Bakken Oil Boom Visible from Space Station

To learn more about this image, CLICK HERE.

Infographic from Learnstuff.com

This infographic was created by Allison Lee.

Catchy Animated Groundwater Cartoon

I like to show this short video right at the start of our study of groundwater. The video was produced for King County (Seattle). I ask my students why a county government would fund something like this. This leads into a short discussion of conservation and the ways that governments get their citizens to conserve various natural resources (laws, incentives, education).

CLICK HERE to see a better quality version of the video.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

Introductory Puzzle Activities (geology)

Thanks to Nancy Young for recommending these two activities, which are both provided by the American Museum of Natural History. Both are "pdf" files that might be best used before you get into the topics. One is the Plate Tectonics Puzzle and the other is called Solve a Sedimentary Layers Puzzle.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

What's All the Fuss about Fracking?

Chances are there is no mention of the word "fracking" in your curriculum. Nonetheless, students should know what it is and understand the pros and cons. This 4.5 minute video might generate some interest.

Here are three more resources related to fracking:

1. Interactive Tutorial from National Geographic

2. Bakken Oil Boom Visible From Space

3. FAQs from Gasland (movie)

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

A Montana Tsunami

Show this to your students and see if they can figure out what caused it. The Gallatin River joins with the Madison and the Jefferson near Three Forks, MT to form the Missouri River. To learn more about ice jams, CLICK HERE.

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.

Visit a Montana Laccolith

This week's resource is a "virtual field trip" to a butte located in central Montana. Crown Butte is a laccolith that formed over 70 million years ago, and has been exposed by erosion. The butte and surrounding area feature examples of the following: columnar jointing, igneous rock in layers (layered igneous complex), a beautiful porphyry, lateral dikes, and a nearby extinct volcano. The photo on the right shows the porphyry that Crown Butte is made of. The large augite crystals formed before the molten rock moved from the magma chamber into the laccolith.

For a short preview, watch the PowerPoint presentation below, and then CLICK HERE to access the "virtual field trip". Here is the WORKSHEET (pdf file) that students will do as they use the web site. Another version of the worksheet is also available on the web site.

Crown Butte

More PowerPoint presentations from Rod Benson

To view a convenient list of all the resources that have been posted on this "Earth Science Guy" blog site, CLICK HERE.