GEE1 Name____________________

Visualizing inclined contacts using Google Earth

Open Google Earth; drag kmz file into GE

Dragging the GEE2120 GEE1.kmz file to GE; this should take you to the following location:
31°54'45.86"N, 56°38'1.01"E
(if not, you can cut and past the lat/long above into GE and you will be flown to the field site location).
Locate the map image provided; note the orientation of north on the printed image.
Your Goal: Create a geologic unit map of this area. Draw contacts between units, and label units with
letter labels; add strike & dip symbols; create a stratigraphic column with the units you have identified in
relative order with oldest at the base and youngest at the top.
Although your goal is to create a geologic map, and provide an accompany strat column—we don’t start
with the goal, we start with exploration, and the following steps.
A. Tape a clear overlay sheet to your map area image, and mark the corners as registration points.
B. Fly around the area using Google Earth in order to assist with your map creation.
C. On the clear overlay sheet, which will become your geologic map:
1. Draw blue lines down the center of valleys (simply to help orient yourself); adding arrowheads
pointing in the down-stream direction is helpful (these arrows would not typically be on a
formal geologic map, but the information is useful in getting yourself oriented to the area,
and to the GE [field-like environment] and the image-map area).
2. With different color, draw arrows that point in the direction that layers are titled into the
ground.
3. Draw lines between map units you define (you want to be able to break out enough units to be
able to picture what is going on; in some way, more units are better than fewer units).
—(NOTE: not everyone’s units will be the same, so don’t worry about matching your units with
that of a class colleague)
—use dashed lines where contacts are approximate (technically we should use dotted lines where
contacts are covered—but we can stick to solid and dashed).
4. Sketch (sketch means sketch—don’t worry that it is not exact) a topographic profile from X-X’
(It will help if you have your profile (on a separate piece of paper) match the X-X’ distance
on the image); can you tell where there is a break in slope? It might help to ‘fly’ around in
Google Earth to be able to see your area in 3D.
5. Now try to add your map units to your cross-section in a vertical view. Make sure that your
units dip in the direction that you noted above. On your cross-section: dash the contacts
between units where the contacts would extend above the surface.
6. From your sketched cross-section see if you can determine the relative age of the units you
have identified.
7. On a separate sheet of paper (or on the same sheet as your cross-section), draw a stratigraphic
column, oldest unit at the bottom, youngest at the top, with all units in their relative age
order.
8. Return to your geologic map. Add strike-dip symbols for several bedding planes–use the
symbol that we drew in the small compasses in Lab 1; a longer line parallel to strike and
the short perpendicular ‘tick’ in the down-dip direction. Estimate the angle of dip (flying
around in GE will help). Highlight one of your strike & dip symbols on your map with an
* ; for this location provide strike and dip below in two different notations. Remember that
dip requires direction.

Notation 1: ____________________________________________________________

Notation 2: ____________________________________________________________