Topographic differencing: Earthquake along the Wasatch fault part of Teaching Activities
Chelsea Scott, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
After a big earthquake happens people ask, 'Where did the earthquake occur? How big was it? What type of fault was activated?' We designed an undergraduate laboratory exercise in which students learn how ...

Geology of Yosemite Valley part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Nicolas Barth, University of California-Riverside
This is a four-part module designed to be flexible in duration and student grade-level. (1) Geology of Yosemite Valley Virtual Field Trip. A 43-stop web-based Google Earth tour with embedded views, hyperlinked ...

Virtual Geologic Mapping Exercise at Lough Fee part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Steve Whitmeyer, James Madison University
The Virtual Geologic Mapping Exercise is designed to simulate an introductory field mapping exercise. Students load a KML file in Google Earth that includes real outcrop data in the form of dots and orientation ...

Wakemup Pluton part of GET Spatial Learning:Teaching Activities
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Students work through a set of questions about a geologic map of an igneous intrusion and surrounding rock units. These questions focus students' attention on the topography, geomorphology, lithology, and ...

Fold Analysis Challenge part of GEODE:GEODE Teaching Resources
Declan De Paor, Old Dominion University; Mladen Dorevic, Old Dominion University; Paul Karabinos, Williams College; Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College; Steve Whitmeyer, James Madison University
The Fold Analysis Challenge (FAC) uses Google Earth and a customized Google Earth interface to help students visualize the orientations of eroded dipping sedimentary layers and to visualize the geometries of folds ...

Geometric and Kinematic Analysis in a Sandbox part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Activities
Kim Hannula, Fort Lewis College
Introduction to the concepts of geometric and kinematic analysis, using an easily assembled sandbox. Students repeat experiments to see variation. The lab also reviews structural map symbols, and involves some ...

3D Model of a Geologic Map part of GET Spatial Learning:Teaching Activities
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison Naomi Barshi, University of Wisconsin-Madison Carol Ormand, SERC, Carleton College
Students analyze a geologic map of an angular unconformity that truncates a pair of dikes, with some topography. When students have deciphered the map and constructed a cross-section, I show them a Play-Doh model ...

Google Earth Exercises for Structural Geology part of Visualization:Examples
Jonathan Dyess, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Students use imagery taken from Google Earth to create photo-geologic maps of areas with various structural styles. Concepts include basic geologic mapping principles, remote data set interpretation, ...

Global Topography and Tectonic Plates part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
David Greene, Denison University
The goal of this activity is to investigate global topographic and tectonic features, especially the tectonic plates and their boundaries. Using a double-page size digital topographic map of the Earth that includes ...

Investigating Plate Tectonics with Google Earth part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
Students examine data sets of topography, bathymetry, volcano location, earthquake location and size, and ocean floor age in Google Earth to determine the location and attributes of different types of plate ...