Name landforms from a photograph and from a satellite image
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Yosemite Valley, California
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph looking east from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park): a rounded dome of gray granite with a steep face stands beside a deep valley with steep walls; pine trees fill the front under a clear blue sky. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color, 2001): a long, narrow valley with a green floor running east to west; tall peaks on its south side cast long dark shadows across the floor; slopes on its north side look almost white; thin pale lines are roads; El Capitan is labeled near the left and Half Dome near the right edge. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the valley floor, a long strip running east to west. B is Half Dome, at the east end of A. C is El Capitan, west of B. Below the map, a side-view sketch of Half Dome beside the valley floor has a scale bar: one bar is 500 m, and the dome's wall is 3 bars tall. Key: green = forest and meadow; dark = shadow; white-gray = bare granite. Note (NASA): Half Dome rises almost 1,525 m (5,000 ft) above the valley floor. Glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age sculpted the rock.
Tall peaks on the south side of the valley in Image 2 cast long shadows. Which way do the shadows fall across the floor, Milo asks?
- Northward, away from the sun
- Eastward, along the valley
- Southward, toward the sun
- Westward, along the valley
Which side of the valley in Image 2 has the tall peaks that cast the long shadows, Noah asks?
- The south side
- The east end
- The north side
- The west end
Island in the Sky, Utah
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph from Grand View Point, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park): a wide view over red-brown canyons and flat-topped rock benches far below; white snow dusts the ground; a gray mountain range lies on the horizon. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color): a large, mostly flat block of land with steep sides; a river in a deep canyon runs along its west side and another along its east side; smaller canyons notch its edges; plants are sparse and the rock is brightly colored. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the Island in the Sky block. B is the river on its west side, and C is the river on its east side. D is the Neck, a narrow strip of land that joins A to the land beyond. Below the map, a side-view sketch has a scale bar: one bar is 200 m, and the cliff from the rivers up to the top of A is 3 bars tall. Key: brown, red and tan = bare rock; green = plants; dark blue = river. Note (NASA): the mesa rises about 600 m (2,000 ft) above the rivers, and its rock layers record about 150 million years of history.
In Image 2, a river runs in a deep canyon on each side of the block. What does that clue tell Pia about the block's top?
- It is far above the rivers
- It is level with the rivers
- It is under the rivers
- It is below the rivers
Yosemite Valley, California
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph looking east from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park): a rounded dome of gray granite with a steep face stands beside a deep valley with steep walls; pine trees fill the front under a clear blue sky. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color, 2001): a long, narrow valley with a green floor running east to west; tall peaks on its south side cast long dark shadows across the floor; slopes on its north side look almost white; thin pale lines are roads; El Capitan is labeled near the left and Half Dome near the right edge. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the valley floor, a long strip running east to west. B is Half Dome, at the east end of A. C is El Capitan, west of B. Below the map, a side-view sketch of Half Dome beside the valley floor has a scale bar: one bar is 500 m, and the dome's wall is 3 bars tall. Key: green = forest and meadow; dark = shadow; white-gray = bare granite. Note (NASA): Half Dome rises almost 1,525 m (5,000 ft) above the valley floor. Glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age sculpted the rock.
In Image 2, a long, narrow green lowland lies between steep ridges. What landform is it, Ren asks?
- A valley
- A mesa
- A peninsula
- A delta
Glacier Bay, Alaska
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph, Margerie Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park): a wall of jagged blue-white ice meets calm gray-green water; dark rocky mountainsides and snowy peaks rise behind it under a blue sky. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image over elevation data, Image of the Day, December 7, 2003): a long finger of dark blue water reaches north between steep green and white mountains; a wide white glacier lies at the lower left, with pale light-blue water at its foot. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is Glacier Bay, a long finger of water. B is the bay's mouth, at Icy Strait. C is Tarr Inlet, at the top of the bay. A dashed line shows where the ice reached in 1794, near B, and a second dashed line shows its edge in 1879, farther up the bay. A scale bar reads 0 to 10 km, and the two lines are a little more than 5 bars apart. Key: white = snow and ice; green = forest; dark blue = deep water; pale blue = shallow, silty water. Note (NASA): Glacier Bay was first charted in 1794. By 1879 the edge of the ice had moved back more than 50 km (30 miles) up the bay.
Image 2 shows a long finger of water reaching inland between mountains. What landform is it, Zee asks?
- An isthmus
- A peninsula
- A bay
- A mesa
Yosemite Valley, California
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph looking east from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park): a rounded dome of gray granite with a steep face stands beside a deep valley with steep walls; pine trees fill the front under a clear blue sky. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color, 2001): a long, narrow valley with a green floor running east to west; tall peaks on its south side cast long dark shadows across the floor; slopes on its north side look almost white; thin pale lines are roads; El Capitan is labeled near the left and Half Dome near the right edge. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the valley floor, a long strip running east to west. B is Half Dome, at the east end of A. C is El Capitan, west of B. Below the map, a side-view sketch of Half Dome beside the valley floor has a scale bar: one bar is 500 m, and the dome's wall is 3 bars tall. Key: green = forest and meadow; dark = shadow; white-gray = bare granite. Note (NASA): Half Dome rises almost 1,525 m (5,000 ft) above the valley floor. Glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age sculpted the rock.
In the side-view sketch, one bar is 500 m and Half Dome's wall is 3 bars tall. About how tall is the wall, Ari asks?
- About 500 m
- About 15,000 m
- About 1,500 m
- About 150 m
Island in the Sky, Utah
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph from Grand View Point, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park): a wide view over red-brown canyons and flat-topped rock benches far below; white snow dusts the ground; a gray mountain range lies on the horizon. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color): a large, mostly flat block of land with steep sides; a river in a deep canyon runs along its west side and another along its east side; smaller canyons notch its edges; plants are sparse and the rock is brightly colored. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the Island in the Sky block. B is the river on its west side, and C is the river on its east side. D is the Neck, a narrow strip of land that joins A to the land beyond. Below the map, a side-view sketch has a scale bar: one bar is 200 m, and the cliff from the rivers up to the top of A is 3 bars tall. Key: brown, red and tan = bare rock; green = plants; dark blue = river. Note (NASA): the mesa rises about 600 m (2,000 ft) above the rivers, and its rock layers record about 150 million years of history.
One bar is 200 m, and the cliff from the rivers up to the mesa top is 3 bars tall. About how tall is the cliff, Bo asks?
- About 200 m
- About 60 m
- About 6,000 m
- About 600 m
Glacier Bay, Alaska
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph, Margerie Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park): a wall of jagged blue-white ice meets calm gray-green water; dark rocky mountainsides and snowy peaks rise behind it under a blue sky. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image over elevation data, Image of the Day, December 7, 2003): a long finger of dark blue water reaches north between steep green and white mountains; a wide white glacier lies at the lower left, with pale light-blue water at its foot. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is Glacier Bay, a long finger of water. B is the bay's mouth, at Icy Strait. C is Tarr Inlet, at the top of the bay. A dashed line shows where the ice reached in 1794, near B, and a second dashed line shows its edge in 1879, farther up the bay. A scale bar reads 0 to 10 km, and the two lines are a little more than 5 bars apart. Key: white = snow and ice; green = forest; dark blue = deep water; pale blue = shallow, silty water. Note (NASA): Glacier Bay was first charted in 1794. By 1879 the edge of the ice had moved back more than 50 km (30 miles) up the bay.
One bar is 10 km, and the two ice lines are a little more than 5 bars apart. About how far apart are they, Esme asks?
- A little over 500 km
- About 10 km
- A little over 50 km
- A little over 5 km
Yosemite Valley, California
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph looking east from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park): a rounded dome of gray granite with a steep face stands beside a deep valley with steep walls; pine trees fill the front under a clear blue sky. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color, 2001): a long, narrow valley with a green floor running east to west; tall peaks on its south side cast long dark shadows across the floor; slopes on its north side look almost white; thin pale lines are roads; El Capitan is labeled near the left and Half Dome near the right edge. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the valley floor, a long strip running east to west. B is Half Dome, at the east end of A. C is El Capitan, west of B. Below the map, a side-view sketch of Half Dome beside the valley floor has a scale bar: one bar is 500 m, and the dome's wall is 3 bars tall. Key: green = forest and meadow; dark = shadow; white-gray = bare granite. Note (NASA): Half Dome rises almost 1,525 m (5,000 ft) above the valley floor. Glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age sculpted the rock.
Jun says, "Image 2 proves how tall Half Dome is." Which reply is careful?
- The note gives the height; the image shows the place
- Yes, the shadows give the exact meters
- Yes, a satellite image measures any height
- No, Half Dome is not in Image 2
Island in the Sky, Utah
(public-domain NPS and NASA images, described in words): Image 1 (NPS photograph from Grand View Point, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park): a wide view over red-brown canyons and flat-topped rock benches far below; white snow dusts the ground; a gray mountain range lies on the horizon. Image 2 (NASA Landsat 7 image, true color): a large, mostly flat block of land with steep sides; a river in a deep canyon runs along its west side and another along its east side; smaller canyons notch its edges; plants are sparse and the rock is brightly colored. Map (drawn for this question, north at the top): A is the Island in the Sky block. B is the river on its west side, and C is the river on its east side. D is the Neck, a narrow strip of land that joins A to the land beyond. Below the map, a side-view sketch has a scale bar: one bar is 200 m, and the cliff from the rivers up to the top of A is 3 bars tall. Key: brown, red and tan = bare rock; green = plants; dark blue = river. Note (NASA): the mesa rises about 600 m (2,000 ft) above the rivers, and its rock layers record about 150 million years of history.
What can Image 2 show that Image 1 cannot, Kira asks?
- Snow crystals on the ground
- How cold the air was
- Tiny cracks in one rock
- The whole block and both rivers at once
