat/Long numbers be smaller or larger?

3). Move a little east of downtown and find WakeMemorialHospital. Look closely at the contour lines in the area of the hospital. Name the highest and lowest elevations you can see in this area of the quad map. What’s the approximate difference from lowest to highest elevation (in number of feet)?

4). Now move a little south and just slightly east of the hospital and take a look at the Walnut Creek Park and amphitheater area (on both sides of I-440). Name at least five natural features and five man-made features in this particular portion of the quad map. You might want to look at the Topographic Map Symbols found on the AS Search and Rescue Task Force site

Now move away from the computers and go into the main part of the Archaeology Lab. Take a look at the paper USGS quadrangle maps on the table to answer these last few questions.

6). What do you notice about archaeological site locations (plotted in red)? Hint – think in terms of their physiographic settings.

7). Locate a BM (benchmark) on one of these paper quads. What’s the elevation of the benchmark? Which quad map are you examining? Why do you think benchmarks are important?

8). If you were a Native American or later settler arriving in eastern North Carolina and could pick certain places on which to build your residence which places would you choose? Again, look at the quad maps on the black tables in the Archaeology Lab for ideas on settlement. Provide reasons for your choices.

This exercise is due no later than Monday November 7, 2011.