Lecture Notes on GEOMORPHOLOGY

( shape, form of land)

•Study of landforms & the processes that shape them

•Why the landscapes look the way they do
•Understand landform history & dynamics, so that one can predict future changes
•Use field observation, physical experiment & numerical modeling

Fjord
Study of landforms & the processes that shape them

•Study of landforms & the processes that shape them

•Why the landscapes look the way they do
•Understand landform history & dynamics, so that one can predict future changes
•Use field observation, physical experiment & numerical modeling

Landforms evolve in response to a combination of natural & man-made processes

•Landscape built by tectonic uplift & volcanism

•Denudation occurs by erosion & mass wasting which produces sediment
•Other processes : Subsidence due to physical changes in rocks below surface
•All processes influenced by climate, ecology & human activity

Landscape built by tectonic uplift & volcanism

•Denudation occurs by erosion & mass wasting which produces sediment

•Other processes : Subsidence due to physical changes in rocks below surface
•All processes influenced by climate, ecology & human activity

Practical applications :

Measuring the effects of climate change

landslide prediction
river control
coastal protection

HISTORY
• cent. Chinese scholar Shen Kuo observed marine fossil shells in exposed rock. Concluded that
long before it had formed along the seashore, then moved upwards. He also observed petrified
bamboo preserved in a dry area today.
•The first geomorphic model was the cycle of erosion by William Morris in the late th cent.
According to this, a river is depicted cutting a valley deeper all the time eventually the terrain
would flatten at a lower elevation.

PROCESSES

•Today, scientists base studies on quantitative analysis of interconnected processes, such as

•The contribution of solar energy
•The rates of steps of the hydrologic cycle
•Plate movement rates from geophysics to compute the age & expected fate of landforms
•Weathering & erosion of the land

Threshold & Linkages

•Threshold concept with complex response. Parameters pushed beyond equilibrium conditions
•Gradual changes may reach a threshold: too much rain can lead to a landslide
•Failure to consider the factor of time
•Once a threshold is crossed, the system develops a new equilibrium

Complex responses

•During glacial times, sea level changes will affect the mouths of rivers
•Long periods of time to reach a final adjustment

Process Linkage

•A chain reaction of responses to an altered situation

•Operates on the domino principle
•Example: Mt.St. (elens eruption led to a mudflow
•Dominant responses shifted progressively downstream, into rivers, hydrology, lakes, biological
influences, etc.

Primary surface processes responsible for most topographic features include

• Wind
Waves
•Weathering
•Mass wasting
•Groundwater
•Surface water
•Glaciers
• Tectonism
• Volcanism
RIVERS

•Rivers are not only carriers of water, but also of sediment.

•Water able to mobilize sediment & transport it downstream either as
• bedload
• suspended load
• dissolved load
•Rivers get bigger merging with other rivers

Network of rivers

•Network of rivers forms a drainage system

•Drainage systems adopt many patterns depending on topography & underlying geology

HILLSLOPE

•Soil, regolith & rock move down slope under the force of gravity via creep, slides & falls.
•)n both terrestrial & submarine slopes

GLACIAL

•Glaciers are effective agents of landscape change

•Gradual movement of ice down a valley causes abrasion & plucking of the underlying rock.
•Abrasion produces fine sediment, termed glacial flour.
•The debris transported by the glacier, when the glacier recedes, is called a moraine.
•Glacial erosion is responsible for U-shaped valleys, as opposed to V-shaped valleys of fluvial
origin.

WEATHERING

•This results from mechanical wearing of rock by ice expansion, plant roots & the abrasive action
of sediment
•From chemical dissolution of rock
•Weathering provides the source of the sediment transported by fluvial, aeolian or biotic
processes. Also,it is the source of the chemicals, such as salt, dissolved in the ocean

SUBJECT

•More quantitative in recent years

•)t is field-oriented
•Uses maps and photo analysis

THE BASICS

•The delicate balance : dynamic equilibrium example: a glacial moraine re-adjusts to current
conditions)
•Exogenic process: climate
•Endogenic: volcano
•Driving Forces: climate, gravity (isostasy), internal heat
•Resisting: lithology, structure

2. Internal forces & climate

•Changes in climate: source of instability

•Take place at irregular intervals
•Endogenic effect: average land= m average ocean= . km deep
•Larger continents are also taller
•Bigger oceans are deeper
•Continent-building=epeirogeny

Epeirogeny

•Surface topography is somehow related to the internal distribution of mass

•)sostasy
•(igh mountains must have low density material below
•Tendency to restore equilibrium if there is an isostatic anomaly
•Glacio-isostasy

Orogeny

•Deformation & plate tectonics

•Tectonic geomorphology: deformation has an effect on landscapes
•Active faults
•Landforms used to explain the mechanics of deformation
•Plate-margin analyses (California)

Volcanism

•)nternal variables control type of eruption & ensuing topography

•Continents : tephra, welded tuff plus gases from explosive eruptions
•Oceanic volcanoes have lava flows, not explosive
•(awaii eruptions: the greatest known on Earth with 0.05 to 0.1 km3 per year
•Calderas: depressions larger than . km

Climatic geomorphology

•Relationship between landforms & climate

•Climates as a function of temp.-precipitation graph
•Climate change & geomorphic response

Pleistocene Glaciation

•Triggering mechanisms: major volcanic event, astronomical motions, distribution of continents

•Rapidity of significant climate change
•Sea level fluctuation
•Sea level: most important horizon in geomorphology
Eustatic changes

•)sostatic movements determined by gravity

•Glaciations keep water from returning into the oceans
•Thus, ocean volume shrinks & sea level lowers
•Melting glaciers will also result in isostatic uplift of continents

Shoreline processes

•In coastal regions: river terraces result when alternating cutting & filling are initiated by
fluctuating sea level
•Vertical movements on land result from volcanic activity, tectonic processes, uplift with faulting
deformation

ALTITUDE, SPECIFIC GRAVITY, ISOSTASY

Remember : Archimedes

Altitudes: mean sea level = 0 m

•CANADA
•
•Toronto : m CN Tower : m
•
•Winnipeg : m -→ lowest in the Prairies
•
• Baldy Mt : m -→ highest in Manitoba

•Calgary : 1,050 m Edmonton : 668 m

•
•Montreal : m

WORLD

•Mexico City : , m highest capital

•
•(ighest N. America : St. Elias at ~ km Alaska – Yukon border)
•
•(ighest mountain in the world : Mt. Everest at ~ , m
•
•Deepest trench in the world s oceans : - 11 km

Rivers in Manitoba

•Source of Red River : m Mouth of Red River: m

• drop of m

•Source of Assiniboine river : 640 m Mouth at The Forks: 230 m

• drop of m

Some Manitoba elevations

•Brandon airport : m
•Brandon at river: m
•Riding Mountain : m
•Dauphin : m
•Ashern : m
•Norway (ouse : 217 m
•Thompson : m
•Gillam : m
Specific gravity / Archimedes principle or Law of buoyancy

1.King Hieron gives a jeweller a bar of gold to make into a crown

2.When the crown was delivered, the king measured the mass. It had the same mass as the gold
bar
3.The king is suspicious. He asks Archimedes.
4.A. notices that the amount of water that overflowed the tub was proportional to the amount of
his body that was submerged

No one knows about density then

Archimedes reasoned that
1.If the gold bar and the crown had the same mass, and
2.If both had the same volume,
Then, the crown was pure gold
Density = weight in air / loss in weight when immersed in water
or, weight of water displaced

Archimedes reasoned that

The volume of water displaced by the crown should be the same as the volume of water displaced
by the bar of gold
However, the crown displaced twice the amount of water than the gold bar ( it had lower density,
consisted of less dense material)

•Water displacement: an object immersed in water will displace a volume of water equal to the
volume of that object
•Water Bridge: A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship

Water bridge, Germany

How to measure S.G.

•Every floating object is pushed upwards by a buoyant force that is equal to the weight of the
displaced fluid
•The object sinks until it displaces a volume of fluid that has the same mass as the entire floating
object
Lab on S.G. (GM – 1)

•Use the scale and glass tube to calculate specific gravities of a galena cube and a sample of coral
limestone (typical rock on earth)
•Both samples have about the same weight, but not the same volume

Isostasy

•Means equal standing

•Both land and ocean rest with equal weight on the underlying mantle of the earth
•Land is made up of granite, but
•Ocean floor is made up of basalt
•Average elevation of land is about km
•Average depth of ocean is . km
•Difference in elevation of 4.7 km !

•Average thickness of granitic crust is km

•Average thickness of basaltic crust is km
•Therefore, their densities are different
•Granite is . g/cm
•Basalt is . g/cm
•Land sits higher because it is less dense
•Both land and ocean sit with the same weight on the mantle
Conclusions

•The bigger the continent, the higher the mountains

•The (imalayas are in the biggest continent
•The smallest mountains are in Australia

•The bigger the ocean the deeper it is

•The smallest the ocean the shallower

Examples of S.G.

• ( O =
Consider we measure Equal Volumes of all substances
•Li = .
•
•wood
•
•Al = . Most rocks = .
•
• MnO2, Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite = 4
•
• )ron ore = - 5

•------------------------------------------ over 5 --------------

•
•
•Fe, Sn, Zn, steel = 7 Galena, Cassiterite = 7
•
•Mn = .
• Bronze, Brass =
•
•Cu, Ni =

•----------------------------------------------- over 10
•
•Ag =
•
•Pb =
•
•
•
•(g = .

•--------------------------------------------- over 15
•
•
•W, U, Au =
•
•Pt, )r = - 22

Physiographic provinces of Manitoba

• distinct provinces:
•The Precambrian Shield
•The (udson Bay Lowlands
•The Manitoba Lowlands
•The Southern Uplands
•Pleistocene Glaciation: the last major surface-shaping event

The Precambrian Shield

•Flat, hummocky terrain with lots of rock outcrops

•Rocks formed from . b.y. ago
•Started with volcanic islands over rift valleys with black smokers & associated metal deposits
(Flin Flon, Snow Lake, Lynn Lake)

•Later, collision of continents resulted in the formation of mountains

•Magma below the mountains precipitated deposits of titanium, lithium, cesium & tantalum
•Where ancient continents collided lavas poured out from great depth bringing up deposits of
nickel found along the Thompson Belt

Hudson Bay Lowlands

•Low elevation, undulating plain

•Elevated up to m by glacial rebound
•Major element of relief: strandlines marking former beaches
•Churchill & Nelson Rivers have cut through the till & bedrock. Banks up to m high

•Sedimentary rocks below the till: layers get thicker towards center of Hudson Bay
•On the shore, sediments are ~ m thick
•Under the bay should reach km thickness

•During the Paleozoic, it was under a tropical sea. Marine lives were turned into stone fossils
which is now limestone (Tyndall Stone)
•When sea dried up, deposits of halite, gypsum & potash formed

Manitoba Lowlands

•We are within this area

•Western edge is the Manitoba Escarpment - up at least 8 m

Southwest Uplands

•A plateau ~ m higher than the Lowlands

•Debris left over after glaciers melted
•Dauphin & Swan river valleys dug in afterwards

Pleistocene Glaciation: plenty of evidence to see

•Unusual flatness of Manitoba & Canada in general

•Polished rock surfaces with scratch marks
•Glacial till
•Erratics
•The Pas Moraine
•Eskers
MAP & AIR PHOTO INTERPRETATION

•Latitude: use stars

•Longitude: no one could figure out million prize The answer: the clock
• degrees equals hours, then hour for degrees of longitude
•Townships created by accurate surveying

Topographic maps

• : ,
• : ,
• quadrangles rectangles along lines of latitude
•Canada has ~ million km area
•Modern topographic maps compiled from aerial photographs
•Surveyed by triangulation

•Photogrammetric map plotter

•Map scale: relationship between a measured distance on the map and the actual distance on the
earth s surface
•Relief: use contour lines give you a sense of D
•Air photographs made with a % overlap. Use a stereoscope for a D study

Stereoscope

•Because people see objects with 2 eyes, they can perceive images in 3 dimensions
•These simultaneous images are transmitted to the brain, which combines them to produce a D
impression of the object for depth perception
•The eyes produce D vision by two separate movements: they focus & they converge
•One needs to see through the paper to see in stereoscopic view

•)n order to have a stereoscopic effect, one need two pictures of the same location taken from two
points of view
•There is an exaggerated height or depth

MASS MOVEMENT

•Surface features
•Role of mass movement in the evolution of slope processes

Main concept

•A universal erosional process

•Factors affecting are:
- saturation of slope material with water
-freezing and thawing
-- oversteepening of slopes
--earthquakes
Types of mass movement

•Rock falls
•Debris flows
•Landslides
•Rock glaciers

KARST

•Limestone & gypsum affected

•Not easily observed, because much of geomorphic work is below surface
•No surface drainage streams, rivers
•Underground drainage
•Most likely to occur in temperate or tropical climates need water

Terminology

•Multilingual,first described in Jugoslavia

•Doline = sinkhole
•Calcite, rarely dolomite aragonite
•Also, gypsum and halite X faster
•Porosity & permeability important
•Presence of faults, fractures, joints increases permeability

The Solution Process (CO2)

•Calcium ion & bicarbonate ion dissolved in water

•Carbon dioxide is soluble in water
•Colder water will dissolve more CO
•Biogenic CO2 goes into solution, from plant roots respiration, also microbial action

Equations

•CO in water
•forms carbonic acid
•forms bicarbonate ion
•calcium carbonate soluble in acidic water
•CaCO dissolves & precipitates again
into stalactites & stalagmites

Solution Rates: the controlling factors

•The most karst landforms in tropical climates with lush vegetation

•Karst encourages growth of plants & enhances microbial activity that adds extra CO to the
system
•Runoff the most significant parameter controlling calcite dissolution, then the P of CO2, then
water temperature

•As water percolates from the surface downwards through fractures, the solution rates decrease
with flow distance
• % of limestone corrosion occurs within the first 10 m of the ground surface
•Slow corrosion until fractures reach 1 cm in diameter (breakthrough). After that dissolution
rates increase dramatically
•The time required to reach breakthrough are very long , to a few million

Karst Hydrology & Drainage

•Karst landforms are superimposed on a former fluvial landscape

•Rivers lose water when some of the flow descends into swallow holes
•Large part of the flow may follow a subsurface route
•Mean annual floods in carbonate basins are considerably lower than in other rocks

Karst Aquifers

•Tracing of water with dyes

•The underground system is a collection of conduits functioning like a -dimensional rivers

Surface & Groundwater

•Flow through conduits is the unique characteristic of karst hydrology

•Karst water has a high hardness rich in calcium +- magnesium)
•Karst drainage is well organized

Closed depressions:Dolines
•Sink or sinkhole
•Can be tiny to huge depressions
•From m to km in diameter
•Depths of m to m
•Circular or elliptical in plan view
•No external drainage only underground

•On surface, strongly pitted appearance

•Densities may exceed , per km
•Average to per km
•Dolines are the fundamental element of karst

Formation of solution sinkholes

•Factors most conductive to the solutional dolines are:

•Slope
•Lithology & structure, such as joints
•Vegetation & cover the CO factor

Collapse dolines

•Depressions initiated by solution that occurs beneath the surface

•Growth of cavities particularly during floods & heavy rains
•Rapid lowering of the water table
•Lowering of the water table by human activities mining

Doline morphometry

•Karst originally thought to be controlled by climate alone

•Also, by rock type
•Studies show dependent on:
•Groundwater recharge, permeability, regolith thickness & hydraulic gradient
•Time is also a factor & joints in rock

Blind & Dry Valleys

•river eventually sink into the underground system

•Rivers terminating at the cliff face occupy blind valleys

Tower Karst

•Steep-sided, cone-shaped residual hills

•Pitted landscape
•Towers called pepinos, haystack, mogotes
•Asymmetric mogotes
•The plains between towers rest near the water table
•Many theories on tower karst formation
Limestone caves

•Undergound features
•Entrances or openings are called shafts or chimneys. Maybe more than m deep & m wide
•Caves terminate downwards
•A spring maybe the termination point

Passage morphology

•Narrow, vertical slits called canyons or elliptical tubes

•Canyons develop above water table, while tubes below the water table
•Stalactites are made up of travertine. This is where calcite precipitates out of solution
•Branch-work or maze pattern

Origin of limestone caves

•(ighly complex mechanics

•Depends of rock structure & changes in lithology
•Some caves along rock contacts
•Along flow routes of least resistance
•Passages above, along or below water table
•Also, the time factor

Karst : summary

•Requirements for karst: crystalline, high in calcite, intensely fractured

•(umid & humid-tropical climates
•Biogenic CO
•Water diverted into the underground system
•Flow controlled by orientation of fractures & interconnected cavities

Karst landforms: summary

•Most common: depressions sinkholes

•)n tropical karst: hills
•)n temperate karst: depressions
•Caves may form above, below or along the water table

Karst Chemistry
•Acid water that dissolves limestone becomes so enriched in calcium and bicarbonate that it turns
alkaline (the opposite of acid) and may actually begin precipitating calcite (to form stalactites &
stalagmites)
•Calcite + carbonic acid= Ca + + (CO
bicarbonate

•A karst spring: source of a river

Carlsbad Caverns,NM
•A World (eritage Site today
•Was known as a small 27m - entrance pit which led to a dead-end passage (120 m long)
•Cavers heard a wind coming out of the floor of the cave
•Started digging in
•Breakthrough into large passages was in

•Over km of passages
•Depth of m
•5th largest in the world

CENOTE

•Sinkhole with water

•)n Yucatan peninsula, Mexico
•Like rounded pools with clear water
•May be linked to caves underneath
•Not connected to underground rivers
Manitoba caves

•Manitoba Speleological cave Society

•Started surveying in
•Over caves located
•A new park N of Grand Rapids proposed
•Little Limestone Lake: azure-blue color

British Columbia caves

•Rocky Mountains: contain the most extensive areas of soluble rock in the province
•Canada s longest km & deepest m documented caves
•Due to extreme weather, not studied well
•Those on Vancouver )sland: very abundant due to its association with temperate rain forest

Glacial Processes/Landforms
•Most spectacular landscapes
•Snow accumulates & metamorphoses into ice, then it moves
•Snow has very low density & delicate hexagonal crystals
•Freezing & remelting forms high-density ice (granular, or firn)
•Anywhere from to m is needed to change snow into ice
•The only air remaining in ice is trapped as air bubbles within the crystal
(Remaining air makes snow/ice look white, if no air, then it is colorless)

GLACIERS : EXTRAORDINARY LANDSCAPE – MAKERS

Most important – powerful : Ice, 2 – 3 km thick glaciers

Last Ice Age devastated the pre-existing scenery of Canada
Bulldozed the country taking away the hills flattening the mountains & digging up trenches over
softer rock formations
How did they do that? With only ice, much softer than rock
When ice moves, it can only scratch the rock below if rocks stick at the bottom of the ice pile
THE answer is : abrasion, plucking: ice melts into water that goes into cracks and freezes by
expanding and breaking the solid bedrock around it, little by little into pieces that are
incorporated into the moving mass of ice

ALPINE – MOUNTAINS CONTINENTAL

Horn, pyramid-like flat topography

Cirques polished & scratched bedrock surface
Arêtes erratics
Tarns roche moutonnee
Crevasses parallel lake boundaries
Hanging valleys with waterfalls (depressions, softer rock)
Moraines – hills of glacial till
Drumlins in groups from previous glaciations
Eskers , kames , kame terraces ( all stratified)

Lake Agassiz : 80,000 square miles

Largest known fresh water lake

Temperate v. polar glaciers

•Temperate glaciers: more active, some melting & refreezing

•They move faster, erode more & carry greater load
•Polar glaciers: less active
•They move slow, erode less

The mass balance

-→ at the lower reaches of glaciers:

•Ablation: processes that remove snow & ice, such as melting, evaporation, wind erosion,
sublimation & the breaking off of large blocks of ice into bodies of standing water (culving)
-→At the higher reaches of glaciers:
•Accumulation: from snowfall, rain & the freeze-on of meltwater at the base

Movement of glaciers

•Two independent processes:

•)nternal deformation of the ice, called creep
•Sliding of the glacier along its base and sides

Fjord: most spectacular scenery

•Preikestolen Pulpit Rock , Norway
Also: Hanging valley

Other landforms: Esker, from sand in a river under glacier

Drumlin, usually in groups: basket of eggs topography

Kame Terrace: sand/gravel on top of glacier

Internal Motion

•)ce behaves as a viscous liquid

•)ce deforms as a plastic substance
•The continuous deformation is the creep process that allows glacial ice to flow steadily under its
own weight
•Speed on ice surface is much higher than at depth
•Velocity is highest along the central axis
•)n ablation zones, velocity decrease downglacier
•)n accumulation zones, velocity increases gownglacier

Sliding

•Sometimes high velocity at the sides of glaciers

•Water can be present at the glacier bottom
•Linked cavity system with water circulating

Ice structures

•Stratification
•Crevasses develop perpendicular to direction of max. elongation of the ice - result of tension or
flow over surface irregularities

Summary

•Snow accumulates & gets transformed by compaction, recrystallization, melting & re-freezing
•When thickness reaches a critical size, it begins to move
•Volumes of accumulation & ablation determine level of glacial activity
•)nternal movement creep or sliding due to the presence of water

Glacial landforms

•Louis Agassiz : - 1873

•Father of Glaciology. Glacier = God s great plough
•Gave mostly French names to glacial phenomena. Also, America s leading scientist
•First person to realize Swiss landscape formed by glaciers. Came to Canada and confirmed that
glaciers covered it as well
•Lake Agassiz: named in

Glaciers

•e or mountain glaciers
•Continental glaciers - Greenland, Antarctica today, throughout Canada during the last Ice Age
•Each has its own characteristic processes & landforms

Alpine glaciers
•)n BC, Alaska & Baffin & Arctic )slands

The Pas Moraine

•For thousands of years it served as a natural land bridge connecting central province with the
west
•End moraine: km long, km wide, m high. North slope is gentle, southern is steep
•Formed around , years ago
•Northern limit of Lake Agassiz

Expedition to the Sulfur Springs of Ellesmere Island

Sheep rock (roche moutonnee)

•Rock exposure shaped by ice flowing over it

•Gentle slope from where ice came from
•Steep, irregular slope down ice

Moraines

•(ills made up of till, not stratified

•Manitoba s Southwest Uplands are made up of till when glacier stopped
•(ills mountains have no solid rock underneath

Eskers
•Pure sand that is layered
•Must have formed by a river that flowed underneath the glacier
•Now a wavy, continuous ridge made up of sand + - gravel (no clay or boulders)
•)deal for roads in the Precambrian Shield
•(ave been used as roadways for thousands of years. Also, for shelter and graveyards
Till or glacial till
•Material carried by glacier
•Dumped where glacier stopped moving and melted
•Assortment of rocks of all sizes, not stratified

Kame & Kame Terraces

•Made up of sand +- gravel that is stratified
•Must have formed from rivers that flowed above the glacier
•When glacier melted the sand / gravel collapsed onto the ground and created hills

Outwash Terraces

Glacial Erratics
•Large rounded boulders with scratch marks on them
•Only a glacier could move such huge rocks

Drumlins
•Basket of eggs topography: usually in groups of many
•Elongated hills
•Made up of glacial till, not stratified
•Steep slope up-ice, gentle slope down-ice

Kettle hole Palsa

Hanging valley
•Waterfall where many contours are close together
Manitoba digital elevation model

PERIGLACIAL

•Extremely cold climates

•)n cold climates, even glaciers are not present
•Frozen ground processes- permafrost
•)ntense frost action, ground surface free of snow part of the year
•)ncludes high elevation mountains

Patterned ground
Pingo

Rock glacier
People have lived there for long
•)nuit
•Now development for oil, gas
•Nightmare for construction with broken pipes, collapsing buildings, etc
•Cold climate research conducted in N.America & Russia
•Frost action & mass movements form the core of most periglacial processes
•Accelerated freeze-thaw & frost weathering processes
•Both in high latitudes and high altitudes

Permafrost & Ground Ice

•The ice can exist as a cement between soil particles or as larger masses of pure ice
•)ce masses may also fill cracks wedges
•Overlain by a thin layer < m that freezes & thaws on a seasonal basis

Distribution of permafrost
•Underlies % of Earth s land surface
•Ground freezing during the winter will penetrate deeper than the depth of summer thawing
•Permafrost extends to formidable depths
•Average - 356 m in N.America
•Average in Siberia much higher reaching 1500 m!
•Churchill, Man. : 30 - 60 m thick
•Permafrost depth related to modern climate & also inherited from former conditions like )ce
Age)
•Presence of ice, open water, or forest has a bearing on extent of permafrost
•Antarctica: some areas beneath the ice have no permafrost, while other glacier-free areas have
150 m of permafrost
•Southern limit of continuous permafrost coincides with the - C annual isotherm
•Sporadic permafrost can be found as south as N, probably relicts of a once colder climate
•Other variables:
•Vegetation type, composition of surface materials, topography, surface water
•Most of permafrost is north of the Tree Line

Hydrology
•Flowing water operates only for limited time in cold climates – responsible for landscapes
•Rivers have peak flows in late summer

Periglacial processes
•Dominated by enhanced frost action
•Growth & decay of ground ice
•Frost action: wedging, heaving, thrusting, cracking

Frost action
•Water in discrete lenses or in pore spaces
•Frost shattering rates depend on
freeze-thaw frequency
moisture content
tensile strength of rock
Ground Ice: up to 30% in first 6 m in NWT
•Ground ice lenses up to m have been found
•Source could be meteoric water or groundwater
•)ce lenses form where permeability allows them

Frost wedging
•Synonymous with splitting, shattering
•Controlled by internal properties of the rock
•Porosity & saturation of rock important
•Wedging in cracks takes place only if freezing proceeds from the surface downwards
•Supply of water more important than the frequency of freeze-thaw cycles
•Dry Valleys of Antarctica: debris production from wind erosion & salt weathering
•Product of frost wedging is angular rock
•Terminal size of frost shattering is silt

Frost heaving & thrusting

•Vertical or horizontal movement
•Larger blocks move preferential to smaller ones
•Up to cm per year
•Fences, power poles, coffins, etc
•(eaved rocks may project up to . m above ground
• % increase in volume when water freezes

Frost sorting
•Frost-pull & frost-push heaving mechanics
•Freezing & thawing first takes place near large stones rather than fine soil around them
•Buoyancy forces

Frost cracking
•Extends to a depth of m
•A result of thermal contraction rather than expansion
•Polygonal network of contraction fractures

Mass movements
•Frost creep
•Solifluction : slow flow in saturated soils
•Actually, the soil moves
•Most dramatic in periglacial areas because water released during thawing cannot penetrate
below permafrost
•Depths below cm recorded virtually no movement
•Gravel & sand are so permeable and easily drained that they never flow
•Clays and silts are the most susceptible to solifluction
•Slope gradient also a factor

PERIGLACIAL LANDFORMS
•)ce wedges & ice-wedge polygons
•Frost cracking can start a fracture that can get bigger during cold weather

Pingos
•)nuit for mound
• , occur along northern coastal plain of Alaska
•A few meters to m high
• to 1000 m across
•(ave an ice core
•MacKenzie delta: , pingos in poorly-drained shallow lake basin
•Tend to form in groups
•Pressure from permafrost action displaces the water upward until it also freezes & becomes the
core of the pingo
•Palsa: like a pingo with peat-rich interior
up to 10 m high
•Rates of pingo growth: a few cm to more than m /year
•Some pingos are growing today
•Some are as old as , years
•Fossil pingos: The DeKalb mounds (N. Illinois) are about circular 500 mounds. Some are up to 3
m higher than the land around them, many up to 300 m in diameter
•)ce has been replaced by river silt & clay
•Thermokarst: depression due to melting of ice - not solution of rock
•Thermokarst lake
•Clearing of forest can initiate ice thawing
•Remarkable case of trampling of vegetation by a dog led to subsidence!

PATTERNED GROUND
Result of frost action
Geometric shapes: polygons, circles, stripes, nets, steps
Classification acc. to shape and sorting

Polygons
•On flat surfaces
•Always in groups
•Stones increase in size with dimension of the polygon
•Stone size decreases with depth

Circles
•Stone-rimmed
•Stone size increases with dimension of circle
•Stone size decreases with depth

Stripes
•Common on steep slopes
•Long axes of clasts parallel to slope
•As gradient increases stripes the most common form of patterned ground
•Length can exceed m

Origin
•Several processes are basic
•Cracking
•(eaving
•Gravity
•Sorting achieved by frost heaving, frost-push & pull

Landforms associated with mass movement

•Frost action results in patterned ground, but also provides material for movement
•Dominant mechanism is transportation down slope
•Motion of rock and soil particles

Rock glaciers
•Tongue-shaped features made up of angular boulders
•With subsurface ice
•With ice-cemented rock
•Thickness from to m
•Moving at cm or even m per year

Relict periglacial features

•Now in temperate climates
•Rock glaciers, solifluction lobes, patterned ground & pingos
•Today, active periglacial processes affect only 1/4 of the land
•Pleistocene periglacial processes shaped landscapes of / the globe

Environmental & engineering considerations

•Many approaches versus permafrost:
•Disregard, esp. if there is no soil
•Keep the soil thawed
•Preserve it by keeping the soil frozen all the time
•Design structures to withstand frost action
Building foundations
•Loss of strength during thaw is most dramatic in clay & silt soils, which are not permeable and
retain water released by melting
•Best to keep permafrost intact by driving pilings into the permafrost layer
•Buildings stand 1 -2 m above ground and air can circulate freely between the ground and
building
•Whenever possible, buildings should be located on sand & gravel soil, so water can drain away

Roads & airfields

•Problems with icing, sinking, heaving
•Culverts & drainage ditches to drive water away from the road
•Gravel to insulate tundra to prevent thawing
•Painting surface white to prevent thawing

Water & sewage

•Water pipes should be insulated and placed above ground together with electric cables &
sewage pipes

Pipelines
• . m in diameter
•Weighs kg per meter with oil
•Oil is heated to C for transmission
•Friction increases its temp. so there are cooling devises along the way
• methods used: buried (in sandy soil), suspended and along the road

Manitoba Rivers

Red River
•Comes from Minnesota, Dakotas through Winnipeg diverted around Floodway into Lake
Winnipeg
•Most frequently flooded river in Canada
•Not extremely long, but flows the wrong way , from south to north

Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay

•Regulated along Nelson River
•Part of Churchill river diverted into the Nelson
•Numerous dams & reservoir lakes
•Lake Winnipeg used as a reservoir lake for generating electricity

Assiniboine River
•Flows west to east, but very long with its tributaries
•Length of Assiniboine: about km
•Two main tributaries: Qu Appelle & Souris total about , km
•Numerous smaller tributaries
•Total , km should be th longest in Canada)
•Drainage Basin of , sq km th biggest in Canada)

Saskatchewan River
•Flows into the Grand Rapids dam
•Upstream through The Pas it splits after km
•North Saskatchewan River flows from the Rockies via Edmonton
•South Saskatchewan flows from the Rockies via Calgary & Saskatoon (Medicine Hat)
•Considered part of the Nelson River officially th longest in Canada)

STREAMS / RIVERS

Grand Canyon, Ariz.

450 km long, up to 30 km wide, 2 km deep. River digging for 17 million years

However, the deepest canyon is in Nepal (Kali Gandaki) 2.5 km deep

•Water moves by gravity

•Moving water is able to move sediment
•Sand, gravel on bottom, clay in suspension & salts in solution

STREAM EROSION & DEPOSITION: main concept

•Rivers erode the landscape by
•Downcutting: abrasive action of sand/gravel
•Headward erosion: causes the drainage network to migrate upwards
•Deposition of sediment transported by rivers produces :
•Meanders & point bars
•Natural levees
•Backswamps
•Stream terraces
•Deltas & alluvial fans
Supporting ideas
•A river flowing over a low gradient deposits part of its load to form natural levees, point bars
and backswamps
•When a river enters a lake or an ocean, it deposits most of its sediment load to form a delta
•When a river flows into a dry basin, it deposits most of its sediment load to form an alluvial fan
Processes of stream erosion
•Running water is by far the most important agent of erosion on the planet today
•Most of the landscape is sculpted in some way by streams and rivers
•As a result, stream valleys are the most widespread landforms on the continents
•)n the lower reaches of a river, the major landforms are floodplain deposits, deltas, or alluvial
fans

Downcutting of stream channels

•One of basic processes of erosion in all stream channels, whether small gullies or large canyons
•Through abrasive action of sand, cobbles & boulders moving along the channel floor
•The sediment load of a river acts like a saw and is capable of cutting down the floor at an
astonishing rate.
•Upstream migration of waterfalls & rapids (see Niagara Falls in lab)

Niagara Falls
•Along Niagara River
•(ad to dig channel to cross Niagara Escarpment
•This channel is additional to dramatic scenery of the Falls

Niagara Escarpment
Gradient
•New streams have high gradient steep
•Old streams have low gradient meandering
•To find the gradient meters per distance in km across a map
•Contour lines form a V-shape pointing upstream
•Count # of contour lines crossing the river & multiply by contour interval
•Contour lines V upstream
•Divide by distance along the river

Headward (upstream) erosion

•A universal tendency to erode headward or upslope. Thus increase the length of the valley until
they reach the drainage divide. This process, is significant in the river s upper reaches
•The tributaries of one stream can extend upslope & intersect the middle course of another
stream, thus diverting the headwater of one stream to another (Stream Capture)

Slope retreat
•With both methods above, the valley walls become subject to a variety of slope processes, such as
creep, debris flows & landslides
•Steep gradients indicate downcutting is vigorous, ongoing process (new rivers)
•Gentle gradients with meandering pattern suggests downcutting is minimal (old rivers)
deposition of sediment rather than erosion

Processes of stream deposition

•)n the lower part of a river system, the surface of the land slopes gently toward the sea and the
stream gradient is very low. As a result the river is unable to transport all of its load and a
significant amount of sediment may be deposited across the floodplain.
•As point bars, levees, backswamps
•That means the valleys become higher
•Much of the sediment is carried to the sea where it is deposited as a delta

Meanders and point bars

•All rivers tend to flow in a sinuous path
•Once a meander bend is initiated the flow of water continues to impinge on the outside of the
channel and the bend grows larger. A small bend grows into a large meander
•On the inside, velocity is at a minimum, so that some of the load is deposited
•As a meander bend becomes accentuated, it develops an almost complete circle. Eventually, a
cutoff forms a short, but sharp, increase in stream gradient.
•As a result the river abandons the old meander loop, which remains as a crescent shaped lake,
oxbow lake
Priene: only place to be able to see meanders
Point bar deposits (white)

Natural levees
•)f the river overflows its banks during the flood stage, the water is no longer confined to a
channel, but flows over the land surface in a broad sheet.
•This will reduces the velocity significantly and some of the suspended sediment settles out.
Coarser material builds an embankment known as a natural levee. It grows with time and can be
higher than the surrounding area
Backswamps
•Some of the floodplain may be below river level. )t is poorly drained and fine mud settles there
Stream terraces
•Rivers may fill part of the valley with sediment, in other times erode through the filled in
sediment.
•Change from deposition to erosion because of:
- change in volume of discharge
- change in gradient due to uplift
- change in amount of sediment load

Deltas (triangle-shaped)
•As a river enters the sea or a lake, the velocity suddenly slows down and most of its load is
deposited
•Two major processes:
- the splitting into tributary channel system
- development of local breaks in levees through which sediment is diverted and deposited as
splays in the area between the distributaries
•A major phenomenon in the construction of a delta is the shifting of the entire course of the river
•The growth of a delta is influenced by waves and tides which can transport the sediment further
out to sea
•Growth of a delta depends on the balance between the rate of sediment input by the river and the
rate of erosion by waves and tides

Greek delta (D)

Egypt
•Aigaion + Yption

(Aegean Sea) (feet, opposite)

Alluvial fans
•Accumulates in a dry basin at the foot of a mountain
Example: town of Las Vegas built on one (that means it can flood, too)
Las Vegas satellite view

The river channel

•Basic mechanics
•Gravity tends to continuously accelerate the flow downstream
•The velocity represents the balance between the energy causing flow & the energy consumed by
the resistance to flow
•Laminar flow: in straight line
•Turbulent flow: in all directions, eddies
•(ighest velocity near the center
•Decrease of velocity towards the channel floor
•Flow & Resisting factors
•Resistance from waves, change in gradient, roughness of channel bed, pools, riffles, bars,
vegetation

Sediment in channels
•Most energy dissipated by the resisting factors
•Remainder used to erode & transport sediment
•Transportation: silt & clay suspended load, sand as bedload

Bank erosion
•Erosion is not just directed vertically
•Bank erosion related to both fluvial entrainment and the weakening & weathering of bank
materials
Erosion of bedrock channels
•Abrasion with sediment as grinding tool
•Plucking controlled by joints, cracks in the rock
Deposition
•Forms dunes, bars & ripples

River work
•The concept of geomorphic work
•Estimated by amount of sediment it transports
• % of sediment is removed from the drainage basin by the sum of ordinary discharges that
occur once every 5 -10 years
•Mega-floods transport high loads, but are rare
•River morphologies is the product of high-frequency events: rare, high magnitude events can
change channel form

Quasi-equilibrium condition
•Equilibrium between discharge & load
•The influence of slope
•Channel shape
•Channel patterns : straight, meander, braided

Summary
•Responds according to driving & resisting forces. Parameters like velocity, width, slope, channel
pattern are adjusted so that the river can accomplish its work most efficiently

FLUVIAL LANDFORMS
•Activity within the a stream related to energy possessed by the river to carry water & sediment
most efficiently
•Flood plain: flat surface subject to periodic flooding so, don t built in it, or you get flooded!

Origin of floodplains
•Maximum erosion on the outer bank
•Bank erosions and point bar accumulation are volumetrically equal
•Coarser sediment deposited at point bars which spread laterally across the valley
•Floodplain acts like storage area for sediment that cannot be transported

Fluvial terraces (The city of Terrace, BC is built on river terraces)

•Abandoned floodplains that were formed when the river flowed at a higher level than at present

Deltas
•Depositional plain formed by a river at its mouth
•River divides into distributaries
•Deltas composed of coarse-grain deposits
•Deposition results when from reduction of river velocity as the flow enters a body of water
•l major marine deltas are (olocene in age. (ad their beginning between 8000 & 6500 years ago
•Most rivers develop deltas. Balance between fluvial system, climate & shoreline dynamics
(currents & tides)

Nile Delta at night

Irrawaddy
Delta evolution
•Delta switching in the Mississippi delta after dramatic shifts in the course of the river river
breaches the levees)
•Nile Delta has NO ROCK underneath, since the years when the river plunged . km into the
empty Mediterranean!!
•That would have been a terrific sight

Summary
•Landforms can be erosional or depositional or both
•Floodplains by overbank flooding
•Rivers move across their valley floors
•Terraces are abandoned floodplains
•Deltas accumulate sediment when rivers enters a body of water. Forces from the river &
waves/tides in sea/lake

Videos
•Tidal bore moves upriver, Truro, Nova Scotia
•The Black Dragon, China
•The Severn bore, UK
•Pororoca, Brazil

WIND

•Effective geomorphic agent where sparse vegetation and unconsolidated sediment

•More than 1/3 of land is arid or semi-arid
• billion people live there
•Desertification is a problem today
Shaped by wind: Uluru
summary
•Aeolian processes: important in deserts
•Wind erosion (abrasion, deflation, blowout, yardang)
•Transport (creep, saltation, suspension, dust storms, loess)
•Deposition (sand sheets, ripples, dunes)

The resisting environment

•Only / to / occupied by sand
•Evaporation exceeds precipitation
•Sparse vegetation may be present due to soil moisture
• Desert varnish
• Desert pavement is thin & protects silt, clay & sand underneath
•(uman activities result in dessication of lakes and formation of playas

The driving force

•Wind related to global circulation patterns
•Temperature gradients can change wind direction hot during the day starts a wind towards, cold
at night brings wind away)
•Wind direction important as to what material will move
•Wind velocity increases with height because no friction
•Most winds are characterized by the irregular motions associated with turbulent flow. As in
rivers, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs at some critical number above which
winds are able to accomplish geomorphic work (bring down a tree, for example)

Entrainment & transportation

•Most desert sands have a threshold velocity of about 16 km/hour (velocity at which motion
begins)
•When the upward velocity exceeds the terminal velocity, turbulent eddies are able to lift particles
to high elevations up to km
•This type of transport, suspension, usually involves only clay & silt
•Saltation: spasmodic bouncing motion of fine to medium sand
•Surface creep of coarser sand
•)mpact threshold: grains may move even below threshold values. Critical size is . mm. but in
exceptions larger sizes can move
•The saltation effect: grains skip
•Most sand moves by saltation, less than / by creep

Erosional features
•Abrasion and deflation
•Abrasion: sand particles act as grinding tools - sandblasting
•Ventifacts: eroded stones. Formation of facets, pits, grooves & flutes
•Maximum abrasion occurs - 15 cm above ground surface
•Yardangs: wind-shaped rock outcrops, blunt up-wind, pointed leeward end
•Found on all deserts except Australia
•The Sphinx may be a carved out yardang
•Deflation: the lifting & transportation of loose sand and dust
•mechanism for creating depressions up to m deep, sometimes with lakes called pans

Transport
•Creep :responsible for / of sand moving. Grains pushed by saltating grains
•Saltation: series of jumps & skips, a few cm above ground
•Suspension: silt & clay may climb many km in duststorms (turbulent flow)
•Loess deposits: from duststorms
•Thickest : m in China, -30 m in America, Europe

Deposits and features

•Sand sheets without dunes
•Ripples : may be spaced up to m apart. Crests & troughs. Long axes at to wind. Coarser
material at crests
•Ripples are tiny up to cm high in relation to the Dunes height from . to m

DUNES
•Sand sea, ergs with dunes
•The largest sand sea in the west: Sand (ills, Nebraska, 57,000 km2
•Athabasca Sands: most northerly in the world
•(eight from less than m to m
•Pronounced regularity in dune spacing
•Backslope,upwind - , crest, slip face, downwind -
•(as a smooth slope & steep slope
•Dunes retain their original form as they advance
•Many dune types may be present in the same area
•Variables are wind direction, topography, size & abundance of sand

Types of dunes
•Most common on earth & Mars is crescentic, or or barchan
•Wider than long
•Wind blows in one direction
•Move faster than any other type
•More than m per year
•Largest have crest-to-crest widhts of more than 3 km

Transverse
•Large supply of sand
•Constant wind direction
•May form sand seas
•Like barchan, but continuous curves

Straight, linear, longitudinal, seif (sword)

•Much longer than they are wide
•More than km long
•Up to m high
•Form sets of parallel ridges
•Long axes parallel to wind direction
•May have ripples on the sides

Star
•Radially
•Pyramidal mounds
• or more arms
•3 or more directions of wind
•Grow upward rather than laterally
•Up to m high in China

Parabolic
•)n coastal areas
•Similar to barchan, but tips point upwind

Singing sands
•Movement of sand grains or wind blowing over sand can create sounds
•Whistling, roaring, booming, barking
•Most common frequency is (z
•The Singing Sands are in Georgian Bay & PE) if you hear nothing, ask for money back?

LOESS
•Silt and clay deposits
•Unstratified up to 0 m thick
•(ighly porous
•Capacity to maintain vertical slopes
•Occupies up to 10 % of all land
• % made up of silt, rest is clay, quartz
•More than million tons of dust transported each year on earth
•Africa & Australia have no loess
•Outwash is a logical source for many loess deposits
•The thickest loess in N.America m occurs immediately down-wind from the Sand Hills,
Nebraska

Summary
•Wind is a geomorphic agent where there is sparse vegetation
•Amount of work depends on velocity and turbulence
•Motion is possible after the critical velocity is reached (friction threshold)
•Motion by suspension, saltation, surface creep most load within m of the surface
•Abrasive action of windblown sand
•Depositional features are ripples,dunes
•Most windblown silt & clay deposited in sheets of loess that tend to smooth out topography

Videos
•Sandstorm in Phoenix, Arizona -haboob
•Sandstorm, Arizona in time-lapse
•A haboob wedding , Arizona
•Sandstorm, Arizona with a UFO studying it
•Driving in a sandstorm, Kuwait
•Sydney sandstorm, Australia red
•Xinjiang, NW China
•Sandstorms cover Northern China
•Saudi Arabia, turning day into night
•Phoenix monsoon

Coastal: Main concept

•The configuration of a shoreline changes as a result of erosion and deposition until it reaches a
state of equilibrium
•Wave refraction is a fundamental process by which energy is concentrated on headlands and
dispersed across bays
•Longshore drift is one of the most important processes of sediment transport along a coast
•Erosion along a coast tends to develop sea cliffs by the undercutting action of waves and
longshore currents. As a cliff recedes, a wave-cut platform develops
•The worldwide rise in sea level, associated with the melting of glaciers drowned many coasts
•The configuration of our present-day coasts may therefore be due to a variety of geologic
processes that operated on the land before sea level rose and NOT to the marine processes
operating today

COASTAL processes
•EROS)ON ALONG COASTS:
•Wave refraction: waves bend, concentrate energy on headlands & disperses energy in bays
•Longshore drift: sediment moves along the beach. Landforms are wave-cut cliffs, sea stacks, sea
arches and sea caves. As a sea cliff recedes, a wave-cut platform develops

DEPOSITION ALONG COASTS

•Sediment derived from erosion on land is deposited in deltas sand
see.. Assiniboine

Delta
•Moved by longshore current and deposited as spits, barrier island, lagoon, tidal inlet, tidal delta

EVOLUTION OF SHORELINES
•As a result of erosion & deposition a coast evolves until energy is distributed evenly so that
neither large-scale erosion or deposition takes place:
•Shoreline of equilibrium
•Smooth, gently curving beach
•Now, sea level rises again!

Classification of coasts
•Primary coasts, formed by terrestrial processes
•Stream erosion: area not covered by sea
Subsequent sea rise drowned the river valleys
•glacial erosion: sea drowns U-shaped glacial valleys like fjords.
•These are not greatly modified by wave action
•stream deposition: where a major river enters the sea, it deposits more sediment that waves and
currents can carry away.
•So new coastal land is added in the form of a delta

•Secondary coasts, formed by marine processes

•Wave erosion: wave erosion forms straight sea cliffs.
•)f different formations are present, wave erosion produces bays in the softer material
•This leaves the resistant rock projecting into the sea as rocky points
•Marine deposition: coasts build by sediment deposited by waves and currents are readily
recognizable by beaches, barrier islands, spits and bars
•Organically built coasts: growth of organisms such as coral reefs and mangrove trees

Videos
•Time lapse, tides in Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

GEOMORPHOLOGY LABS

ALTITUDES – Manitoba locations, Canada & world locations (also ocean depths)

GENERAL

GM – 1 : SPECIFIC GRAVITY – experiments (Isostasy)

GM – 2 : Physiographic provinces of Manitoba

KARST

GM – 3 : Karst topography, Putnam Hall, Florida

GM – 4 : Geologic work of ground water
GM – 5 : Karst, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
GM – 6 : Anatomy of sinkholes, Mammoth Cave

GLACIAL

GM – 7 : Glacial retreat – Nisqually

GM – 8 : Glacial terms
GM – 9 : Alpine glac
GM – 10 : Continental glac
GM – 11 : Glacial landscapes
GM – 12 : Fjords
GM – 13 : Road to Nunavut
GM – 14 : Road to Churchill
GM - : Road on east side of Lake Winnipeg

GM – 15 : Tree Line in North America

2. Jackson, Michigan
5. (13) Siffleur river, Alberta
6. (18) landscape geology – Logan Pass, Montana

FLUVIAL (RIVERS)

GM – 16 :

1. St. Lawrence Seaway

2. East – West Rivers
3. Manitoba Hydro
4. River Deltas
5. Stream Flooding
6. Meandering Assiniboine
7. Rio Grande, Niagara Falls
8. Drainage
9. Assiniboine Delta
10. New canal, Lake Manitoba

DESERT

1. Dunes, Arizona
2. Dust storm over Atlantic – black African ants come to Winnipeg
3. Death Valley, California
4. Famous dried up lakes – Area 51
5. Dunes south of Portage

COASTAL

1. Ocean tides
2. Submerged rivers & barrier islands, eastern USA
3. NB tides

VOLCANIC LANDSCAPES

Hawaiian volcanoes
Ocean trenches and associated volcanoes
Hot spots and diamonds

ROCKIES SECTIONS

1.

CANADIAN LANDSCAPES HANDBOOK

1. Okanagan, MacKenzie Delta, Niagara Escarpment

SUMMARY

Introduction : Altitudes - Specific Gravity - Physiographic provinces

Landscapes : Karst - Glacial - Rivers - Deserts - Coasts

Special : Volcanoes - Rockies - Canadian Landscapes

GM – 1 SPECIFIC G R A V I T Y ( density)

To measure the specific gravity (S. G.) of substances

Need : scale with set of weights, graduated glass tube, rock samples

Definition of S.G. : it is the ratio of the weight of a substance to its loss in weight when immersed in
water, or the weight of water displaced or the volume of water displaced

Basically, measure
1. weight in air
2. loss in weight when immersed in water
or volume displacement in ml when immersed in water

then, calculate the ratio of the two. Compare with a list of substances with known densities.

Galena Coral limestone

Weight in air ………… g ………………….. g

Volume displacement …………. ml ……………….. ml

S. G. …………. ………………….

Note: You will notice that both rock samples have similar weights although one is larger than the
other. Therefore, their densities are different

GM -1: stones of equal weight, but different volumes do not have same Specific
Gravity.

EXAMPLE:
GM – 2 PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES OF MANITOBA

Draw in the boundaries of the physiographic provinces and label them ( Hudson Bay Lowlands,
Southwest Uplands, Precambrian Shield, Manitoba Lowlands)
GM – 2: as far as landscapes, Manitoba has distinct physiographic provinces

GM – 6 TRENCHES AND VOLCANOES

Deep ocean trenches are found where the ocean floor subducts under the ocean floor. Eventually
the subducted ocean floor gets deep enough so that it melts. Magma is created that moves
upwards – due to its high gas content & lower density – to form a series of volcanoes on land.

For each trench find 3 volcanoes on land.

Notice that the volcanoes are found along a more or less straight line, much like the trenches
that created them.

The volcanoes may be marked as volcanoes or just mountain peaks

ALEUT)AN TRENC(: ………………. ………………….. ……………………..

M)DDLE AMER)CA TRENC(: ……………….. ………………….. ……………………. .

)NDONES)AN TRENC(: ………………… ……………………. ………………………… .

CAR)BBEAN TRENC(: …………………. …………………….. ………………………. .

SOUT( AMER)CAN TRENC(: …………………. ……………………. ……………… .

GM -8
A. ALPINE GLACIATION FIG. 13.9

1. Without drawing a profile section along X – Y, do you expect it to be

V – shaped or U – shaped

2. Name two features called HORNS, pyramidal shaped tops of glacial-sculpted mountains:
 ……………………………………………. ……………………………………………….

3. Locate two TARNS, small lakes at the head of tributary glaciers. Mark them as T .

4. Locate one waterfall along a Hanging Valley. Mark it with W .

5. Identify the knife-edged ridge extending to the northwest of Mount Kentigern. How would
you call it using Alpine glaciations terminology?

…………………………………………………. .

B. CONTINENTAL GLACIATION FIG. 13.11

1. Identify the numerous oblong hills and indicate direction of ice flow.

Feature: ……………………………….. Direction of flow: …………………………………..

2. South of highway 7 near the eastern edge of the map there is a long wavy hill. Identify it.

……………………………………………….. .
C. STEREOSCOPIC IMAGE

1. Identify the continental glacial feature and indicate direction of ice flow.

Feature: ………………………….. Direction of ice flow: ……………………………….. .

GM – 9 THE TREE LINE in North America

It is the northern limit that trees can grow.

1. )n northern Quebec the line passes north / south of Lac a l Eau Claire Clearwater

2. The line reaches the shores of (udson Bay at a latitude of …………. North.

3. The line is ………………….. km south of Churchill, Manitoba.

4. The line crosses the Manitoba / Nunavut border at about longitude ……west.
 5. The line crosses the northern / southern boundary of the Thelon Wildlife
Sanctuary.

6. The line passes ………………… km north of Yellowknife.

. )t crosses the Arctic Circle at longitude ………….. west.

8. It reaches the south / north shore of Great Bear lake.

9. )t passes within ……………… km of the Tuktut Nogait National Park.

10. It crosses the Yukon / Alaska border at a latitude of about ……………….. .north.

11. The nearest distance to the Yukon river in Alaska is …………….. km.

GM - 10 ROAD ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF LAKE WINNIPEG

The idea of making a new road along the east side of Lake Winnipeg has been proposed by many
to give access to the many settlements in the area.
On the other hand, other people prefer not to have a road and designate the area into a World
Heritage Boreal Forest Reservation.

A semi-permanent road exists from near Hollow Water half-way to the community of Bloodvein.

1. To the north of the community of Hollow Water, how many communities could be served
by such a road ? These can be grouped into A & B:

A. Communities south of the 53 rd parallel

…………………………….. ………………………………………. .

…………………………….. ………………………………………. .

B, Communities north of the 53 rd parallel not linked with permanent roads

 …………………………… ………………………………………….. .

…………………………… ………………………………………..

………………………….. . ……………………………………. .

……………………………. .

2. How many kilometers of road are required to get to the 53 rd parallel ?

……………………………………………………………

This road has been under construction in 2012/13.

GM – 11 PROPOSED ROAD TO NUNAVUT by way of eskers

Use Manitoba Surficial map 81-1 and other topo maps for more detailed info.

The Manitoba Government proposed to build a permanent road to Nunavut. Eskers provide an
excellent location for a highway to the north because they are so plentiful in the northern part of
the province.

1.What would be the starting point of a new road from an existing all-weather
road. North of Thompson, highway 391 is paved all the way to Lynn Lake,
whereas highway 394 and the road to Gillam are all-weather gravel roads.

Starting point would be ……………………………………. .

2. Identify some semi- continuous eskers that extend towards the Nunavut border
that can be used for the new road. Keep in mind that the bigger communities in
Nunavut north of the 60th parallel lie along the shores of Hudson Bay.

3. Measure lengths of eskers that can be used all the way to the 60th parallel.

The total length of new road on top of existing eskers would be …………………… km

4. How long a road has to be built in between eskers altogether all the way to the
 60th parallel ?

The total length of new road in between eskers would be ………………………… km

5. Therefore, the total length of new road all the way to the 60th parallel from
existing paved roads would be

…………………………………………. km

GM – 12 ROAD TO CHURCHILL

Currently, there is no land road all the way to Churchill, Manitoba, only a rail line.
The Government has proposed to build a new road from the nearest existing road.

1. Where would be the starting point of this road and what is the number of highway that
reaches it ?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. .

2. The new road would follow close to an existing rail line. What kind of surficial deposits lie
on the ground in this area ?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………… .

Any organic deposits? ………………………………………………………………. .

3. The rail line has named stations along the way, normally uninhabited. In some of these a
small number of people live there semi-permanently for fishing and trapping. How many
such stations are there between Bird and Churchill ?

……………………… .

4. There are about ……………………… number of creeks or rivers from the Bird station to
Churchill. Bridges had to be constructed for the rail line. A similar number would be needed
along the new road.

5. Are there any landforms in the area that would make road construction easier ? What are
they called in the map legend?
 …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. .

6. What is the total length of the landforms in question # 5 along the proposed road ?

………………………………………………… .km

7. What would be the total distance of a road from Bird station to Churchill?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. .

GM – 13 FJORDS OF THE WORLD

Dramatic scenery from flooded U-shaped glacial valleys attract tourists around the world. First
described and named in Norway, but are also found in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Chile &
New Zealand. Those in Norway are not all necessarily true fjords because the word simply means
a bay .

Canada s fjords are not well known. There are a total of to Norway s .
Most of Canada s fjords % are in Nunavut, 27 % in B.C. and the remaining in Labrador –
Newfoundland and adjacent parts of Quebec. Probably, Newfoundland s are more popular with
tourists today.

List the names of some fjords from Canada and elsewhere.

In Nunavut, most fjords are called fjords, also some in Labrador. The others are simply bays or
sounds. One can check with a formal list of geological fjords.

NUNAVUT :

……………………….. …………………………….. .. …………………………… .

BRITISH COLUMBIA :

………………………. ………………………….. . ……………………………. .

LABRADOR & NEWFOUNDLAND :

…………………….. . ………………………….. ………………………………… .

NORWAY north of the Arctic Circle :

………………………. .. ………………………….. . …………………………………. .

CHILE :

……………………………. .

GM – 14 THE CHINA WALL and THE MONGOLS

The building of the China Wall lasted a very long time and started about 600 BC.

The Wall was a desperate attempt to stop the hooligans of that time: The blood-thirsty Mongol
warriors whose only occupation was attack and slaughter innocent people by the hundreds and
thousands.

Eventually the completion of the Wall diverted the Mongols eastwards – where they failed to take
Japan due to hurricanes – and westwards towards Europe. They started arriving there around
1,000 AD until about 1,450 when they turned around and went back home. Wherever they went
they brought death and destruction and put the brakes in human progress (technology and
civilization). Eventually, the Russians attacked them and annihilated them completely.

Therefore, the Wall had a tremendous significance in the movement of populations and
development of civilizations.

The Wall separates two strikingly different environments: Briefly describe each

North of the Wall South of the Wall

GM - 17 HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER IN MANITOBA

About 5,000 MW (mega- watts ) of power are produced in Manitoba.

All this energy is generated in what used to be natural rapids along some of the province s rivers
(where the gradient is relatively high).
The water is made to fall within a structure that also contains a turbine, a big wheel lined up with
magnets – this action produces the electricity, which is then distributed into homes and
businesses.
---→ Fill in the blanks with figures calculated from attached Hydro map

POWER PLANT # 0F drop in elevation POWER

turbines in meters generated in MW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pointe du Bois ………………

Slave Falls ……………… .

Seven Sisters ……………….

McArthur ……………….

Great Falls ………………..

Pine Falls ……………….. 82

Grand Rapids ……………….

Jenpeg ………………

Kelsey 7 ………………….

Kettle …………………. ,

Long Spruce ………………….

Limestone 10 ………………… ,

Laurie River )) …………………

Laurie River ) …………………

Wuskwatim 3 ………………….

-→ As far as water drop elevation which plants have the 3 highest falls ?

# ………………………… # …………………… # ……………………….

GM – 18 Length and Source of EAST – WEST RIVERS (like the Assiniboine)

One way to explain the 2011 flooding along the Assiniboine river is to find out

---- how long it is

----- how many tributaries and how long they are

and …….. where is their origin

There are TWO major East – West flowing rivers in the south of the Prairies

the Assiniboine river and the Saskatchewan river

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
ASSINIBOINE river : )ts length ………………………. Km

Tributaries : A. ………………………….. . length ……………… origin ……………………

B. ………………………….. . length …………….. origin ………………………

Combined length of Assiniboine, …………………. and ………………….. is ………….km

Conclusion: all this water flows into The Forks, Winnipeg after some water is diverted by the
Portage Diversion into Lake Manitoba.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
SASKATCHEWAN river : flows through The Pas into Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg
after passing over the Grand Rapids Dam

upstream after a length of ……………… .km it splits into

A. the North Saskatchewan river and B. South Saskatchewan river

flows through this big city…………….. flows through this big city …………….

& originates in the …………….. mountains upstream it divides into rivers :

C. one flows through the city of ……….

D. the other originates in the……………

mountains
GM – 19 MEANDERING RIVERS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -

1. Take any one of the 3 topographical maps :

- Virden
- Alexander
- CFB Shilo

2. Obtain the following information from the map:

a) How many oxbow lakes are there ? ………………………….. .

b) How many sloughs (dried up oxbow lakes) are there ?

…………………………….

c) What is the horizontal distance of the Assiniboine river in this

map in kilometers ?

………………………… .

d) What is the difference in elevation of the river across this map?

…… ft. or X . = …….. m

e) based on your answers to questions c and d, calculate the

gradient of the river within this map. The gradient is defined
as the vertical distance in meters from one end to the other in
per cent (drop in elevation in meters times 100 divided by
length in meters)

………………………………………………………… .

f) Is this a gentle gradient or steep gradient ?

………………………………….. .

{A meandering river is usually associated with rivers with a

gentle gradient, or pretty flat terrain}
GM – 20 ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY

The Great Lakes are great because they are very DEEP depressions - carved by glaciers during
the Ice Age. Some of the water escaping from the melting glaciers filled in these depressions and
did not escape into the oceans.

Today, the lakes are part of an almost 4,000 km long transportation route that brings ocean ships
into the middle of North America.

QUESTIONS

1. A boat coming from the ocean has a destination for Toronto, in Lake Ontario. How many
locks does it need to go through ?

………………. .

2. What is the vertical rise in elevation when a boat travels through the locks from
Lake Ontario into Lake Erie ?

……………………. .

3. Is it always necessary to go through locks when travelling by boat between Lake

Erie and Lake Huron?

Yes / no

4. Comparing depths of Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan, which is the deepest below
sea level and by how much?

…………………………………………..

5. What is superior about Lake Superior ?

………………………………………………….. .

6. Compare the bottom of Lake Superior with the elevation of the Dead Sea (440 m
below sea level). Which of the two is the deepest below sea level ?

………………………………………….. .

7. When travelling from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron is it necessary to go

through locks? Why or why not ?

…………………………………… .
8. Which of the Great Lakes is the shallowest ?

………………………………… .

9. When Niagara Falls retreats into Lake Erie (after many, many years), what will
happen to Lake Erie ?

…………………………………………………………………………. .

10. In question # 9, what do you think might happen to the Welland canal?

……………………………………………………………………………………………… .

11. Which are the so-called Upper Lakes among the Great Lakes?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. .

GM – 21 RIVER DELTAS

To compare the area covered by the Assiniboine River Delta with modern river deltas

1. Use Manitoba Surficial map 81-1 to measure the length along a SW –NE direction in
kilometers. The delta is shown in yellow color.

2. Measure the width of the delta along a SE – NW direction.

3. Calculate the area covered by the delta in km square. It is approximately triangular in

shape, and it is a perpendicular triangle, length and width are at right angles. We can
therefore use the formula of length X width divided by two to calculate the area.

--→ Width X length X ½

………….. X ……….. X ½ = …………………………. .km square

 4. For comparison, calculate the area of the Nile Delta in km square from world maps.

Width X length X ½

………… X ………. X ½ = ………………………. Km square

5. How many times is the Nile Delta bigger than the Assiniboine River Delta ?

…………………………………….. .

6. Also for comparison, use the Irrawaddy River Delta in Burma (also known as
Ayeyarwady).

Width X length X1/2

………… X ……………… X ½ = ………………………… .km square

7. How many times is the Irrawaddy River Delta bigger than the Assiniboine River Delta ?

……………………………………… .

GM – 22 SUBMERGED RIVERS and BARRIER islands, Eastern USA

The sea level rose about 125 m. at the end of the last Ice Age. Some of the rivers along the eastern
coast of the USA have been drowned by the sea. The flooded river channels and their tributaries
look like branches of trees or leaves of trees with their network of inter-connecting arteries.

Give the names of 5 such drowned rivers :

……………………………………….. ………………………………. ………………… .

……………………………………… ……………………………… .

BARRIER islands : They are the products of erosion and deposition by coastal processes along
shallow ocean coastlines. They look like white lines off the coast of the eastern USA.

Name 7 states along the shores of which you observe these barrier islands:
…………………………………… …………………………… …………………………….. .

…………………………………. …………………………… …………………………. .

………………………………… .

GM – 23 ASSINIBOINE DELTA Portage La Prairie topo map

{one of Manitoba s most recently produced maps, and yes, it is metric}

The Assiniboine Delta (shown by green color which stands for trees) occupies a

relatively high plateau above the ………….. m contour.

The highest elevation of the Delta is at …………………. m.

The sands of the Delta have been whipped up by winds to form dunes (at the end of the Ice Age).
The symbol for dunes on this map is a line of V s. The predominant direction of the dunes reflects
the wind direction at the time. It extends to the

NE / SE

Has the predominant wind direction changed since that time? Yes / Not much

When the dunes formed, the area was like a desert without vegetation.
Since then, the dunes have been stabilized by vegetation and the land is used for grazing animals
with some crop farming in between.

What type of dunes do they appear to be?

(compare with attached list of dune types)

…………………………………………

The old Lake Agassiz shoreline on this map coincides with the ……………… m contour.

(below that elevation the area is almost flat)

 For information, the Manitoba Escarpment (the western edge of the Manitoba Lowlands) is
just outside this map and to the west and follows approximately the 300 m contour. If you travel
west on the TransCanada, the Escarpment is the only bump on the highway, roughly 75 km before
Brandon)

GM - 24 DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

1. Besides the name of the valley, any other location names that suggest the absence of life ?

………………………………………… ……………………………………………

2. Any location that suggests a yardang resembling a vegetable ?

…………………………………… .

3. Any locations that suggest there could be water below the surface ?

…………………………………. ………………………………………….. .

4. Any location names that suggest periodic surface water in the area ?

……………………………….. ………………………………………………….. .

5. Any location names that suggest the occurrence of specific metal deposits I the area ?

………………………………………. ……………………………………………….. .

6. Any location name that suggest visitors may be disappointed if they wander in that area ?

……………………………………………

7. A rock outcrop that has been sculpted by the wind would be found in

……………………………………. .

8. What is the difference in elevation between the tallest peak and the lowest part of the
valley ?

Highest minus lowest

……………….. --- ……………… = ………………………….. indicate units

9. There is a record in elevation within this area that applies to all the USA. What is it in feet
and in meters ?

………………………………… ft or …………………………………… .m

. What kind of water is implied by the Badwater Basin ? …………………………… .

GM – 25 CALIFORNIA DESERTS

Besides growing most of Canada s fruits / vegetables, California is also known for its deserts. )n
the accompanying color map of California (National Geographic, 1993) identify the desert areas
with the help of the legend.

Items to watch:

- dry lakes

- military bases that use dried up lakes as airfields

- names of places, lakes valleys that suggest a desert environment such as

salt, alkali, soda, mirage, Salinas, etc

Total area of the state of California is about 424,000 sq km

Show your calculations, if you make some

Estimate approx. area of deserts in California ………………………….. %

GM – 26 DUST STORMS

This unique satellite picture shows a major dust storm blowing off the west coast of Africa
towards North America.

Estimate the scale on this picture to calculate how far is the front of the storm.

Assume that the beginning of this journey is the coast of Morocco and the final destination is
Winnipeg (such a storm hit Winnipeg about 100 years ago when huge black ants roamed the
streets & went into peoples homes).

At the moment this picture was taken the front of the storm has hit about

½ 1/3 1/5 1/6 1/10

of its journey.

Need world map or a globe to calculate distances.

GM - DRYLAND SAL)N)TY )N AUSTRAL)A

This is a new subject as well as a new threat to many places around the world, but is most urgent
in Australia. They have encountered a dramatic increase in the salinity of surface water and
surface soils.
Land cleaning or the removal of natural vegetation (deep-rooted) and replacement with shallow
rooted agricultural plants has altered hydrological patterns. The results include an increase in
groundwater recharge and discharge thus bringing salts to the surface.
There are many factors that influence the development of salinity: climate, geology, soils,
geomorphology and vegetation. At the moment the subject is under study as they are trying to find
out the causes, the effects and the methods to fix it, if possible.

)n the attached map of Australia estimate % of area labeled human induced salination .
Since Australia is known to be a big desert, it is critical to know how much good land remains if
you also exclude the true deserts.

Australia has an area of about 7,700,000 sq km

Percentage of area labeled human – induced salinity ………………………………….. %

It is forecast there will be a 10-fold increase by 2050.

Thus, by it would become ………………………….. %

Percentage of the land known as true deserts (mostly uninhabited):

……………………………………… %

GM – 28 PACIFIC NATIONS going under the sea

The Pacific Island Nations consist of a group of islands, mostly coral atolls, barely above sea level.

On the maps they are shown as small round outlines surrounded by bigger rounded outlines.
Although they are volcanic in origin, the volcanoes have become inactive for a very long period of
time, therefore, the high ground has been eroded away.
They are shown without colors.

In contrast, there are islands with high ground from active volcanoes or recently active volcanoes,
such as Fiji Hawaii, etc

Name six nations which are currently sinking as the sea level rises.

North of the Equator South of the Equator

……………………………. ……………………………

…………………………….. ……………………………
……………………………. ……………………………….. .

GM – 29 FLORIDA GOING UNDER!

The average sea level is rising slowly as the glaciers are melting. By how much is the question
that a lot of people living at or near the seashore are asking. Unfortunately, no one has the answer.
But it is time to get prepared.

Florida is one of the vulnerable places, because a big portion of it is perilously close to sea level.

In the accompanying road map of Florida, numerous elevation data have been obtained and
written out on the map. Numbers are average elevation level in meters above mean sea level.

In the attached small-scale map of Florida trace approximately the

- the 5 meter (above sea level) contour

- the 10 meter contour

How much of Florida will be flooded by the sea if the sea level rises by

A. meters ? ………………………………… %

B. meters ? ………………………………. %
GM – 31 THE ROCKIES AND THRUST FAULTS

The Rocky Mountains on the BC / Alberta border were created by pressure building up from the
west pushing rock formations eastwards.

As a result of this pressure rocks were broken along lines called thrust faults and pushed over
younger formations. Thrust faults occupy lines with the west side moving over the east side and
are shown with arrows in the sections attached.

Thrust faults provide some of the spectacular scenery to tourists and residents of places like Banff
and Jasper.

There are two sections, one across Southern Cordillera and one across Northern Cordillera.

Southern Cordillera: Roughly how many thrust faults can you count?

………………………………… .

Northern Cordillera: Here there are only a few. How many can count?

……………………………….. .
GM – 32 MOVEMENT of ocean floor along HAWAIIAN seamount chain

All volcanoes of the Hawaiian chain are produced at the Hawaii hot spot, which is currently
approximately underneath the active ones (Kilauea & Loihi).

As you move away from the hot spot the pile of lava creates the chain of volcanic islands we call
Hawaii. The age of this lava increases away from the hot spot because the ocean floor is moving
towards the NW.

You are given the list of volcanic islands with the average ages in thousands or millions of years.
Estimate the distance of each from the hotspot (assume it is under Loihi) and plot on the graph
distance versus age. From the graph calculate average rate of ocean floor movement in cm per
year.

You may used graph paper or blank paper on which you subdivide the age and distance axes with
a ruler (simpler)

List of volcanoes away from Loihi

Average Age Distance in km

Loihi 400,000 years 0

Kilauea , ………….. .

Mauna Loa 850,000 ……………. .

Mauna Kea m.y. …………….. .

Maui . m.y. …………….. .

Molokai . m.y. …………….. .

Oahu . m.y. ……………… .

Kauai m.y. ……………….. .

From the graph, the rate of ocean floor movement is ……………. cm per year

Hawaii: volcanic islands in the middle of the ocean

•Lava started accumulating on the ocean floor

•Must be a tremendous pile to reach the surface of the deep ocean!
The Big )sland
•(ighest peak: , m Mauna Kea with 13 telescopes from 11 countries, not active
tallest sea mountain
•Mauna Loa : slightly lower (4,140 m) with Observatories for CO2 gas (just passed the 400 ppm
level – a milestone)
largest volcano on earth, 9,170 m above sea floor (depresses crust 8 km due to its weight)
Both peaks
•Above clouds
•Clear air
•Less light pollution
•Less air pollution
•Stars shine more bright
•Polar climate, no trees
Mauna Kea
•Observatories

•Video: Mauna Kea Observatories

•Video: Mauna Kea Observatory by (ector
Mauna Loa
•Atmospheric studies
•Video: Mauna Loa Observatory studying air composition, uv, solar radiation, CO2
Active volcanoes
•Kilauea
•Loihi seamount below sea level
GM – 33 MAYA SITES AND KARST

(need a map of Mexico or Central America that includes Maya archeological sites)

1. Which part of the Maya area has evidence of karst topography?

(examples have been sinkholes, solution valleys, towers, absence of rivers)

You may remember this is the location of most of the world s cenotes

………………………………….. province

2. As far as the number of known archeological sites of the Mayas (see maps) what proportion
of these sites coincide with the karst topography in question # 1?

………………………………………….. .

(probably the landforms would have been useful in their way of life)

MORAL OF THE STORY – Geomorphology Labs

GM -1: stones of equal weight, but different volumes do not have same Specific
Gravity.

GM – : as far as landscapes, Manitoba has distinct physiographic provinces

GM – 3: In areas with karst landforms (like the Interlake) water has gone underground and moves
slowly. If the last contour is 90 ft, then the level of a depression is taken to be 85 ft, halfway
between contours.

GM – 4: There are 3 stages in the development of karst erosion. First is sinkholes, second is
sinkholes merge into solution valleys and third is towers left between valleys with blind streams

GM – 5: The e stages of karst can be found in the same area due to various degrees of erosion. The
water table is the highest level of water-bearing layer in the ground. You need to making a well at
least into the water table to get some water. Any contamination on the surface will eventually get
easily into the groundwater

GM – 6 : Sea-bottom trenches. Deep trenches in the ocean correspond to volcanoes on land at

various distances from the shore. Examples are in the Aleutians, Indonesia, Mexico & Central
America, Caribbean & South America

GM – 7: A glacier does not move upstream! The retreat of a glacier can be measured and is a
function of temperature, weather, etc

GM – 8: Glaciation has left us spectacular scenery like U-shaped valleys, hanging valleys, drumlins
(basket of eggs) & eskers

GM -9: The Tree Line is the end of the trees northwards. It extends from Quebec, Manitoba,
Nunavut , NWT, Yukon & Alaska. It is marked on some maps

GM – 10: Manitoba is building a permanent road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. There are 4
communities south of the 53 parallel and 7 more north of the same parallel that are awaiting to be
served by permanent road service

GM -11: A road from Manitoba to communities in Nunavut can make use of extensive esker
deposits. At least 50 %, or up to 70 % of the road as far as the 60th parallel can follow these eskers

GM – 12: A new proposed road to Churchill will have to start at Bird at follow the train line /
power line. It could use glacial features that are easy to build a road on top of them that extend
about 50 % of the total distance

GM – 13: Fjord, the most spectacular glacial scenery uses a Norwegian word for a bay. However,
most fjords are found in Nunavut and there are many also in Labrador/Newfoundland, British
Columbia and Chile.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
SECOND HLAF OF THE COURSE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -
GM – 14: not available

GM – : A river s Drainage Basin is outlined with contours from where you can see direction of
flow. The Niagara Falls move slowly upstream towards Lake Eire (35,000 years to go)

GM – 16: The recurrence interval of a flood is what you hear mentioned by insurance companies &
governments. However, it is quite meaningless. Instead, governments should study other
parameters of the drainage basin, such as valley capacity, water table, etc to help dealing with the
potential for floods in the future.

GM – 17: Man. Hydro has numerous hydroelectric stations along rivers. The most powerful are
along the Nelson River, but the highest water drop is at Grand Rapids (hence the name)
GM – 18: East – West rivers in the prairies pass through the major cities and are quite long.
Therefore, flooding would depend on amount of precipitation, amount of meltwater and whether
soil is saturated or not Assiniboine should be Canada s # longest river

GM – 19: A meandering river is the old stage of a river. Has low gradient (less than 2 %) and
high deposition capacity. One way to prevent floods along it is to remove the deposits (dredge
them)

GM – 20: The St. Lawrence Seaway has 5 lakes at different elevations connected with locks where
the ships climb the mountain! The superior looks down on the rest!

GM – 21: The Assiniboine River Delta formed at the end of the Ice Age and it compared with other
major deltas from around the world today (The Nile Delta is 2 - 3 times bigger and the Irrawaddy
4 -5 times bigger)

GM – 22: The Atlantic coast of the USA has at least 5 submerged (drowned) river systems plus
its tributaries and numerous barrier islands

GM – 23: The ancient Assiniboine River Delta is made up of sand deposits. At the end of the Ice
Age there were no trees yet, so the landscape resembled a desert and the wind which blew in a
similar direction as today, shaped up the sand into longitudinal dunes

GM – 24: The Death Valley has the lowest elevation in the USA. Due to the desert environment
water is contaminated with salt, gypsum, boron, and others

GM – 25:

GM - 26: Dust storm seen on satellite image leaving Morocco has reached about 1/5
of its travel to its hypothetical destination ( Winnipeg)

GM – : Australia s dryland salinity extend over 8 – 12 % of the continent (year 2000) and are
expected to increase dramatically in the future. In the meantime, about 20-25 % of the continent is
desert. Therefore, the % of useful land becomes scarce with the passage of time.

GM – 28: Examples of countries made up of atolls (low-level coral islands) going under the sea
are: North of the Equator would be Marshall Islands, Micronesia & Kiribati, while South of the
Equator we have Nauru the world s happiest place in ! , Tuvalu, and Tonga

GM – 29: With a sea level rise of 5 m, about 30 % of Florida would be flooded by the sea, while a
10 m rise will cover 50 % of the state.

GM – 30: Every part of the ocean vibrates according to its own resonance (frequency). This
depends on position of the moon, sun and shape of bay, depth of water, etc. So, by plotting a graph
one realizes there are variations in sea level rises and falls.

GM – 31: Rockies & thrust faults. In the sections provided we can count some 35 thrust faults
(west side thrust upwards) in the southern Rockies and about 13 in the northern Rockies
GM – 32: Movement of the ocean floor around the chain of Hawaiian volcanoes. By plotting age of
volcano against distance from the presumed position of the hot spot we can estimate movement of
the ocean floor in the area (about 10 -15 cm per year)

GM – 33: Maya settlements and karst: The Yucatan peninsula of Mexico has no surface drainage
(rivers) but lots of cenotes (sinkholes). About 30 – 50 % of the known Maya settlements are in this
area