GEOLOGY AND PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES OF VIRGINIA

This pre-site activity will introduce students to the unique geology within the state and Shenandoah National Park, and the physiographic provinces within Virginia. This activity will use layers that are geographically linked to show the relationship between geology and landforms.

Instructional Objectives

  1. Students will be able to add themes to create a visual illustration.
  2. Students will be able to label provinces found within Virginia.
  3. Students will be able to identify and make a layout showing provinces of Virginia and the geology included within the Shenandoah National Park.
  4. Students will be able to describe the relationship between the layout they created and the Landsat image of the area.

Time To Complete

1 class period (45 minutes, depending on students? previous knowledge)

Materials and Preparation Needed

  1. ArcVoyager or ArcView needs to be loaded onto the computer.
  2. Make a directory DOWNLOAD THE DATA and unzip.
  3. Add the following themes:
    • Vacounties
    • Vaprovinces
    • SNP_bnd
    • Physio
    • Geology
    • Augusta
    • Rockingham
    • Page

Map Projection and Units

The map projection is UTM zone 18. The map unit is meters.

Procedure

If you have experience with the software, go ahead and get started. If you need a tutorial, download and unzip the following movies. Double click on the unzipped movies to view.

Create a layout of Virginia including counties, park boundary, bordering county names, and home school location.