AP Environmental Science
Maps of the geologic features
Maps are important tools for understanding any science, but especially Environmental Science. We will
use many maps throughout the year. For this assignment, we will focus on understanding how geologic
features influence the overall terrain of the world.
Use the resources linked to the class notes for plate tectonics to research the answers to these
questions. Your job is to illustrate your map with features that indicate your understanding of plate
tectonics, surface geology, and meteorology.
Your project can be presented as a poster (on the 11x17 sheets) as a multimedia presentation
(this option is for students who are familiar with, or want to experiment with, web page design
software or other software for creating multimedia; you will not be given instruction on how to
use these programs in class.); or as a Google Earth tour (see instructions below).
Projects should include:
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A world map showing the major landmasses and ocean basins
The major ocean currents – indicate whether they are warm or cold | another link for
ocean currents
Locations of at least one of each of the three types of plate interactions (transform fault,
convergent boundary, divergent boundary). Try these resources for Google Earth files
on plate tectonic boundaries, volcanoes, and earthquakes: here and here
One major mountain range for each continent. In your written description (see below)
note the approximate age and geologic origin/history of each range.
Location of at least two volcanoes.
Location of two regions that are currently glaciated, outside of Greenland and Antarctica.
At least one major river in each continent – such as Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, Danube,
Yangtze.
Geographic locations of representative terrestrial ecosystems: grassland (temperate and
tropical), desert, forest (boreal, temperate deciduous, tropical).
Geographic locations of at least one of each of the following aquatic ecosystems:
mangrove forest, coral reef, salt marsh, barrier islands, estuaries.
Latitude and longitude of representative ecosystem types (from the previous two bullets),
as determined with Google Earth or maps.
A written description (1-2 pages) of what the project illustrates, showing that you
understand the connection between ocean circulation, climate, and ecosystem types; also
the connection between plate tectonics and land surface features.
Include references
The basic Google Earth program can be downloaded free from http://earth.google.com/. There
is a community bulletin board where you can post questions and read about commonly-used
applications at http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php/Cat/0. A printable user guide is
available at http://earth.google.com/userguide/v4/.
The Google Earth program is relatively easy to navigate. You can search for specific places, or
use the controllers on the bottom of the screen to zoom and pan.
When you find a location that you want to “mark” or identify for others to see (such as examples
of biome types called for in this assignment):
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Select add  placemark
A box will appear that allows you to create a name and description for your placemark.
Selecting the “advanced” gives you some options to adjust how the placemark will open
when someone else uses it
You can then select “save as” and save your file. The file format is called .kmz. When
someone else opens this file, Google Earth will automatically run and go to the spot you
have selected.
More instructions on using Google Earth are here, from the final course project.
Resources for biome information (click to follow links)
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Ocean Surface Currents: oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/index.html
World Biomes Page: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php
Wild World from National Geographic - excellent page with details on specific regions:
www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/terrestrial.html
Ecoregions form the Sierra Club -- a more detailed division of North American into 17
distinct regions: http://www.sierraclub.org/ecoregions/
Detailed info from the US Forest Service www.fs.fed.us/colorimagemap/ecoreg1_provinces.html
Nature Conservancy field guide – www.nature.org/wherewework/fieldguide/
Overviews and links for most biomes - Environmental Literacy Council:
www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/294.html
Tour of Kilamanjaro gives an overview of 6 ecological zones associated with a high
mountain: www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/kilimanjaro/tour.html
Natural history of the south Georgia coast - profiles of coastal, salt marsh, and maritime
forest ecosystems: www.uga.edu/aquarium/nathist1.html
More links at the class notes