National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Zion National Park Utah

Changing Landscapes Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide

NPS/MARC NEIDIG Changing Landscapes Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide

Zion National Park Springdale, Utah 84767

Contents

Introduction 1

Core Connections 1

Background 1

Pre-Visit Activities 3

Earth’s Power Punches 3 Rock On Zion! 4 Then and Now 6

Post-Visit Activities 8 Map Minds 8 It Happened Here! 9 Future Forecasters 11

Glossary 12 References 14 Introduction Background

Theme Zion National Park is located along the edge The Earth’s surface is a dynamic system that is of a region called the Colorado Plateau. Uplift, constantly changing due to weathering, tilting, and the erosion of rock layers formed erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, and uplift. a feature called the Grand Staircase, a series of colorful cliffs stretching between Bryce Focus Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. The activities focus on relationship between

NPS PHOTO geologic processes and changes on the Earth’s Zion has spectacular geology. The arid climate surface. and sparse vegetation expose bare rock and reveal the park’s geologic history. Evidence Pre-Visit Activities of deposition (sedimentation), lithification, 1. Earth’s Power Punches – Students view a uplift, weathering, erosion, tectonics, and presentation of digital images showing the volcanic activity make the park a showcase for forces that shape the Earth’s surface. Then changing landscapes. students view images from Zion and deter- mine which geologic forces have contributed Deposition (Sedimentation) to the landscapes shown. Finally, students Zion National Park was a relatively flat basin discuss which landscapes were formed slowly near sea level 275 million years ago, near the NPS PHOTO and which were formed quickly. coast of Pangaea, the land area believed to have once connected nearly all of the earth’s 2. Rock On Zion! – Students will learn how landmasses together. As sands, gravels, and Zion was formed and evaluate how muds eroded from surrounding mountains, weathering and erosion contributed to the streams carried these materials into the formation of the rock layers and subsequent basin and deposited them in layers. The sheer carving of the canyon. weight of these accumulated layers caused the basin to sink, so that the top surface 3. Then and Now – Students will explore what always remained near sea level. As the land the area surrounding Zion might have been rose and fell and as the climate changed, the NPS PHOTO like during past geologic times when each depositional environment fluctuated from Landslides, flashfloods and earthquakes continue to play layer was formed. By creating posters, the shallow seas to coastal plains to a massive a role in shaping Zion National students depict Zion during past geologic desert of windblown sand. This process of Park. times and compare with the park today. sedimentation continued until over 10,000 feet of material accumulated. Post-Visit Activities Core Connections 1. Map Minds - Using a topographic map Lithification of Zion, students identify geological features Mineral-laden waters slowly filtered Utah Core Curriculum (e.g., valleys, canyons, buttes, mesas) and through the compacted sediments. Fifth Grade Science describe changes resulting from erosion. Iron oxide, calcium carbonate, and silica Standard 2: Students will acted as cementing agents, and with pressure understand that volcanoes, 2. It Happened Here! - Students draw on the from overlying layers over long periods of earthquakes, uplift, knowledge they have gained about geologic time, transformed the deposits into stone. weathering, and erosion reshape Earth’s surface. events to invent a specific event and imagine Ancient seabeds became limestone; mud and themselves in it. clay became mudstones and shale; and river Objective 1: Describe how sand and sand dunes became sandstone. Each weathering and erosion change 3. Future Forecasters - During this activity layer originated from a distinct source and so Earth’s surface. students reflect on what they have learned, differs in thickness, mineral content, color, assess their knowledge, and predict future and eroded appearance. Objective 2: Explain how volcanoes, earthquakes, and changes to the landscape of southwestern uplift affect Earth’s surface. Utah in 100 million years.

ThisObjective is a caption 3: Relate for the the building introduc - tion photograph. The bottom edgeup and of breakingthe image down aligns of Earth’swith thesurface baselines over time of the to thelast various lines of textphysical on this land page. features.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 1 Tectonics and Uplift continues today along active faults like the In an area from Zion to the Rocky Mountains, Hurricane and Wasatch Faults. Despite the tectonic forces deep within the Earth mountain building and stretching that pushed the surface up creating the Colorado occurred in the surrounding areas, the Plateau. This was not chaotic uplift, but Colorado Plateau rose to its high elevation slow vertical hoisting of huge blocks of the with little deformation. crust. Zion’s elevation rose from near sea level to as high as 10,000 feet above sea level. Erosion Uplift is still occurring. The uplift of the Colorado Plateau gave the streams greater cutting force in their descent For many millions of years, portions of the to the sea. The park’s location on the Pacific Plate (oceanic crust) subducted be- western edge of this uplift caused the streams neath the thicker, more buoyant North to tumble off the plateau, flowing rapidly American Plate (continental crust). This down a steep gradient. These streams began subduction formed mountains and volcanoes eroding and cutting into the rock layers, along the west coast, and led to the formation forming deep and narrow canyons. of the Rocky Mountains. Later, changes in plate geometry led to the end of subduction Grain by grain the Virgin River has carried along much of the West Coast (although away several thousand feet of rock that once subduction continues today in the Pacific lay above the highest layers visible today. On Northwest). Instead of being pushed together, average, the Virgin River transports one the plates began to slide sideways (lateral million tons of sediment per year. The rate motion), as is seen today in California’s San varies dramatically with the flow of the river, Andreas Fault. This lateral motion stretched with the vast majority of sediment transport portions of western North America; creating occurring during floods. When the river is low a region called the Basin & Range. Western- and clear, very little sediment is moving, and most Utah is part of the eastern edge of the much of the transport involves minerals Basin & Range province, where stretching dissolved in the water.

NPS/MARC NEIDIG Bridge Mountain Zion National Park.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 2 The Virgin River is still excavating. Upstream Pre-Visit Activities from the Temple of Sinawava, in The Narrows, the river cuts through Navajo Sandstone, 1. Earth’s Power Punches creating a slot canyon. At the Temple of Sinawava, the river has reached the softer Duration: 1 Hour Kayenta Formation below. Water erodes the Location: Indoors shale, undermining the overlaying sandstone Key Vocabulary: blind arch, butte, cinder and causing it to collapse, widening the cone, erosion, earthquake, geologic canyon. As the plateaus continue to rise, the processes, mesa, rock layers, uplift, basins drop, and the river cuts, Zion Canyon volcanoes, weathering is expanding upstream at a rate of about 10 miles of lateral movement every million years. Objectives By the end of the activity, students will be able Volcanic Activity to a) name three Earth processes that shape Volcanic vents, created as a result of the the landscape, b) name two Earth processes weakening of the Earth’s crust during tectonic that have helped to change the landscape at events, allowed lava flows and cinder cones to Zion, c) name which Earth processes have form. Cinder was piled several hundred feet occurred quickly and which have occurred high in classic cone shapes and lava flowed slowly. into valleys. Cinder cones and black basalt flows are visible west of Rockville and on the Method Kolob Terrace. Students view a presentation showing geologic processes that contribute to changing Fractures and Faults landscapes. Applying their knowledge to Zion, Fractures and their control of canyon erosion students view images and identify evidence of are one of the most striking features of the geologic forces such as weathering, erosion, canyons of the Virgin River. The fractures (not earthquakes, volcanoes, and uplift. faults because there is no displacement) exert a strong influence on the erosion of smaller Background canyons in the Navajo Sandstone. The Earth’s surface constantly changes due to weathering, erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, These fractures are believed to have formed and uplift. At Zion National Park evidence of due to tectonic compression and extension these processes is observed in the water and forces. The fractures form perpendicular to wind carved rocks, uplifted geologic the direction of the compression and layers, volcanic flows, cinder cones, mesas, extension. The dominant fracture direction blind arches, and other landforms. in Zion is roughly north-south. There are also fracture sets that are east-west (Kolob Materials Canyons) and northeast–southwest (Kolob • Utah State Geological Survey presentation Terrace and Hop Valley). of Landscapes located at http://geology. utah.gov/teacher/ppt/utah_landforms.ppt While the straight north-south canyons • Zion National Park landscape images on either side of Checkerboard Mesa are located at http://www.nps.gov/zion/ controlled by large fractures, the criss-cross forteachers/loader.cfm?csModule=security/ fractures on its surface are of a more getfile&PageID=541853 recent origin. The horizontal banding is the result of differential weathering of the crossbedded sandstone, while the vertical cracks are thought to be the result of freeze/ thaw cycles at the surface of the rock.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 3 Suggested Procedures 2. Rock On Zion! “Grain by grain the Show the Utah State Geological Survey Virgin River has carried Landscapes presentation and read the Duration: 1 Hour away several thousand accompanying notes for each slide. Location: Indoors feet of rock that once Key Vocabulary: chemical weathering, lay above the highest At the conclusion of the presentation ask the deposition, erosion, lithification, mass wasting, students to think about the Earth changing layers visible today.” mechanical weathering, plateau, rock cycle, processes that were discussed. Show each of uplift the Zion landscape images and ask the students to name which Earth process they Objectives think were at work to create the landscape By the end of the activity, students will be able in each image. Have the students write down to a) explain how Zion Canyon was formed, a list of Earth changing processes for two or b) explain how weathering and erosion has three of the images. contributed to the formation of the rock layers and c) describe how the Virgin River carved Ask the students to determine which Zion Canyon. processes can occur quickly (minutes/hours) and which occur over a long period of time Method (years to millions of years). Have students After viewing images of landforms in Zion discuss their results with the class and de- National Park and discussing the rock cycle scribe the processes they investigated. Ask the images, students will evaluate how weathering students to describe how they came up with and erosion have contributed to the formation their determination of the time it took for of the rock layers and subsequent carving of each process to occur. the canyon.

Background Evidence of weathering and erosion can be observed at the park. Weathering and erosion are often confused. According to the

NPS/JACQUELINE DRAKE Winter runoff carving the landscape oF Zion.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 4 U.S. Geological Survey, weathering involves 3. Go through the images of four steps of two processes that often work together to the rock cycle that have helped to shape decompose rocks. No movement is involved Zion, including sedimentation, lithification in weathering. (compaction and cementation), uplift, and erosion. Chemical weathering involves a chemical change in at least some of the minerals within 4. Show the unlabeled image of the geologic a rock. Mechanical weathering involves layers at Zion and see if the students can physically breaking rocks into fragments explain why there are different geologic without changing the chemical make-up of layers and how they might have been de- NPS/RENDALL SEELY the minerals within it. Weathering is a surface posited. How did weathering and erosion or near-surface process. play a role? Then show the image with the layers labeled and discuss the observed Erosion occurs as soon as a rock particle differences in color, slope and, texture be- (loosened by one of the two weathering tween layers. processes) moves. Mass wasting is simply movement down slope due to gravity. Rock 5. Ask the students to synthesize their ideas falls, slumps, and debris flows are all and describe how the fine particles of rock examples of mass wasting. were deposited over millions of years. Stu- dents should recognize that the layers are NPS/JACQUELINE DRAKE Materials different because different types of rocks • Images of the rock cycle, geologic layers and sand were deposited at different times (unlabeled student version and labeled as the environment changed. teacher key) and Earth changing processes located at http:// 6. Show the remaining images portraying geo- www.nps.gov/zion/forteachers/ logic processes. Explain that over several loader.cfm?csModule=security/ million years, the Virgin River weathered getfile&PageID=541856 and eroded the rock layers and made it possible for us to see them. The river once Suggested Procedures flowed at the top of a flat plateau but has

NPS/REBECCA ALFAFARA 1. Write the word “weathering” on the board. carved through the rock layers to its cur- Weathering and erosion create Then write the word “erosion” on the rent level. beautiful scenery including arches, slot canyons and board. Ask the students to think of some of patterns. the things that might make weathering 7. Ask the students how the canyon is likely happen such as water and ice, wind, to change as the Virgin River continues to chemicals. Then ask the students to think weather and erode the sedimentary rock of some things such as water, wind, glaciers layers. that erode (move) the weathered materials. Ask the students to think about which of these processes might have carved Zion.

2. Show the rock cycle image and have the students explain how they think the cycle works. Ask them if the park was always a canyon or if it has changed over time. How have the processes shown in the rock cycle impacted Zion?

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 5 NPS/REBECCA ALFAFARA One can observe several rock layers when viewing the Towers of the Virgin. 3. Then and Now Background

Duration: 1 Hour Students will explore what the area might have Location: Indoors been like during past geologic time when each Key Vocabulary: basalt flow, Carmel geologic layer at Zion was formed. The layers, Formation, Chinle Formation, geologic from oldest to youngest are briefly described processes, Kaibab Limestone, Kayenta below. Formation, Navajo Sandstone, Moenave Formation, Moenkopi Formation, The Kaibab Formation (limestone) is the paleoenvironment, Temple Cap Formation oldest exposed formation in the park where it occurs in small outcrops at the Kolob Objectives Canyon area of the park. (It can also be seen By the end of the program, students will be in the Hurricane Cliffs). It was deposited able to a) analyze images of some of Zion’s when a shallow tropical sea covered the area rock layers, b) view and discuss images of and it contains fossils of ancient marine the Zion region as its various layers were animals. The Moenkopi Formation deposited, and c) create posters showing what was deposited in a coastal flood plain the park looks like today and what it looked environment of streams and tidal flats, and like when one of its layers was deposited. consists of reddish brown siltstones and mudstones with gray gypsum- rich shale and Method limestone beds. Above the Moenkopi Forma- After analyzing the rock layers of Zion, tion is the Chinle Formation, a mauve, gray students connect the geologic layers to and white shale. During Chinle time, a large paleoenvironments. The activity concludes river system flowed through the area, bringing with creation of posters showing the students’ large coniferous trees and volcanic ash which depictions of Zion during past geologic times compared to today.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 6 eventually led to formation of petrified wood. 3. Explain that the climate and landscape of The overlying Moenave Formation, consisting southwestern Utah was very different when of reddish-brown siltstones and shales, was each of the canyon’s layers was forming. deposited by streams and lakes. Show the students the illustrations of the paleoenvironments during different geo- Most of the spectacular scenery seen at Zion logic times. Explain that the past environ- is due to the Jurassic Kayenta Formation and ments shown on the illustrations became Navajo Sandstone. The Kayenta Formation the major layers of the canyon. was deposited in a river and floodplain environment and consists of a reddish-brown, 4. Referring to the geologic layers in the NPS/SARAH STIO interbedded sandstone, siltstone and shale. photos and the description of each The Navajo Sandstone, which makes up the paleoenvironment, ask the students to large cliffs of Zion, was deposited when the imagine what the area looked like at those entire Colorado Plateau region (and beyond) times. Ask the students to think about the turned into a vast sand dune desert. types of animals and plants that might have Shifting winds blew sand into dunes, lived in the area at that time, and compare resulting in the cross-bedding patterns seen and contrast their descriptions with the in the rock today. The Jurassic Temple Cap habitats in Zion today. Formation, a tan to gray sandstone, is exposed on higher plateaus of Zion, most notably on 5. Form groups of students and assign each NPS/ADRIENNE FITGERALD top of The West Temple. Younger Jurassic and group one of the geologic layers shown on Cretaceous formations are located at Zion’s the cross-section. Make sure each layer highest elevations. is assigned at least once in the classroom. Have students draw posters illustrating the Pleistocene volcanic rocks are exposed in the questions listed below. They should also western part of the park. They were formed write captions describing them. from tectonic activity that produced cinder cones and basalt flows on mesa tops. • What does the park look like today and why does it look this way? (Students Materials draw a picture on one half of the poster,

NPS/MARC NEIDIG • Image of the park’s rock layers, geologic and describe it with a caption.) Studying the present landscape cross-section, and paleoenvironments can give us clues to the past. illustrations located at http:// • What did the Zion area look like when www.nps.gov/zion/forteachers/ the students’ assigned layer was being loader.cfm?csModule=security/ deposited, including the plants and getfile&PageID=541864 animals? (Students draw a second pic- ture on another part of the poster) Suggested Procedures 1. Show the students the image of the geologic 6. Have students share their posters with the layers at Zion. Explain that each of the class and describe the layers they investi- layers was deposited as part of many rock gated. cycles. How many different layers can they count? How many different colors do they see in the layers? Why do they think the layers look different from each other?

2. Show the geologic cross-section and name each layer and the time period that it was formed.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 7 Post-Visit Activities spaced the lines, the steeper the slope. Con- versely, gentle ground slopes are portrayed 1. Map Minds by contours spaced widely apart. Landforms can be identified on topographic maps. In this Duration: 1 Hour activity, mesas, cinder cones, and canyons will Location: Indoors be identified. Key Vocabulary: cinder cone, contour line, erosion, topographic map, uplift Materials • Crayons or colored pencils Objectives • Mesa topographic features maps (student After this activity, students will be able to: a) and teacher version) use a simple topographic map, b) name two • Volcano topographic features maps geological features on a map, and c) describe (student and teacher version) map features that were created through • Zion Canyon topographic map weathering and erosion. • All topographic maps located at http://www.nps.gov/zion/forteach- Method ers/loader.cfm?csModule=security/ Using a topographic map of the park, students getfile&PageID=541580 identify geological features (e.g., canyons, mesas, cinder cones) and describe changes Suggested Procedure that have occurred through erosion (e.g., 1. Teacher Preparation - Study the geologic wind, gravity, running water). features on the teacher versions of two topographic maps (linked under Materials Background above). In dry climates like southern Utah, Topographic maps consist of contour lines rocks can erode into mesas and buttes. The that show elevation differences of the land Mesa Map shows two flat-topped plateaus surface. Each contour line connects points on bordered on all sides by steep cliffs. Mesas the Earth’s surface that have the same get smaller as their cliffs erode and become elevation. Where contour lines are closely small, flat-topped hills called buttes. This spaced, the terrain is steep. The more closely map also shows contour lines close to each other representing a steep slope or cliff.

NPS/CAITLIN CECI Evidence of uplift and erosion can be observed at Zion National Park . Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 8 The Volcano Map shows contour lines 5. Continue by using the canyon topographic spaced further apart that represent a gentle map (linked under Materials above). On slope. On the Volcano Map the Earth’s this topographic map, have students: hot mantle has pushed magma up in places and erupted lava to form a small volcano or • Identify trails (dashed black lines) cinder cone. The volcano map also shows • Find and name two high peaks (e.g., drainages or canyons with water (washes, Bridge Mt., Beehive Peak) rivers) that have a blue line in-between • Identify cliffs -very closely spaced branches of contour lines that represent the contour lines on the majority of the map. surrounding canyon walls. • Find gentle slopes - largely spaced contour lines (e.g., Sand Bench Trail, 2. Use the student topographic features maps South Campground) (linked under Materials above) to enable students to discover and visualize the 6. Relate the build up and break down of the features described above. On the mesa map, Earth’s surface to the Zion area. have the students find and label the mesas, Ask students: and an example of a steep slope. • Where might uplift have occurred? 3. On the volcano map, ask the students to • Where is deposition occurring? find and label the small volcano called • Where is weathering and erosion occur- Crater Hill and the 4600-foot contour line ring? that surrounds the crater. Ask the students • What would likely happen if the area to color between each of the heavier con- were to be uplifted even more? tour intervals (spaced every five contours) with a different color between each heavier 7. Have students write a paragraph describing line. Discuss spacing between contours and how the area would look if there how spacing shows steep or gentle slopes. were no mountain uplift, weathering, or erosion. Ask a few students to share their 4. Have students relate the building up and paragraphs and justify their answers. breaking down of the Earth’s surface to the landforms they identified. Following are examples of questions you might ask. 2. It Happened Here!

Duration: 1 to 2 hours Mesa Map: Location: Indoors Key Vocabulary: erosion, eyewitness, Hurri- • What might cause a mesa to form? [uplift cane Fault, landslide, scientist, and erosion] • Why is the slope gentler at the base Objectives of mesas? [deposition; erosion and After this activity, students will be able to: a) weathering break the rocks down and describe a single event from three perspec- the material is deposited at the base, tives, b) name two geological features, and different rock types.] c) describe map features that were created through landscape changes. Volcano Map:

Method • What landform does a river create? Students draw on the knowledge they have [canyon] gained about geologic events to invent a • How long did it take for the different specific event and imagine themselves in it. geologic events to create the various landscapes that you see on the volcano map?

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 9 NPS/ADRIENNE FITZGERALD A display of the rock layers present at Zion Natioanal Park.

Background going to draw on the knowledge they The contrast of experiencing an event from already have about the geologic events to different perspectives helps students under- invent a specific event and imagine stand diverse viewpoints. By taking on the role themselves in it. Distribute copies of the of news reporter, students explore facts writing guides and ask each student to note related to the event. As scientists, students the date and time of their changing appreciate the importance of scientific landscape event, the location, how much observation and data collection, and as damage it caused, and other basic eyewitnesses students explore emotional information at the top of the writing guide. responses to events. 2. Now tell students that each will write about Materials his or her hypothetical geologic event from • Writing paper and pens three different points of view: that of a • Student copies of writing guide (three news reporter, a scientist, and an individual types) directly affected by the quake. Each of the • Classroom computers three accounts will describe the same • Images of Earth changing processes that landscape-changing event, but the styles of occurred near Zion National Park located the three will vary. at http://www.nps.gov/zion/forteach- ers/loader.cfm?csModule=security/ 3. News Reporter—a short, concise article getfile&PageID=541867 describing the who, what, where, and when of the landscape-changing event and Suggested Procedure providing information the public needs. 1. Show the images to review the kind of land- scape changes that can be caused by weathering and erosion, landslides, rock falls, floods, earthquakes, small volcanoes and lava flows. Tell students that they are

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 10 4. Scientist—a scientific account stating what 3. Future Forecasters is objectively known about the landscape- changing event: its causes, its effects, its Duration: 1 Hour magnitude and/or intensity, and the Location: Classroom with a cleared space or likelihood of its recurrence, if known. outdoors Key Vocabulary: tectonic plates, paleoenviron- 5. Eyewitness—a personal letter to a friend ment telling about being in a landscape-changing event. This will describe what happened to Objectives the student, to the area in which the After completing this activity, students will be student was, to others that might have been able to a) predict future landscapes at Zion with the student at the time of the event. based on the understanding of geologic Have students describe what they had done processes, b) use performance skills to before the event to be prepared, how describe the proposed landscape at Zion effective their preparations were, what life National Park 100 million years in the future, was like in the two weeks following the and c) draw posters of Zion’s proposed event, and what they would do differently landscape 100 million years in the future. in preparation for the next event. Method 6. Tell students to feel free to make up Watch the video of the tectonic changes in information, quotations, etc., but to keep the past and predicted changes in 100 million the basic facts consistent from one essay to years. Tell students that they are going to draw another. However, since in real life on the knowledge that they already have about compositions of the second and third type the geologic events to draw pictures and then are likely to be written later than news film a movie of them describing the landscape accounts, some discrepancies in details are of southwestern Utah 100 million years in the to be expected. future.

Evaluation Background Ask students to talk about the experience of This post-visit activity is designed help writing the accounts. students reflect on what they have learned, assess their knowledge, and predict future • Did you feel you had enough information changes to the landscape of southwestern to do the job in each case? Utah in 100 million years. • Did some of you wish you knew more? Is there anything specific you’d like to find Materials out? • Drawing paper and color markers, pencils • Was one point of view more comfortable and pens than the others? Were some accounts easier • Classroom computers to write? • Download or view You Tube Video show- • Discuss the validity of the different points ing historical evolution of tectonic plates of view. Emphasize that each kind of ac- through 100 million years in the future count is valuable in its own right. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcDe • Ask students to share how landscape d4xVD4&NR=1&feature=fvwp changing events might impact Zion National Park in the future. • Ask students to explain how some landscape-changing events might occur quickly like an earthquake but that other events like the creation of new rock layers from deposition of sediments (rock pieces) might take millions of years.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 11 Suggested Procedure bedrock: the solid rock underlying all soil, Watch the video. Then watch it again and sand, clay, gravel, and loose material on the pause it on the final scenes showing the Earth’s surface. position of the North American tectonic plate where Utah is located 100 million years in the blind arch: a curved structure created by nat- future. Ask the students: ural geological forces causing rock to fall away, with a rock face behind so there is no window • Where is the approximate location of through the arch. southwestern Utah on the map? • Does it look like the area is underwater or butte: a steep-sided hill with a flat top, often very near an ocean inlet? standing alone in an otherwise flat area. A • What kind of fossils will we find in the 100 butte is smaller than a mesa. million year layer? • After the landscape changes in another 200 cementation: the process in which the spaces million years, what do you imagine it will between loose particles are filled with a hard- look like? ening or bonding agent. This is one form of lithification. Have the students draw pictures of the landscape of southwestern Utah based on the Chinle Formation: a rock layer consisting of landscape predicted in the video animation. a conglomerate and brightly colored shales, Have the students use their imagination and limestones, volcanic ashes, and thin sand- add plants and animals to the future land- stones of various compositions. Characteristic scape. Once the students have completed their features are picturesque erosion forms and pictures, have them share the drawings with petrified wood. the class. cinder cone: a steep, conical hill of volca- Evaluation nic fragments that accumulates around and Ask students to talk about the experience of downwind from a volcanic vent. thinking about the future landscape of southwestern Utah in 100 million years. Colorado Plateau: a large uplifted plateau • How will people adapt over millions of roughly centered on the four corners region years as the landscape changes and south- (Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico) western Utah is eventually underwater? of the southwestern United States. • Do you think people will still be here? • Are there both fast and slow changes that compaction: the process by which overlying occur in the landscape? Name three fast rock layers or sediments compress the spaces geologic processes and three slow between underlying particles. This is one form processes of landscape change. of lithification. • If such drastic landscape changes happen naturally over millions of years, why is it contour line: an imaginary line that joins still necessary for us to take care of the points of equal elevation on the surface of the present landscapes and environment? land above or below a reference surface, such as mean sea level. Contours make it possible to measure the height of mountains, depths of Glossary the ocean bottom, and steepness of slopes. basalt flow: lava flow of molten rock from the crater: a pit or hole in the ground created by Earth’s interior. an explosion or the impact of a meteorite.

Basin and Range: type of topography that is deposition: the geological process by which characterized by a series of tilted fault blocks material is added to a landform or land mass. forming ridges or mountains and broad, intervening basins or valleys.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 12 earthquake: the result of a sudden release of Kaibab Formation: a rock layer consisting of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic limestone and containing marine fossils. waves. Kayenta Formation: a rock layer that was erosion: the movement of weathered deposited in a river and flood-plain environ- materials by natural processes. ment and consists of a reddish-brown, interbedded sandstone, siltstone and shale. extrusive rock: rock produced by molten lava that flows onto the surface of the Earth (also landslide: the downslope movement, under called volcanic rock). gravity, of masses of soil and rock material; includes a wide range of ground movement, eyewitness: someone who has knowledge such as rockfall, slump, and debris slide. about a dramatic event through seeing it firsthand. lava: magma that emerges onto the surface of the Earth. fault: the boundary between two rock sections that have been displaced relative to lithification: the processes in which each other. sediments become solid rock. fold: a bend in a layer of rock. lithosphere: the outer crust of the Earth, which is broken into seven large rigid plates fossil: the mineralized or otherwise preserved and several smaller ones. remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. lithospheric plates: a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed geology: the science and study of the solid of both continental and oceanic lithosphere earth and the processes by which it is shaped (also called tectonic plates); part of plate and changed. tectonics. geologic processes: a scientific term used to magma: molten rock deep within the Earth. describe the internal and external forces that shape the physical makeup of the Earth. mass wasting: a general term for the downslope movement of soil and rock under geologic time scale: used by geologists and the force of gravity. other scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have mesa: (Spanish and Portuguese for “table”) an occurred during the history of Earth. elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name geomorphology: geologic study of the from its characteristic table-top shape and is configuration and evolution of land forms. larger than a butte. igneous rock: rock produced by the cooling metamorphic rock: rock that has undergone and solidification of magma, either on or change as a result of intense heat and pressure. below the Earth’s surface. Moenave Formation: a rock layer consisting intrusion: the pushing up of magma into of reddish-brown siltstones and shales, pre-existing rocks. deposited by streams and lakes. intrusive rock: rock produced by the cooling Moenkopi Formation: a rock layer depos- of magma deep beneath the Earth’s surface ited in a coastal flood plain environment of (also called plutonic rock).

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 13 streams and tidal flats, consisting of reddish thrust fault: occur in a compressional brown siltstones and mudstones with gray environment, where rocks are squeezed gypsum rich shale and limestone beds. together and one block is forced upward (and possibly over) relative to another. Navajo Sandstone: the rock layer which makes up the large cliffs of Zion; it was topographic map: a representation of the deposited when the entire Colorado Plateau Earth, or part of it, showing the shape of the region (and beyond) turned into a vast sand Earth’s surface with contour lines. It also dune desert. Shifting winds blew sand into includes symbols that represent such features dunes, resulting in the cross-bedding patterns as streets, buildings, streams, and vegetation. seen in the rock today. uplift: a geological process most often caused normal fault: a break in the Earth where by plate tectonics which increases elevation. tension pulls rocks apart and one block slides down relative to the other block. volcano: an opening, or rupture, in a planet’s surface or crust, which allows hot, molten paleoenvironment: the past environment of rock, ash and gases to escape from below the an area during a given period of its history. surface. plate tectonics: theory of geology that has weathering: decomposition of rocks, soils, been developed to explain the observed and their minerals by chemical or physical evidence for large scale motions of the Earth’s processes. Chemical weathering involves a lithosphere. chemical change in at least some of the minerals within a rock. Mechanical weather- plateau: also called a high plain or tableland, ing involves physically breaking rocks into is an area of high elevation land, usually fragments without changing the chemical consisting of relatively flat terrain. make-up of the minerals within it. relative age: the age of a rock in comparison to other rocks. References

Colorado Plateau Geosystems, Inc. 2010. Recon- rock cycle: interrelated sequence of events structing the Ancient Earth. Accessed 3 March by which rocks are initially formed, altered, 2011 from http://cpgeosystems.com/gallery.html. destroyed, and reformed as a result of magma- tism, erosion, sedimentation (or deposition), Federal Emergency Management Agency. 1995. lithification, and metamorphism. Seismic Sleuths: A teacher’s package for grades 7-12. FEMA – 253, 2nd Edition. American Geo- scientist: in a broad sense is one engaging in a physical Union, Washington D.C., USA. systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an Hislop, T., and K. Reed. 2002. Topographic maps. individual who uses the scientific method. Accessed 3 March 2011 from http://www.uen. org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=2209. sedimentary rock: rock produced from par- ticles deposited by wind, water, ice, or National Geographic. 2011. How was the Grand chemical reactions. Canyon formed? Accessed 3 March 2011 from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/expedi- sediment: finely divided solid material, ex: tions/lessons/07/g35/canyon35.html. sand, gravel, mud.

U.S. Geological Survey. 2011. What’s the differ- subduction: a geologic process in which one ence between weathering and erosion? Accessed edge of a crustal plate descends below 3 March 2011 from http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/ another. parks/misc/gweaero.html. subsidence: sinking or downward settling of the Earth’s surface.

Fifth Grade Pre- and Post-Visit Activity Guide 14