Computer animations to visualize topography

Geology 342-Laboratory
Structural Geology

These exersises use computer animations of 3D blocks made from digital topographic data by Dr. Steve Reynolds from Arizona State University, Tempe. His website contains many excellent resources to help you learn to visualize both topographic and geologic features (http://reynolds.asu.edu).

Lab 2 - Visualizing Topography

1. First add this page to your Favorites. Then go through the basic Visualizing Topography teaching module. Answer the questions asked by the module on the worksheet for this lab. Give short and specific answers to the questions. Once you are finished the module, return to this page.

2. Now you will practice idetifying topographic features on a map.

Objective What is it? What to do?

A. Visualizing topographic contours

Run the movie This animation shows what would happen if the New River Mesa (located near Scottsdale, AZ) would get flooded. The topographic contours are the intersection between a horizontal surface and the topography.
By dragging the mouse yo ucan flood the land. Play with the movie for a bit to familiarize yourself with the main features.

Return here after you are done.

B. Identifying easy topographic features

Run the movie This movie is a 3D block of the landform at New River Mesa with numbers identifying some obvious features. You can spin the model by dragging.
Locate the numbers as precisely as possible on the paper topographic contour map and plot them.

Return here after you are done.

C. Identifying subtle topographic features

Run the movie This movie is a 3D block of the landform at New River Mesa with numbers identifying some mpre subtle topographic features.
Locate the numbers as precisely as possible on the second copy of the paper map and plot them.

You are done! Turn in your finished work.

Last update 9/1/08

Objective	What is it?	What to do?
A. Visualizing topographic contours Run the movie	This animation shows what would happen if the New River Mesa (located near Scottsdale, AZ) would get flooded. The topographic contours are the intersection between a horizontal surface and the topography.	By dragging the mouse yo ucan flood the land. Play with the movie for a bit to familiarize yourself with the main features. Return here after you are done.
B. Identifying easy topographic features Run the movie	This movie is a 3D block of the landform at New River Mesa with numbers identifying some obvious features. You can spin the model by dragging.	Locate the numbers as precisely as possible on the paper topographic contour map and plot them. Return here after you are done.
C. Identifying subtle topographic features Run the movie	This movie is a 3D block of the landform at New River Mesa with numbers identifying some mpre subtle topographic features.	Locate the numbers as precisely as possible on the second copy of the paper map and plot them. You are done! Turn in your finished work.