In this activity, students use a graph to find sea level at various times in the past, then draw the ancient coastlines onto a bathymetric map by following the depth contours. They should develop an understanding of how to interpret a graph to discern changes in sea level, and an understanding that ancient coastlines parallel the contour lines on a bathymetric map. A materials list, directions, background ... Full description.

In this activity, students use an apple as a model to represent the proportions of the Earth that are covered by land and ocean. They will be introduced to the vastness of the one, interconnected ocean, and to the importance of the ocean to all life on Earth. They will also understand the concept that the proportions of habitable area, farmable land, and land with fresh water are very limited and ... Full description.

This activity has students research a list of volcanoes and then write detailed information they researched under a column that identifies that type of volcano - Cinder Cone, Composite, or Shield. Included are a worksheet and a collection of links to referential websites about specific volcanoes. Full description.

This reference describes the relationship between reef formation and sea level, how it can be used to detect ancient changes in sea level, and how it might be used to predict the results of future increases in sea level. Topics include the coral environment, how reefs respond to changes in sea level, and how limestone forms. There is also an activity in which students use maps of present and past ... Full description.

This portal features an alphabetical listing of links to standard and three-dimensional (3D) images of geological and natural history-related subjects in the National Parks of the United States. The 3D images are anaglyphs and require red and cyan 3D viewing glasses. These full-size images may be slow to download. Users can click on a national park to start an image tour, use a subject index, location ... Full description.

In this activity, students work through two exercises that will demonstrate the construction of intensity maps, familiarize them with the basic Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, and give them the opportunity to build their own maps online for the purpose of locating the epicenter of an earthquake. In the first exercise, the students will construct an isoseismal map using a background map of southern ... Full description.

This page offers two pieces of software that produce visualizations of seismicity, volcanic activity and wave propagation. The Seismic Waves program displays waves propagating out from the epicenter simultaneously on three-dimensional and cross-sectional views of the earth. These two views are synchronized with actual event waveforms so that as a particular phase arrives at a seismic station, one ... Full description.