Making_Maps_With_Population

Natural Disasters: Location, location, location!
Using Google Earth locate potential disasters

Christine Joslin
St. Francis of Assisi
West Des Moines, IA
cjoslin@dowling.pvt.k12.ia.us

This will give your students a good introduction to where rivers are located and how they differ by location. Included is information about the world’s largest rivers, websites on major world floods and how to use Google Earth.

Standards:

1. How to Use Maps and Other Geographic Representations, Tools, and Technologies to Acquire, Process, and Report Information From a Spatial Perspective
7. The Physical Processes That Shape the Patterns of Earth’s Surface
18. How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Present and Plan for the Future

Using Google Earth in the classroom requires a computer and internet access. Using a computer and a digital projector works well for large group introduction one computer will be okay for a small group that can gather around one it or individual computers in a lab for each student works for student exploration.

Follow the instructions included in the appendix on how to download Google Earth.

After Google Earth is loaded onto the computer(s), Go to ADD CONTENT (box in upper right hand corner of PLACES menu. This will give you many options of special programs that can be added to the basic Google Earth.

FOR LESSON TWO, scroll down to “Real time Earthquakes” and click to open in Google Earth. (While you are there you can also open up Hurricane Katrina and Warning Decision Support System and other geographically related add-ons. Warning, there are MANY that are wonderful for geography, literature, social studies, population and sciencel!)

Each program must be added to each computer being used.

LESSON 1:
This is best used to introduce a river systems unit, a flooding unit or to introduce the natural disasters in a specific area of study, ie Asia , China , Bangladesh , etc.

Using the following information or information from other sources, have the students locate the top ten rivers of the world on a map.
Using that information, locate the rivers on Google Earth.
Find the source and mouths of the rivers…or if time is an issue, select several of the rivers. That fits your curriculum area.
Focusing on the deltas or confluences of these great rivers have them draw a t-chart on comparing and contrasting the river systems. You may want to demonstrate with one river and assign students to locate and research others.
Some form deltas, why? (Major silt deposits mean much soil up river.)
Some form open mouths, why? (faster flowing, less silt deposit, tidal action or???)
Discuss which rivers look as though flooding would be a problem. (river divides into many meandering fingers, flat coastal region, proliferation of streams)
Have the students find the delta of the Ganges/Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh .
Have the students list the reasons why this area would be prone to flooding.
What makes this flood control difficult in this area.
What other rivers in the world experience massive flooding with regularity?
What are the main causes for this? Assign small groups to research this

Continue with a unit on disease, economy, ARGworld materials, etc.

LESSON TWO:

This is a good lesson to use after explanation of plate techtonics, volcanoes and earthquakes in our living earth.

COMPUTER NOTES: Download the Real Time Earthquakes Content Layer.

This will show you all earthquakes around the world that have happened in the past week and days.

Scan the globe to find ‘hot’ spots of earthquake activities.
Now turn on the GEOGRAPHIC FEATURE LAYER and TERRAIN, if you haven’t already.

Have the students draw conclusions on the connection of volcanoes and earthquakes.
Have the students draw conclusions on the connections of volcanoes, earthquakes and fault lines.
Have the students draw conclusions on the connections of volcanoes, earthquakes and fault lines and plate boundaries.
Have the students predict, from the numbers of earthquakes and their intensity where a major volcanic eruption may take place soon.
Have them watch the newspaper and/or websites for news of volcanoes in the predicted areas.
Have the students locate major volcanic eruptions in the past ten years.
Have them make connections.

RESOURCES:

WEBSITES WITH FLOODING INFORMATION:

Simple how’s and whys of flooding focused in the American Midwest
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/floods/science.html

Environmental Geography Class notes and information on flooding
http://wapi.isu.edu/envgeo/EG3_rivflood/eg3_rivers.htm

Flooding in China
http://www.unescap.org/enrd/water_mineral/disaster/Flood%20china.doc

Worst floods in human history
http://www.epicdisasters.com/index.php/site/comments/the_worlds_worst_floods_by_death_toll/

Top ten deadliest natural disasters that includes several floods, including the Cyclone Bolha in Bangladesh
http://listverse.com/nature/top-10-deadliest-natural-disasters/

Rivers of the World Information
http://www.rev.net/~aloe/river

Information about rivers including length,
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001779.html

RIVER SYSTEM	CONTINENT OR ISLAND	LENGTH (miles to source of longest tributary, approx.)	LENGTH (km to source of longest tributary, approx.)	DRAINAGE BASIN (sq. miles)	DRAINAGE BASIN (1,000 sq. km)	DISCHARGE AT MOUTH (cu. meters per second)	DISTINCTION
Nile	Africa	4,180	6,484	1,170,000	2,881	1,584	Egyptian agriculture depended on seasonal flooding.
Amazon	South America	3,920	6,516	2,270,000	7,180	180,000	the greatest flow navigable for 2,000 miles
Yangtze (Chang Jiang)	Asia	3,964	5,800	698,000	1,970	35,000	the lifeline of China
Mississippi- -Missouri	North America	3,870	6,019	1,247,000	3,221	17,545	the longest river flowing southward
Ob'	Asia	3,459	5,570	1,154,000	2,975	12,600	25 miles wide at mouth
Yenisei- -Angara	Asia	3,440	5,550	996,000	2,605	19,600	drains Lake Baikal
Yellow (Huang He)	Asia	3,395	4,845	290,000	745	1,365	Silt deposits have raised portions of river bed 70 ft. (20m) above surrounding land.
Congo (Zaire)	Africa	2,900	4,700	1,440,000	3,822	42,000	the longest river flowing westward crosses equator twice
Amur	Asia	2,800	4,510	730,000	1,855	12,500
Río de la Plata Paraná Uruguay	South America	2,795	4,700	1,197,000	2,650	19,500
Lena	Asia	2,734	4,270	961,000	2,490	16,400
Mackenzie	North America	2,640	4,250	697,000	1,805	7,500
Niger	Africa	2,590	4,030	850,000	2,092	5,700
Mekong	Asia	2,500	4,500		795	15,900
Saint Lawrence	North America	2,350	3,100		1,030	10,400	follows straight fault line drains Great Lakes
Volga	Europe	2,290	3,688	533,000	1,380	8,000	flows to landlocked Caspian Sea
Murray- -Darling	Australia	2,310	3,370	410,000	1,072	391
Yukon	North America	2,200	3,185		855	7,000
Zambezi	Africa	2,200	2,660	548,000	1,330	2,500	flows over Victoria Falls
Orinoco	South America	2,200	2,500	373,000	1,086	28,000	upper river branches to form Casiquiare, to Negro, to Amazon
São Francisco	South America	1,988	2,900		610	3,300
Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte)	North America	1,885	2,870		570 (350-930)	82	waist-deep at mouth
Indus	Asia	1,800	3,180		960	3,850	supported prehistoric civilization
Shatt el Arab Euphrates Tigris	Asia	1,795	2,900		808	856	home of ancient Mesopotamian civilization
Danube (Ister, Danarea, Dunav, Duna, Donau)	Europe	1,776	2,850	320,000	805	6,450
Salween (Saluen, Chiama Ngu Chu)	Asia	1,750	3,200		280	1,500
Brahmaputra (Tsangpo)	Asia	1,700	2,900		938	20,000
Nelson	North America	1,600	2,575	4,600	800	3,486
Ganges	Asia	1,560	2,700		1,073	15,000	sacred river of India