Mass Wasting Lab Geography

Lab 10 Mass Wasting Name:

Required materials
Pencil
Ruler
Colored Pencils

Pre-lab reading and quiz
Read Chapter 12 of your textbook and review your lecture notes on mass wasting.

List the main factors that influence slope stability.

What are the differences between a fall, a slide and a flow?

Give one example each of a fall, a slide and a flow.
In-class lab exercises

Part 1 Slumgullion Slide

The Slumgullion Slide in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado is one of the largest active landslides in the United States. Study the Google Earth image and photo on the following pages, and answer the questions below.

1. On each of the diagrams, outline the extent of the mass movement and indicate the direction it is travelling.
(Use colored pencils and create a key for your diagram)

Examine each diagram for evidence of sliding, falling or flowing.

2. What specific type of mass wasting is present in the top third of the mass? What is your evidence for this answer?

3. What specific type of mass wasting is present in the bottom third of the mass? What is your evidence for this answer?
4. Outline the areas of the slide that are presently moving. What is your evidence for this?

5. Lake San Cristobal is the largest natural lake in Colorado. Describe in detail how the lake formed, considering what was present before the lake existed.

6. What problems may occur on Highway 149 which crosses the slide?

Part 2 Landslides in the news
Visit https://watchers.news/category/landslide/

Choose a landslide event from the past 3 months. Write a paragraph describing
– the type of mass wasting
– your evidence for this type of mass wasting
– what factors influenced this event? (e.g. earthquake, rainfall etc.)

Go to https://www.google.com/earth/versions/
If possible, you should download Google Earth Pro onto your computer. If that is not possible, you can use Google Earth on web. Google Earth on mobile does not have all of the tools that you need to use.

In the ‘search’ box type ‘College of Staten Island’.

Zoom in and center the image, so that you can clearly see the campus. If you are using Google Earth on web, you should switch to 2D mode and click on the compass symbol to orient north.

What is the latitude and longitude of the CSI Library? What is the elevation of the land at this point?

Click on the ruler symbol in the toolbar. Using the line tool, draw a straight line from the main door of building 4N to the fountain.

How far is this straight line distance a) in miles; b) in yards; c) in km; d) in m? a)
b)

c)

d)