Lab Title Why is the Grand Canyon so grand?

Courtesy of the National Park Service (NPS), a helicopter view near the Little Colorado River matched with a simulated game helicopter view.

What is this Stage 0 About?

Those teaching physical geography have struggled with communicating the wonder and joy of our science. We want you to be fascinated by interpreting real scientific data and in the process come to appreciate Earth’s natural beauty. At the same time, we must meet lab science criteria where students understand issues like the limitations of data and how energy transfers modify Earth – while staying true to the beauty and elegance of our planet. That’s our goal.

This lab about the topography and formations of the Grand Canyon is divided into four stages. Stages A-C are the bulk of the lab activities. In this ‘welcome’ Stage 0, the goal rests in helping students do several things at the same time: Get used to playing the geovisualization and extracting real scientific

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data from the game Get used to reading instructions in a PDF file on how to interpret and

think about a question you will answer in canvas. Then, when you have finished answering all of the questions

OFFLINE just using the PDF file and the game, then you go into canvas and answering the questions. .

WARNING: DO NOT TAKE THE QUIZ IN CANVAS (or any lab quizzes on the geovisualizations) UNTIL YOU HAVE WORKED ON THIS LAB OFFLINE USING THE GAME AND INSTRUCTIONS IN THE PDF FILE.

Students who rush to take a quiz, and do not “practice” going back and forth between the PDF file and the game, DO VERY POORLY ON THE LATER STAGES THAT ARE MORE COMPLICATED.

          An important aspect of this "stage zero" assignment is for you to get in a study habit that will lead to you: spending the least amount of time learning the most; and getting the best grade.

Stage 0 Worth

The points you accumulate for correct answers count towards your grade. Incorrect answers do not hurt your grade.

STEPS IN DOING STAGE 0

STEP 1. Download the video game geovisualization https://gamejolt.com/games/2BC_GrandCanyonRocksAndTopo/461813

Please feel free to use Professor Dorn’s hints on how to avoid mistakes in purchasing and downloading the game:http://www.public.asu.edu/~atrid/112_PurchasingGames.pdf

STEP 2. Practice with playing the game. Please feel free to use Professor Dorn’s hints on how to play the geovisualizations:http://www.public.asu.edu/~atrid/112_HowPlayGames.pdf

STEP 3. Put this PDF file on a second device (or print it out) such as on a phone or tablet) so you can access the information in this PDF file while you are playing the game easily and with minimal frustration. STEP 4. Get out a pen/pencil and some pieces of paper – so you can take notes while you play the game and get the answers to the questions in this PDF file. STEP 5. Go through the questions in this PDF file and the instructions. Figure out the best answer to these questions. Take notes. STEP 6. Check your answers carefully to the questions in this PDF file, and then go into canvas and put down your answers.

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STEP 1. Download the video game geovisualization Please feel free to use Professor Dorn’s hints on how to avoid mistakes in purchasing and downloading the game:http://www.public.asu.edu/~atrid/112_PurchasingGames.pdf

This is the game you will use in doing this lab. The cost was explained in the syllabus information when you registered for the class at $15 per game. https://gamejolt.com/games/2BC_GrandCanyonRocksAndTopo/461813 This is what the site looks like

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STEP 2. Practice with playing the game. Please feel free to use Professor Dorn’s hints on how to play the geovisualizations:http://www.public.asu.edu/~atrid/112_HowPlayGames.pdf

THE GAME AND YOUR COMPUTER FAN/HEATING

If you are running a low-end computer with just the minimum amount of 4GB RAM, then the game will make your fan turn on and heat up for the first 5-10 minutes of play. This sometimes freaks out students.

Why does this happen? The game engine needs to create a virtual world of topography, so when your avatar runs around the game, the views can mimic reality. It involves a lot of math to make sure items in the distance are scaled so that they look like they are in the distance.

Will things calm down? Yes. Your processing will be pushed for the first 5-10 minutes, but once the game is built, the processing will slow down a lot. The fan may still stay on, to keep the computer cooled.

STEP 3. Put this PDF file on a second device (either print it out, or put it on a phone or tablet) so you can access the information in this PDF file while you are playing the game easily and with minimal frustration.

WHY DO THIS? Prior students explain that having the instructions in this PDF file on the same computer as the game can be frustrating. While its possible to move back and forth between the game and other programs on your computers (see this file for how:http://www.public.asu.edu/~atrid/112_HowPlayGames.pdf ), students say its much easier to have a printout or this file on a separate device.

STEP 4. Get out a pen/pencil and some pieces of paper – so you can take notes while you play the game and get the answers to the questions in this PDF file.

WHY DO THIS? Prior students explain that it can be much easier to simply write down their observations in notes than to try to translate all of this onto a computer. Many students explain that taking notes on a printout of this PDF file (and the other PDF file instructions) tends to be the easiest and save them the most time.

STEP 6. Check your answers carefully to the questions in this PDF file, and then go into canvas and put down your answers.

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WHY PRESENT STEP 6 BEFORE STEP 5? Because students tell me that the biggest mistake they made in doing these labs was rushing to click on answers and submit the answers for grading on canvas. After doing poorly on several labs when rushing, students eventually figure out that they should be checking their answers carefully. But this leads to a lot of frustration and the feeling of having wasted a lot of time.

STEP 5. Go through the questions in this PDF file and the instructions. Figure out the best answer to these questions. Take notes.

THE REST OF THIS PDF FILE INVOLVES THIS STEP 5.

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WARNING/HEADS UP. All of the questions and answers in this PDF file will be the same that you will see in canvas. This is not the same for the rest of the stages. There are pools of questions in the other stages, and canvas will rotate them for students randomly. Thus, the PDF file for later stages will provide generalized instructions and example questions. But for Stage Zero, I want you to IGNORE CANVAS and just work on the lab using this file and the geovisualization.

QUESTION 1 (Learning about data available in the game) setup: When the game starts, spin the camera angle using your mouse so that you are looking at the avatar’s face. NOTE: it will be frustrating at first to manipulate the camera. You will use your mouse or trackpad. If the trackpad does not work well, borrow a trackball or a mouse (or use a video game controller). The idea is that your avatar has not moved, but the camera has swung around and you can see the avatar’s face.

Escape on the keyboard allows you to go between game mode and access to the menu. The little triangle on the left side opens up into the menu, and the map icon opens up to control the compass, geology key, and inset map.

I turned off all the diplay information (inset map, compass, geology key) in the view below. Your goal is to move the camera angle so that you are looking at the avatar’s face with this view. HOWEVER, YOU SHOULD NOT TURN OFF THE DISPLAYS!! YOU WILL NEED THEM TO ANSWER THE QUESTION.

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Then, fill out the table below making observations using what you see IN YOUR GAME.

Direction camera angle is facing (it is the cardinal direction you see at the top of the outer compass ring, either North, South, East or West)

Direction that the avatar is facing (it is the cardinal direction you see at the top of the inner compass ring).Color of the geological strata the avatar is standing on when the game startsLatitude, Longitude and Elevation ReadoutX and Y CoordinatesX – EAST distance in meters from the southwest corner of the gameY – NORTH distance in meters from the southwest corner of the map

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Find the avatar in the inset map showing a much larger area. The avatar is a symbol on this map. You can zoom in this inset map. After you find the avatar, decide if the avatar is standing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, down inside the Grand Canyon, or on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Use the Pythagorean Theorem Calculator link below to determine its distance from the southwest corner of the game.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pythagorean+theorem+calculator

It does not matter whether you enter X or Y in the a or b legs of the right triangle. The hypotenuse calculation will be the same. I have already entered the correct X coordinate. Just get the Y from the game, plug the number into this calculator, and ROUND the distance for C (hypotenuse) to the nearest 100 meters.

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QUESTION 1 in Canvas: When the game starts, spin the camera angle using your mouse so that you are looking at the avatar’s face. Please make note of the following information that you can see in the geovisualization using the compass, the readout of information displayed. Then, select the best answer that fits your observations. These are the choices you will see in the canvas question.

Direction camera angle is facing (it is the cardinal direction you see at the top of the outer compass ring, either North, South, East or West)

north south south north

Direction that the avatar is facing (it is the cardinal direction you see at the top of the inner compass ring).

south north north south

Color of the geological strata the avatar is standing on when the game starts

Tan Light blue green

Purple Gold

Latitude, Longitude and Elevation Readout

36.1999-112.03432041 m

36.1999-112.03432041 m

36.1999-112.03432041 m

36.1999-112.03432041 m

X and Y Coordinates X 3070 mY 30721m

X 3070 mY 30721m

X 3070 mY 30721m

X 3070 mY 30721m

Find the avatar in the inset map showing a much larger area. Decide if the avatar is standing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, down inside the Grand Canyon, or on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

South Rim

North Rim

South Rim

North Rim

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the avatar’s distance from the southwest

Not possible to calculate

43,400 m 30,720 m 30,721 m

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corner of the game, rounded to the nearest 100 m.

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QUESTION 2 (Learning to Teleport and Read Geological Map Key) Setup:

Since this lab focuses on the connection between topography and the geological formations of the Grand Canyon, you will need to learn the important formations of the Grand Canyon. Almost all of what you see (except the way down at the bottom) are Paleozoic in age, before the time of the dinosaurs. I recommend you familiarize yourself with these from top to bottom. Knowing this sequence in advance will help you get information from the geology key in the game.

You certainly do not need to memorize any of these formations, but you may be amused by this used in some geology courses for the formations above the inner gorge:•Know - Kaibab Limestone•The - Toroweap Formation•Canyon’s -Coconino Sandstone•History: -Hermit Shale•Study - Supai Formation•Rocks - Redwall Formation•Made -Muav Limestone•By -Bright Angel Shale•Time -Tapeats Sandstone

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Then, learn to Fast Travel using the main menu Remember, you have to hit ESCAPE to change from the game mode to getting access to the menu. Then, you need to expand the menu to access Fast Travel. All you need to do is to click on Desert Façade, and then close the menu.

QUESTION 2: What are the names of the top 4 formations (layers, strata) underneath the Avatar (from youngest – on top, to oldest 4th layer)? The top light blue is making up the top of the rim. 2nd to the top is a subtle darker blue layer that shows up in a few places. Sedimentary layers are thick in some places, very thin in others, and disappear completely sometimes where they were never deposited. 3rd to the top is yellow-gold and thicker. Then the 4th is an aqua-blue thicker layer. What are they?

THE GAME MAKER KNOWS THE KEY IS FRUSTRATING TO READ, BECAUSE THE FONT IS TOO BIG. 2BC is working on it. YES- YOU CAN USE THE INFO ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE, BUT I SUGGEST YOU WAIT. The purpose of this whole Stage 0 is for you to learn how to find answers to this sort of a question in the later stages. PLEASE USE THE KEY IN THE GAME TO FIGURE IT OUT, and then check your answer with the information on the previous page!

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QUESTION 3 (Learn to Teleport via Helicopter & Interpret the Formations you are seeing) setup: First, you might want to review the Paleozoic formations in the Grand Canyon in Question 2. Then,

Step 1: Use the Fast Travel menu to enter in these coordinates: 36.0156 -111.8724 You enter the coordinates for latitude and longitude, and then hit the paper plane icon. You will be taken to the spot you see identified in the inset map on the South Rim. This location is near Desert View – a famous viewpoint that many people visit on the South Rim, because it’s the first view if you enter the Grand Canyon from the east.

Step 2: Once you are at this place, then you need to enter the end coordinates of the helicopter flight. You are setting yourself up to have a virtual fly over of the Grand Canyon geology & topography. Thus enter these END coordinates: 36.0841 -111.8551 Then, change the Air Speed to maximum (most students like it at top speed) and also check Scale Speed box. You can fiddle with what you like best. Lastly, click air lift. When you are in the air (virtually), you can change the camera angle to look around. Some students take a series of screenshots to review the flight and what they seeOut of the game mode.

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Step 3: Follow the same route via real helicopter footage. The upper link is a faster ASU site, but you can also access the footage via the slower National Park Service website. The videos are identical.

Kaibab to Coconino (starts forests of South Rim, flying close to Escalante and Cardenas Buttes)https://player.mediaamp.io/p/U8-EDC/qQivF4esrENw/embed/select/media/o6f5rxA_8aOE?form=html and NPS website mp4 (much slower)https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/C2A43648-155D-451F-6722A3EAFE93E679/grca-overtherimlipantochuar_480x270.mp4

These are some screenshots of the helicopter travel you will do, and also from the real helicopter with the screenshots taken in similar spots. Upper left: being picked up from the South Rim. Upper right: leaving the rim Lower left: about 50% to the destination Lower right: Avatar is dropped from the helicopter

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QUESTION 3: Fast travel via air lift (helicopter) between these two locations:START: 36.0156 - 111.8724END: 36.0841 -111.8551 What is the youngest geological formation and the oldest geological formation that the avatar flies over? Remember, the oldest geological strata are those at the bottom, because the ones on top were deposited over it. Its like putting clothes in your drawer. You put the bottom one down first. Use the geological key in the game to figure out the best answer. NOTE: there is a lot of “yellow” material down by where the Avatar lands. I will tell you that this yellow material is not the Tapeats Sandstone. It is other material that is identified in the “surficial” part of the key. Please ignore it. Focus on the color of the material where the Avatar lands. These are the possible answers you will see in canvas:

Youngest: Coconino SandstoneOldest: Redwall Limestone

Youngest: Coconino SandstoneOldest: Bright Angel Shale

Youngest: Kaibab FormationOldest: Redwall Limestone

Youngest: Kaibab FormationOldest: Bright Angle Shale

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QUESTION 4 (Learn to walk around the game and get a sense of the stair-stepped nature of the Grand Canyon) setup:

PART 1: STUDY THE KAIBAB AND TOROWEAP FORMATIONS AND HOW THEY IMPACT TOPOGRAPHY:

Step 1: This National Park Service helicopter video is a flight that allows a close-up view of the Kaibab Formation (limestone rock type) and the underlying Toroweap Formation. Please watch the video below and observe how the rock type influences the appearance of the landscape. In particular, focus on how to Kaibab cliff face extends down into the Toroweap, and then this is followed by cliff collapse (rock fall).

Lower Kaibab and Torroweaphttps://player.mediaamp.io/p/U8-EDC/qQivF4esrENw/embed/select/media/i84zerQa5gyR?form=html and NPS website mp4 (much slower)https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/B9E5C080-155D-451F-674DB084729D490E/grca-rimcloseoncliffs_480x270.mp4

The Kaibab Formation is the youngest (top) of the Paleozoic strata. It ranges between 90 and 120 m, and it forms cliff faces because the limestone in this semi-arid environment is resistant to erosion.

The underlying Toroweap Formation is between 60 and 90 meters thick, and it consists of fairly narrow (thin) bands of different sorts of strata ranging from layers of weak shale (compressed mud) to a bit thicker layers of ancient sand dunes. The helicopter view contrasts these different layers, one forms cliffs and the other forms a more gentle slope.

Underneath the Toroweap is another cliff-forming layer, the Coconino Sandstone composed of about 120 meters of ancient sand dunes. You do not see the

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Coconino Sandstone in the helicopter view. The weaker nature of the Toroweap Formation leads to occasional undermining of the Kaibab cliff faces, and the whole Grand Canyon wall retreats away from the Colorado River by landsliding.

Step 2: In the game, fast travel to 36.0695 - 112.2049 This spot puts the avatar on Toroweap formation – between the cliff-forming Kaibab and Coconino formations. Directly above the avatar is the cliff face of the Kaibab Formation (light blue) and below is the massive sandstone of the Coconino Sandstone (yellow-gold).

Step 3: Practice walking your avatar along the “bench” (also ramp) of the Toroweap Formation. Please walk from the starting point and wind your way along the cliff to 36.0514 - 112.2274 . The screenshot above shows the starting and ending spots for your walk. Observe how rock type manifests itself in the landscape of the game environment.

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PART 2: STUDY THE BRIGHT ANGEL SHALE AND CLIFF FACES BELOW AND ABOVE

Step 1: This National Park Service helicopter video is a flight that allows a close-up view of the Bright Angel Shale (compressed mud) and the cliff faces below (Tapeats Formation) and above (Muav and Redwall limestones).

Bright Angel to Redwall https://player.mediaamp.io/p/U8-EDC/qQivF4esrENw/embed/select/media/j7hIg9yC72xT?form=html and NPS website mp4 (much slower)https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/B9399051-155D-451F-67C9B1A142FAD67F/grca-redwall-arm-in-sun_480x270.mp4

The Redwall and the Mauv limestones make up the cliffs, because they form “cap rocks” that protect the weaker rock underneath. The Temple Butte Limestone can also make cliff faces. The Bright Angel Shale is nothing more than compressed mud. Its much weaker, and these cliffs exist because the shale erodes the base of the cliffs, and they collapse. This erosion of the base and collapse is one way the Grand Canyon widens.

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Step 2: Fast Travel to this area of the Grand Canyon in the game at 36.1082 - 112.2143 & have your avatar walk around the area to 36.1152 -112.2233. This is what the area will look like in the game:

QUESTION 4: This is a multi-part question that relates to the two helicopter flights and your observations in the game.

Part 1 Question A. Fill in the blank in this sentence with the best selection. The Kaibab Formation is the ____________ Paleozoic formation and forms both the rim and the top-most cliff face o the Grand Canyon.

Part 1. Question B. The _____________ formation is expressed by a ramp (sometimes steep, and sometimes a bit less steep) between the cliff-forming members of the Kaibab and Cononino formations. Part 2 Question A: In the game, use the geology key to determine what resistant formation (that also makes a cliff) is underneath the Bright Angel Shale?

Part 2 Question B: Fill in the blank in this sentence with the best selection. The Kaibab, Coconino, and Redwall formations make up the dominant cliff-faces in the Grand Canyon, while the _____________ formation is found on the opposite topographic of a low slope ramp.

THESE WILL BE YOUR CHOICES1A. oldest1b. Coconino

1A. youngest1b. Toroweap

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1c. Mauv Limestone1d. Bright Angel formation

1c. Tapeats Sandstone1d. Bright Angel formation

1A. youngest1b. Redwall1c. Mauv Limestone1d. Toroweap

1A. oldest1b. Toroweap1c. Mauv Limestone1d. Tapeats Sandstone

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