GEOLOGY 111 ONLINE RIVERS AND GOOGLE EARTH (40 pts) Water, one of the most proli
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Question
GEOLOGY 111 ONLINE RIVERS AND GOOGLE EARTH (40 pts) Water, one of the most prolific weathering and transport agents on Earth, is constantly moving material from one location to another. Google Earth (GE) is an ideal tool for interpreting and appreciating this unique surface process. Large rivers such as the Mississippi illustrate how efficiently river systems can gather sediment from mountainous regions of a continent and transport it to the ocean, where deltas form. What kinds of drainage and channel patterns do you find How does the slope of the river channel change as one moves downstream? These questions and many more can be explored by using the Google Earth (GE) interface. Make sure to have the Borders and Labels Layer checked. If you do not have Google Earth on your computer you may download it at: in the Mississippi drainage basin? learth e.com/download-earth, This exercise modified from an exercise in the textbook Understanding Earth 6t edition by Grotzingec and Jordan. 1. Type "Tell City, Kentucky" into the GE search window. Once you arrive there, zoom out to an eye altitude (eye alt) of about 50 mi (bottom right on image). You will be looking down on the Ohio River, the largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. Examine the stretch of river that flows from east to the west near the city and describe the channel pattern vou observe (5 pts) A. Braided B. Meandering C. Deltaic D. Artificially straightenedExplanation / Answer
1) Describe the channel pattern
Answer - B- Meandering
Explanation - The river displays sinusoidal flow structure. This shows that lateral erosion is becoming more prominent when compared to vertical erosion. And thus the river is taking a meandering form.
2) What town is found right before they meet?
Answer - Cairo, Illinois
What is the river gradient?
Answer - Tell City = 420 feet
Cairo = 310 feet
Distance between Tell City and Cairo = 147 miles
Now, Gradient of a river = elevation difference (ED) between Tell city and Cairo (in feet) / (divided by) horizontal distance (HD in Miles)
= (420 - 310) / 147 = 0.75 feet / mile
Therefore Gradient = 0.75 feet/mile
3) City most vulnerable to flooding
Moline = 680 feet - Mississippi = 562 feet --- Difference in Elevation = 118 feet
Vicksburg = 210 feet - Mississippi = 66 feet --- Differenece in Elevation = 144 feet
Memphis = 270 feet - Mississippi = 200 feet ---- Diff in Elevation = 70 feet
St Paul = 780 feet - Mississippi = 696 feet ---- Diff in Elevation = 84 feet
St Louis = 500 feet - Mississippi = 385 feet --- Diff in Elevation = 115 feet
MEMPHIS is more vulnerable due to the smallest difference recorded in elevation.
4) What Geologic feature is surrounding Archer island?
Answer - Oxbow lake - A Horse-shoe shaped body of water when a meander of a river is cutoff.
5) Distance travelled by river between New Orleans and Port Eads
Answer - C) 171 km
B) Direction of Catawba river
Answer - South
C) First Two Lakes downstream
Answer - Lake Wylie and Lake Tega
Why are the lakes located where they are?
Answer - These lakes are formed due to building of Wylie Dam across Catawba river. They submerge the Catawba valley.
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