Physiography of the US
Purpose: These exercises are designed to help you gain appreciation for digital mapping techniques and to observe continental scale landforms of the United States.
Due: Weds. Sept. 6 at the beginning of class.
Materials provided: USGS Map I-2206 and accompanying discussion. Note that I have not provided you figure 2 because I expect you to generate a map of physiographic provinces yourself (see below). When I return the graded assignments, I will give you that figure so you can compare your scheme with that presented in the discussion. You can find an on-line version of the map on our course web page if you find that the photocopied version is not high reproduced with enough quality.
Views of the physiography of the United States (Images
below are from Professor Locke at Montana):
| Digital topography of the US (from USGS Map I-2206) | Raisz Landform Map of the US | Satellite (infrared) image of the US |
Exercises:
A) Review the map that is not annotated and read the
article that accompanying the digital map and write a one page (maximum),
typed discussion of how digital shaded relief maps are made, what Digital Elevation Models are, and what the
advantages of this technique are. Note that on pages 10 and 11 the map
is annotated to point out numerous landforms. Some are obvious and others
are not. Familiarize yourself with all of them.
B) Answer these questions (also typed on a separate
sheet).Read chapter 2 of Ritter, et al.) to accompany your answers.
1.Which landform is the most interesting to you?
2.Select four of these landforms and describe the dimensions, form, and development of each.
3.Which parts of the US do you think are dominated by orogenic versus epierogenic processes?
4.Where
and when has climate dominated the landscape?
C) As you look at the landscape of the US, identify
and delineate at least 10 physiographic provinces. Provide a brief definition
of the characteristics of the landforms that correspond to each province.
Example: The Basin and Range is a physiographic province
in the western US that extends form Southern Idaho south to southeastern
California and from eastern California to central Utah. It appears again
in southern Arizona and central New Mexico. It is delineated by a region
of subparallel 50-100 km-long ranges trending generally north-south. The
morphology of the ranges is "sharp," while the basins are flat and smooth.
Here is the definition of physiographic province from The Glossary of Geology:
?A region all parts of which are similar in geologic structure and climate and which has consequently had a unified geomorphic history; a region whose pattern of relief features or landforms differs significantly from that of adjacent regions. Examples: the Valley and Ridge, the Blue Ridge, and Piedmont provinces in the eastern US, and Basin and Range, Rock Mountains, and the Great Plains Provinces in western US.?
