PLE Week 5

Geography for Life Standards

Standard 3
Students will understand how physical processes shape the earth's surface.
Objective 1: Examine the physical processes that shape the earth's surface.

I'm going to do a virtual tour of the seven natural wonders of the world. I think that Google Earth will be a great tool for this because students would be able to see where on the Earth these landmarks are. Also, there will be pictures and activities for the students at each place.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Grand Canyon	The Colorado River has been eroding the walls of the Grand Canyon for thousands of years. Did you know if you drove from one side of the Grand Canyon around to the other side that you would have to drive over 200 miles? Measure the width of the Grand Canyon and compare that to the distance you'd have to drive to get around it!	--Picture of Grand Canyon and Colorado River
2. Great Barrier Reef	The Great Barrier Reef was formed as Australia has moved northward with the tectonic plate. Hundreds of species of animals live in the Great Barrier Reef, which can be seen from space. Name four animals that live in coral reefs.	--Pictures of reef-dwelling creatures
3. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro means "The River of January." This body of water is not actually a river, however. Can you tell what kind of body of water this is?	--Picture of the harbor
4. Mt. Everest	This is the tallest mountain in the world and was formed by two tectonic plates crashing into each other. Can you measure how tall it is?	--Picture of the summit
5. Auroras	These are often called the Northern and Southern Lights because they are usually only visible in the far north or south. What continents do you think you could see the lights from?	--Picture of the aurora borealis
6. Parícutin	This volcano is called a cinder cone. It began as a crack in a corn field and reached five stories high in just one week. It covered an entire city in ash and lava. Do you know of any other cities that have been covered by volcanic ash?	--Picture of eruption
7. Victoria Falls	These waterfalls are located in Africa. All around the waterfalls are flat plateaus, which are usually not ideal for waterfall formation. The falls were formed because the Zambezi river eroded large cracks in the sandstone of the plateau. Can you name another natural landmark that was eroded by a river? How is that place different than Victoria Falls?	--Picture of plateau and falls