Watershed Analysis of Stream Morphology
This activty provides students with an opportunity to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze stream morphology of a watershed.
Context
Audience: This activity was designed for an upper division undergraduate course in geomorphology.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered: This activity assumes that students have a basic understanding of fluvial systems, stream patterns, and the Strahler stream classification method and morpometric relationships (ex. Law of Stream Numbers).
How the activity is situated in the course: The activity is used as a stand-alone lab exercise.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity: Delineation of a watershed boundary, stream ordering using the Strahler Method, intrepreting topographic maps, measuremeents using topographic maps, calculations of stream relationships
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity: Analysis and synthesis of results, comparison and contrast of morphometric relationships, testing of modeled/predicted results, critical evaluation of methodology
Other skills goals for this activity: Basic Excel graphical skills
Description of the activity/assignment
The goal of this activity is to provide students an opportunity to analyze the stream pattern and morphometric relationships of a particular watershed. Students will use topographic map analysis and data collection, along with analysis of data using Excel to characterize their watershed.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Determining whether students have met the goals
I grade their hand-in sheet.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.Download teaching materials and tips
- Activity Description/Assignment (Acrobat (PDF) 22kB May2 08)
Other Materials
Supporting references/URLs
