For your final exam essay on the day of the final exam, you will practice the sc

For your final exam essay on the day of the final exam, you will practice the science (and art) of geographic analysis. You will utilize what you have learned in class to analyze and describe a particular city’s weather, climate, biome, and landscape. You will do this on your 886 Scantron form. You are encouraged to use (and to bring) one extra 4” x 6” index as an aid while you write. But it must be handwritten. See the suggested content below.
Then, you will need to choose one (1) of the following metropolitan areas as the focus of your research.Austin, TX
Miami, FL
Walla Walla, WA
Santiago, Chile
Auckland, New Zealand
Next, examine all the maps at the bottom of this document or relevant regional maps as well as a good climograph for your chosen city. Such climographs are easily found with Google image searches but many are also online at the National Drought Mitigation Center and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). International climographs can be found online as well.
Next, search for local, county, state, and national parks, wildlife areas, and refuges near your chosen city as these will often have useful information explaining the local weather, flora, and fauna from areas outside of human damage and urban built landscapes.
This interactive map of U.S. locations will help determine the Koppen climate type (be sure to Zoom in and click on the right locations)? https?//www.plantmaps.com/koppen-climate-classification-map-united-states.php
You may bring an additional 4” x 6” index card to the test to aid you in writing this essay. Use the following form and questionnaire as a guide to what you write on that card. Can you get the place down to it’s essence on one card? Think in terms of the four spheres: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere.
Suggested Essay Organization
Introduction: Overview of Geographic Location and Quick Description of Most Important Features
Weather, Storms, and Climate
Vegetation, Animals, and Wildlands
Physical Landscapes: Mountains, Valleys, Rivers, Earthquakes, Landslides, and Volcanoes
Conclusion: Reiterate Both What is Common and What is Unique About The Area
The question you will be asked on the exam is:
“To the best of your ability, describe the weather, climate, natural biome, and physical landscape of your chosen city as it was before humans settled it.”
Try to correctly use at least one or two key terms from each of the main chapters on seasons, temperature, winds, humidity, storms, climate types, biomes, geomorphology, and rivers. Consider underlining these terms as you write them on your essay.
Finally, remember that the growth of the urban area will have damaged much of the native vegetation. What you are describing is what should be there (and what likely still surrounds the city).
City name?
Latitude and longitude?
Review a small map showing location of city in the world.
Review a physical or landscape map showing the location of nearby lakes, rivers, and/or bays.
Examine and analyze the climograph for the region.
Examine and analyze a map showing Koppen climate distribution in the area.
Elevation (ft)?
Prevailing winds?
Continental or maritime location?
Month and the average temperature of the warmest month?
Month and the average temperature of the coldest month?
Total average annual precipitation?
Month and average precipitation of the wettest month?
Month and average precipitation of the driest month?
Koppen climate type?
Biome type of the area?Key (prominent) wild plant species? trees, shrubs, grasses
Key (prominent) wild animal species? birds, mammals, reptiles
Key ecological features (regular fires, floods, ice, swamps, wetlands, etc.)?
Primary environmental threats?
Topographic relief (difference from highest to lowest point in town) in feet?
Main geomorphologic features nearby (canyons, cliffs, mountains, volcanoes, floodplains, rivers)?
The primary reason for local mountain uplift (folding, faulting, volcanism, proximity to plate boundaries)?
Dominant local rock categories (igneous intrusive, igneous extrusive, sedimentary, metamorphic)?
Selected local minerals or rock types (granite, diorite, basalt, quartzite, sandstone, shale, etc.)?
Main rivers or streams and their names?
Source of the water in the main rivers or streams of the area?
Here are some questions to keep in mind while you are researching. You do not need to answer all of these, but they should guide you as you attempt to explain the climate and vegetation of the region.
What was the area like before its settlement by humans? (Use local or regional park and preserve websites and explore the areas outside of town on Google Maps for guidance.)
How often and how much does it rain or snow compared to other North American locations? What explains this pattern?
When is the peak period of precipitation each year? Why? Which types of storms are responsible for most of this precipitation?
Is the area generally humid or relatively dry? Why?
Is the area frozen at any time in the year? If so, when and why or why not? How does that affect vegetation in the area?
Are there likely to be rivers, ponds, and other surface waters on the landscape? Why or why not? Does this affect the distribution of plants?
Which types of plant forms (deciduous broadleaved trees, coniferous evergreen trees, evergreen broadleaved trees, shrubs, grasses, cactus, marshes) are most common in the area? Why are these the dominant forms? Use the “Biomes Visual Summary” posted in the relevant module to help with this in addition to the maps below.
How densely distributed are plants in the region compared to other regions on Earth?
Are there any obvious or unique adaptations of the vegetation in the region to the particular climate of the area? If so, describe them.
What unique or essential ecological factors are important here (fire, floods, ice, etc.)?
What is the basic topography and geomorphology of the area (high mountains, plains, rolling hills and small valleys, volcanoes, deep desert canyons, mesa-and-scarp, etc.)? What caused the relief (mountains and valleys) in the area (volcanoes, faulting, or folding)?
Is the location near a major plate tectonic boundary? How does this affect the physical geography of the region?
Can you describe the most important environmental impacts caused by humans in the region?
The following U.S. maps are an example of a starting point for your investigation. You will want to find more detailed regional maps to aid your analysis. And, if your location is abroad, you’ll want to find relevant maps from the appropriate continent.
Topographic map of Hawaii. Data from? Farr, T. G. et al., 2007, The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Rev. Geophys., 45, RG2004, doi?10.1029/2005RG000183. (Also available online at http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/SRTM_paper.pdf). Image by Jonathan R. Hendricks for the Earth@Home project.