Exploring Africa's
Physical and Cultural Geography
Using GIS
Description:
This project contains 7 activities in physical
and cultural geography, including climate, population density, relief,
mining, manufacturing, earthquakes, faults, volcanoes, tsunamis, and fires.
Each activity builds on the data, skills, and concepts learned in the previous
activity, and all are based on ArcView Geographic Information System
(GIS) software from ESRI, Inc.
Project Creators:
Steve
Wanner - Geography Instructor - Boulder High School
Joseph
Kerski - Geographer - USGS
Paula Dunbar - Colorado State University
Grade Level:
These
lessons were created for Grade 9 students (age 14-15) but can be adapted for
students at other levels.
Discipline:
Geography
Download
the Data for the first 3 activities of the Africa Project in
.zip format, 3.2 MB.
Activity 1
Activity 1 - Answer
Key
Goal: Understand the interrelationships
among characteristics of the physical environment of Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Activity 2
Activity 2 - Answer
Key
Goal: Under the interrelationships
among characteristics of the physical and human environment of Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Activity 3
Activity 3 - Answer
Key
Goal: Understand the interrelationships
among resources, the human environment, and the physical environment
of Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Activity 4
Activity 4 - Answer
Key
Goal: Understand the pattern of natural
hazards in Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Download the data for
Activity 4 in .zip format, 5.4 MB.
Activity 5
Activity 5 - Answer
Key
Goal: Understand the human dimension
of natural hazards in Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Download the data for
Activity 5 in .zip format, 50KB.
Activity 6
Activity 6 - Answer
Key
Goal: Understand the physical and
human dimensions of tsunamis in Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Download the data for
Activity 6 in .zip format, 3 KB.
Activity 7
Activity 7 - Answer
Key
Goal: Understand the physical and
human dimensions of fires in Africa.
Don't have a GIS? Here is a non-GIS
version of the same activity, using published maps.
Download the data for
Activity 7 in .zip format, 626 KB.
| Activity |
Data Required |
Views Created |
|
|
|
| 1 Physical |
30deg.shp (30 degree grid) |
Relief. |
|
lakes.shp |
Climate. |
|
country.shp |
Precip. |
|
relief.shp |
Vegetation. |
|
rivers.shp |
|
|
belt.shp (climate
belts) |
|
|
veget.shp |
|
|
precipyr.shp |
|
|
|
|
| 2 Physical and
Human |
All of the above , plus: |
Use above views |
|
cities.shp |
|
|
|
|
| 3 Resources |
All of the above, plus: |
Use above views |
|
manuf.shp |
|
|
minerals.shp |
|
|
mining.shp |
|
|
pipeline.shp |
|
|
popden.shp |
|
|
|
|
| 4 Volcanoes and
Earthquakes |
All of the above, plus: |
Plate boundaries, earthquakes,
and volcanoes. |
|
earthquakes.shp |
|
|
volcanoes.shp |
|
|
plates.shp |
|
|
continent.shp |
|
|
|
|
| 5 Human Dimension
of Natural Hazards |
All of the above, plus: |
Faults, Earthquakes, and
Volcanoes in Africa. |
|
afr_eq.shp |
|
|
volrecen.shp |
|
|
volafr.shp |
|
|
faults.shp |
|
|
|
|
| 6 Tsunamis |
All of the above, plus: |
Tsunami effects in Africa. |
|
t_source.shp |
|
|
t_effect.shp |
|
|
|
|
| 7 Fires |
All of the above, plus: |
Fires in Africa. |
|
landuse.shp |
|
|
firept.shp |
|
|
firept.avl |
|
Back to USGS Rocky
Mountain Mapping Center GIS In Education
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Rocky Mountain Mapping Center
URL: http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov /outreach/africa/africa.html
Last modified: 11 March 2004