Geology and Major Landforms: Sea to Sky
Figure 1. The many different landforms on planet Earth. Engineers must know about the earth before they begin a construction project.Copyright National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Dr. Nicholas Short's Remote Sensing Tutorial http://www.nasa.gov/ and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/10mar/02.cfm
Students learn about major landforms (such as mountains, rivers, plains, valleys, canyons and plateaus) and how they occur on the Earth's surface. They learn about the civil and geotechnical engineering applications of geology and landforms, including the design of transportation systems, mining, mapping and measuring natural hazards.
Engineers must understand the landforms and the geology of the Earth if they are to build transportation infrastructure. Engineers are responsible for deciding where to put roads, highways, train tracks and bridges. They must also locate telephone cables, electricity towers, and wind and solar farms, which is often challenging in remote areas with large mountains, hills or dense forests. Geotechnical engineers study landforms and their implications in mining, infrastructure development, natural-hazard mitigation and environmental remediation. Engineers are involved in designing digital maps, based on aerial photography and satellite imagery, to help solve engineering challenges for the benefit of humanity and our world.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Identify the major features of the Earth's surface such as mountains, rivers, plains, canyons and plateaus.
- Describe how engineers use knowledge of landforms for transportation, mining, mapping and measuring natural hazards.