ACTIVITY SHAPING THE TALLEST PEAK ON EARTH

Transcription

1 gography standards 1, 4, 7, 17; scinc standard d-3; social studis standard 3 ACTIVITY SHAPIG THE TALLEST PEAK O EARTH 1H MOUT EVEREST, PART OF THE HIMALAYA MOUTAI RAGE, was cratd 30 to 50 million yars ago whn Eurasian continntal plat collidd wi Indian sub-continntal plat. Th collision causd Ear s surfac to wrinkl, similar to how pushing against dg of a flat rug will caus it to buckl. Also ky to shap of Ear s tallst mountain is glacir. Mount Evrst s glacirs dscnd from main pak and narby paks. Glacirs ovr millions of yars hav formd mountain s pyramid-shapd horn. Blow horn, glacirs continu to rod cirqus, bowl-shapd vallys blow horn. As glacirs mov down mountain, oftn at a spd of 3-4 ft pr day, wight of packd snow and ic carvs mountain furr, crating U-shapd vallys. GUIDIG QUESTIO What physical faturs do climbrs ncountr on ir way to summit of Mount Evrst? Studnts analyz faturs of Mount 60 MI Evrst rough maps, photographs, film clips, and a virtual glob, n nvision ncountring os faturs whil climbing mountain in 1924 and today. Handout Th Shap of Mount Evrst Film Clips Whit Fang Gorg Mallory s Rout to Evrst DIRECTIOS 1. F ocus studnts on facts about visiting Mount Evrst wiout naming it. Rad aloud or display a sris of facts about visiting is xtrm nvironmnt, wiout naming Evrst. Giv studnts opportunity to discuss wi a partnr or small group what or whr is plac might b. Facts can includ: 99 prcnt of visitors arriv hr in May. It costs btwn $25,000 and $60,000 to travl hr. Mor n 200 visitors hav did trying to rach is plac. o on, to our knowldg, cam hr bfor It is likly at you would los 15 to 25 pounds visiting hr. You ar guarantd a sunburn, and hav a 50-prcnt chanc of gtting frostbit. Whn arriving, it is rcommndd at you lav right away, but som popl lingr for up to an hour. At is location, you ar in two diffrnt countris at sam tim. Explain at studnts will xplor in class and rough film highst mountain on Ear, Mount Evrst, as wll as aspcts of Gorg Mallory s 1924 climbing attmpt and xpditions today. Show film clip Whit Fang two or r tims, having studnts first look at apparanc of mountain wi sound turnd off. Hav m jot down ir own dscriptions of mountain. Thn viw again, listning closly to narration. Ask: What trms dos narrator us to dscrib Mount Evrst? (wildst cration of a dram, ruggd giant, prodigious whit fang, colossal rock plastrd wi snow, an appalling sight). Discuss: Why do you ink popl dar to climb Mount Evrst? 1 2. Viw a film clip from Th Wildst Dram.

2 SHAPIG THE TALLEST PEAK O EARTH ACT I V I T Y 1 H VOCABULARY cirqu col crvass cwm fac glacir horn icfall ridg U-shapd vally My darst Ru, w hav found our way to grat mountain. Gorg Mallory 3. Discuss forcs at shap a mountain. Accss studnts prior knowldg of plat tctonic forcs at continu to push Himalaya up from sa lvl, as wll as waring and rosion at also impact shap of a mountain rang. Hav studnts discuss in pairs or small groups dscriptions of fiv to tn faturs y might ncountr climbing a mountain such as Evrst,.g., glacirs. Show film clip Gorg Mallory s Rout to Evrst and hav studnts add to ir lists of faturs. 4. Rsarch mountain faturs and idntify m on Mount Evrst. Provid Handout 1: Th Shap of Mount Evrst to studnts and hav m rsarch trms for faturs climbrs ncountr on Evrst. ot: You might hav m bgin wi dfinitions providd in glossary. If possibl projct maps for whol class to obsrv togr, and discuss rout Mallory took to summit on orrn Approach map. Studnts saw much of is mappd rout in film clip in Stp 3. Hav m also viw photographs of faturs such as Khumbu Icfall and or ational Gographic photography in Climbing Mount Evrst photo gallry. 5. Hav studnts viw Mount Evrst using a virtual glob. Googl Ear TM has vry dtaild satllit imagry of Mount Evrst, its faturs, and its surroundings. Hav studnts tak a closr look at shap of mountain using is high-rsolution satllit imagry in 3-D. Us s tips to navigat to Mount Evrst: Download and opn Googl Ear TM (ot: For bst prformanc, us vrsion 5 or latr.) In Fly to box, typ Mount Evrst and click ntr or sarch button. Undr Layrs, chck Trrain to turn on 3-D imagry. Wi som vrsions you can slct trrain fatur undr Prfrncs. Us tools on right to mov up and down, zoom in and out, and chang orintation of your vantag point (.g., viw Mount Evrst from norast or souwst): Click and hold arrow abov y at top right to tilt trrain to viw horizon in distanc bhind Mount Evrst. Zoom in and out using plus and minus on right, or click on trrain wi hand tool, moving your mous to mov and xplor trrain. To viw Mount Evrst from all dirctions, click and drag at top right, and mov it around circl. Using high-rsolution imagry and navigation tools, hav studnts look for glacirs, horns, Khumbu Icfall and or faturs on handout. 2

3 SHAPIG THE TALLEST PEAK O EARTH ACT I V I T Y 1 H For mons, Mallory ld sarch. But rout to summit ludd him. Finally, lat in August, h found what h was looking for. An normous glacial vally at snakd for mils around or giant paks towards vry foot of Evrst. Th Wildst Dram 6. Analyz map. Using what y v larnd from ir rsarch and virtual glob, hav studnts analyz maps on handout. Hav m answr following qustions, discussing ir answrs as a group: In which two countris would climbrs b whn at summit of Evrst? Look at routs various xpditions hav takn to summit of Evrst. Which faturs ar most commonly travld? (glacirs, facs, ridgs, cwms) Dscrib what you ink would b advantags and disadvantags of travling along ach of s faturs: glacir, fac, ridg, cwm. Tak a class poll for whr studnts would choos Mallory s rout or anor rout if climbing Mount Evrst. ot at studnts will furr clarify faturs of Evrst xplord in is lsson in subsqunt activitis and in viwing film. EXTEDIG THE LESSO Hav studnts writ two communications to ors nvisioning an xprinc on two days 85 yars apart climbing Mount Evrst. Hav studnts dat on dispatch in 1924 and on in 2010, illustrating diffrncs y imagin in xploring Evrst wi minimal maps and no prior rout-finding in 1920s wi at of today. Th polar rgions, spcially Antarctica and Grnland, contain 95% of world s glacirs. Thy ar calld continntal glacirs. Outsid of polar rgions, Himalaya hav gratst amount of glacial covrag. Hav studnts rsarch importanc of s glacirs to popl of Sou Asia. What rivr systms do y fd? SUGGESTED RESOURCES Climbing Mount Evrst Photo Gallry climbing-mount-vrst/#vrst-morning-light_10479_600x450.jpg Imag of Khumbu Icfall: photography/photo-of--day/khumbu-travrs-npal-pod/ Coburn, Broughton, Evrst: Mountain Wiout Mrcy, ational Gographic Books:

4 am Dat THE SHAPE OF MOUT EVEREST HADOUT 1, pag 1 Rsarch dfinitions or dscriptions for following mountain faturs. Thn wi colord pncils or highlightrs, crat a ky and mark at last on of ach fatur on maps of nor and sou routs to Evrst. Som ar alrady labld, and ors you will nd to us your rsarch to prdict whr a climbr would likly ncountr m. cirqu crvass fac horn ridg col cwm glacir icfall U-shapd vally UPTSE ft 7861 m Mallory body sit Japan, 1980 LHOTSE ft 8501 m 25,938 ft 7906 m 29,035 ft 8850 m Australia, 1984 Ridg Wst EP CHI AL A o r Rid g or Col 23,182 ft 7066 m Ron gbu kg lac ir S W Ridg Ea Fa st c Unitd Stats, 1984 Sou Col ast or L A Unitd Stats, 1983 MT. EVEREST CH EP I A or Fac Intrnational, 1988 Ro E a G l n g bs t ac uk ir China, 1960 Russia, 1996 E Scal varis in is prspctiv. orrn Approach Japan, 1995 Advanc + Bas Camp 4 ACTIVITY 1H

5 am Dat THE SHAPE OF MOUT EVEREST HADOUT 1, pag 2 LHOTSE MT. EVEREST Mallory body sit ft 8501 m Grat Britain, ,035 ft 8850 m Poland, ,182 ft 7066 m t Fa c Unitd Stats, 1963 Sou ws Fa c o r Yugoslavia, 1979 UPTSE ft 7861 m W s t r Cwm Ridg Wst or Col or Rid g Sovit Union, 1982 S Khumbu Icfall M ain rout n E W Scal varis in is prspctiv. k gbu n o R ir CHI A Glac EPA L Sourn Approach Prsnt-day + Bas Camp 5 ACTIVITY 1H