Applications of Lidar Look at the Applications of Lidar side of the GMD poster click here to see a larger version Learn more about the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For each image on the poster, list which SDGs could be aligned to what is shown and explain how. Lidar can make geologic features apparent, such as fault scarps and landslides, that may not be visible insatellite imagery. What other types of geologic features or processes might be hidden that lidar can help locate and measure? [Read More]

Clear as Black and White Activity Source: American Geosciences Institute What are some of the factors that might unnecessarily exclude people from learning about or working in the geosciences? Culture? Ethnicity? Sex? Language? A disability? Where they live? How much they earn? Something else? Let’s examine a disability-related factor. Considering the important role that color plays in many geologic maps, one might suppose that color blindness would prevent a person from reading or using geologic maps. [Read More]

Different Times, Different Environment Activity Source: Organizing partners of Geologic Map Day are the U.S. Geological Survey, the Association of American State Geologists, the National Park Service, the Geological Society of America, NASA, and the American Geosciences Institute. Geologic maps show the locations of various kinds of rocks at the surface. In places where rivers have eroded the surface, deeper layers become exposed. The opposite occurs when lake levels rise; rocks along the shore are covered by water. [Read More]

Getting Creative - Geologic Map Day Learning Activities “America the Beautiful” has inspired patriotism in Americans for generations. But few today realize that the song’s lyrics were originally written in the late 1800s by Katharine Lee Bates as a poem — one that she first called “Pike’s Peak.” Bates herself had been inspired by the grand landscapes she viewed as she crossed the country on a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado. [Read More]

Lidar Improves Geologic Maps Look at “Enhancing Geologic Maps with Lidar” side of the 2023 GMD poster. click here to see a larger version Examine the top three images on the poster. Make comparisons between the outdated geologic map on the left and the updated geologic map on the right. How has the map improved? Point out specific places where it has changed. Examine the lidar map in the middle. How does this image differ from the geologic maps? [Read More]

Looking Below Earth’s Surface Activity Source: Organizing partners of Geologic Map Day are the U.S. Geological Survey, the Association of American State Geologists, the National Park Service, the Geological Society of America, NASA, and the American Geosciences Institute. The Utah Geologic Survey’s interactive “Geologic Map Portal” (https://bit.ly/21xGMD3) allows you to see the geologic map on top of a 3-dimensional surface and topographic map. This is helpful for visualizing how the geology shown on the map appears in nature (image below). [Read More]

Processes Below The Water Activity Source: Organizing partners of Geologic Map Day are the U.S. Geological Survey, the Association of American State Geologists, the National Park Service, the Geological Society of America, NASA, and the American Geosciences Institute. Geologic maps and Google Earth™ images provide images that are snapshots of the times they were made. Weathering, erosion, and deposition continue to break down and build up Earth’s surface. In this activity you will explore the channel of the Colorado River that is submerged by Lake Powell and look for evidence of change. [Read More]

Surface Processes Activity Source: Organizing partners of Geologic Map Day are the U.S. Geological Survey, the Association of American State Geologists, the National Park Service, the Geological Society of America, NASA, and the American Geosciences Institute. Part A: Younger Deposits Active erosion wears away surface rocks while deposition piles loose sediments on top of existing surfaces. Over time loose sediments may be compacted and cemented, which forms sedimentary rocks. Younger rocks and sediments are also shown on the geologic map. [Read More]