Where is California Going?
Summary
The Gulf of California hosts an active ridge-transform system. This exercise uses this region to demonstrate plate motions during rifting, the effect of sediment input on morphology and asks students to hypothesize on the possible influence of Colorado River deposition on the tectonic regime.
[image right border]Learning Goals
Introduce GeoMapApp to the student
Understanding the break-up of continents
Understanding bathymetry and the relationship of profile to a map
Teaching what is vertical exaggeration
Introduce sediment transport and deposition and its influence on other earth systems (tectonic)
Improve writing skills by implementing detailed descriptions of morphology and topography
Understanding the break-up of continents
Understanding bathymetry and the relationship of profile to a map
Teaching what is vertical exaggeration
Introduce sediment transport and deposition and its influence on other earth systems (tectonic)
Improve writing skills by implementing detailed descriptions of morphology and topography
Context for Use
This activity is intended for use in a laboratory complementing an introductory geology or oceanography class. It is anticipated that this activity will take approximately 2-3 hours to complete.
Description and Teaching Materials
The activity requires the use of GeoMapApp software on Mac or PC computers connected to the internet. The instructor should be able to use GeoMapApp with ease prior to implementing the exercise. This activity can also be a lead-in for an upper level class activity to introduce GeoMapApp.
