Activity 1:

Access the library of your word processing program, and enlarge an outline map of the southwestern states. You will need an atlas as a reference, as we create an elevation map of the Southwest. First thing we must do is to create a legend. What will be our range of elevations? How will they be color coded? It should start with green and make its way up to dark brown or even purple depending on the elevation. Take a pencil, and just like a jigsaw puzzle, trace the outlines of the different areas of elevation. Then, color them according to our legend. Which southwestern state is the flattest? Which state has the highest mountians? In terms of elevation, how does the southwest compare to other regions of the United States?

Activity 2:

Activity 1 is the warm up to Activity 2. Weather you're at home or at school, take three or four friends of varying heights and have them stand next to each other, in a row. If you're doing this against a chalk board, roughly trace their outlines. This should illustrate how much taller one is from the other. Our ooutline should look a little like mountains with the exception of our rounded heads. Their height is very similarto the elevation we are studying on our maps. This is our first step to understanding the purpose of a profile map. Instead of looking at the southwest first, let's look at the Pacific Northwest, specifically the state of Washington. The geography is very dramatic in Washington. Graph paper might be the easiest paper to work with. Hold the paper lengthwise, and draw eight lines, horizontally, across your page. These lines will represent our elevations. Now, remember we are going to be, basically, looking at the geography from a slide view. Find Cape Flattery in Washington draw an imaginary line to Boise, Idaho. At what elevation will you begin drawing a line at Cape Flannery. Continue drawing a line of elevation that follows your imaginary to Boise. Make sure your profile map corresponds to the elevation taht occurs on your imaginary line, and label points of interest like cities, mountains and bodies of water. The Cascades and the Columbia River valley should cause great contrast within your profile. Now, try the same steps with an imaginary line from Houston, Texas to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Also, try a profile map of just the Grand Canyon to visualize its depth.

Activity 3:

How did it happen? How on Earth is something as immense and as unique as the Grand Canyon formed? First, lets take a little tour. Go to http://www.kaibab.org/geology/gc_geo;.htm. Preview the photos that are in the margins. Click to enlarge them. How would you describe the Grand Canyon? Describe its colors, its landforms? Pretty amazing, isn't it? We are going to use this site two different ways. For starters, we want to make a diagram, much like our profile maps, of the different layers of rock that form the canyon. Make sure to label them. Now, click "Why Does It Look Like It Does?", and identify the step by step process that the canyon was formed. Be general in your steps, choose the five most important steps from beginning to end.

Activity 4:

Are you in the mood for a snack? Well, this snack might surprise you. As a warm-up, let's write out a recipe for one of your favorite foods. there are two parts to the recipe: the steps and the ingredients. Refer back to http://www.kaibab.org/geology/gc_geo;.htm. If you have already completed steps to the process by which the Grand Canyon was formed, you're already ahead of the game. Use this page as a reference, and write out a recipe for making canyons. What "ingredients"do you need? What steps will you take? These two parts should sound and read just like a recipe we might follow in our kitchens. you can do a little mini-test of your recipe. the next time you're in somebody's yard or in a park, take a water hose and spray the ground. Don't spray to hard, just hard enough that you start to see the dirt get washed away? Why were some some parts washed away easier then others? These are very similar principles to how a canyon is formed.

Activity 5:

maps of elevation are color coded, but have you ever seen a map where you could run your hand over it, and actually feel what the land is like? this is a raised refief map. It's a physical map just like an elevation map is. We're going to make a raised relief map. First, you will need posterboard. the next step is a trick. Copy an outline map of the southwest on a transparency. Shine it onto the posterboard. Voila! Now, you can trace an enlarged map of the Southwest. Carefully, look at a landform map of the Southwest: its mountains, plateaus, highlands, plains, and deserts. We are going to use paper meche to make our mountians. Mix your paper mache: flour, water, and a "dab" of Elmer's glue-not too thin, not to thick. You will also need strips of newspaper. To form a base for your mountains, take butcher paper, stuff an appropriate amount of crumpled paper underneath, and tape down. These should liik like mountains, and vary in size and shape according to the color that has been recorded in your legend. Also paint the mountains according to the color that has been recorded on your legend. Also paint the plateaus, highland, plains, and deserts. You can make a raised relief map of the Grand Canyon also. Try using pieces of carddboard as the tops of mesas and plateaus.