Natural Hazards
What is a natural hazard? It is a naturally-occurring event on Earth that poses hazards to humans in some way, from causing fatalities to simply destroying millions to billions of dollars in property and valuable resources. Natural hazards have been a challenge to the survival of humans for as long as there have been humans on Earth, but our ability to adapt to them and mitigate their negative effects has increased dramatically, thanks to science and technology. In this module, you will explore some tools and resources to help you better understand why and where natural hazards occur, how humans adapt to and mitigate risks, and what natural hazards are most prevalent in Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.
First, let's take a look at where natural hazards occur in the US. Some of the common natural hazards found in the US are represented by data in the interactive MapMaster utility. Log in to BBLearn, and go to the Study Area for the text book. Click on MapMaster Interactive Maps and then, under the 'Layered Thematic Analysis' heading, select North America. This will open the MapMaster utility.
There are several layers that portray natural hazards. Use the ones listed here to help you answer the questions below:
a. Average Number of Hail storms
b. Days with Heavy Fog
c. Earthquake Hazard Areas
d. Thunderstorm Occurrence per Year
e. Tornado Incidence/Tornado Alley
Answer the following questions:
1. Turn on the 'Average Number of Hail Storms' layer. Idaho farmers are familiar with the potential for destructive hail storms in mid-summer, but which states' farmers see the greatest potential for destructive hail based on the average number of hail storms per year?
2. Turn off the Hail Storm layer and turn on the 'Days with Heavy Fog' layer. What part of California's coast line experiences the most days with heavy fog? How is the topography there different from the rest of the California coast?
3. Turn off the Fog layer and turn on the 'Earthquake Hazard Areas' layer. What U.S. state has the highest overall earthquake hazard? From your reading in the textbook, what TWO types of faulting are associated with earthquakes there?
4. Turn off the Earthquake layer. Turn on both the 'Thunderstorm Occurrences per Year' and 'Tornado Incidence' layers. Where is the highest incidence of tornadoes? The highest incidence of thunderstorms?
5. Look at the general pattern of thunderstorms and tornadoes. Is there a relationship evident in the patterns? Do more tornados tend to occur in places where there are more thunderstorms, less thunderstorms, or is there no obvious correlation between the two?
Based on patterns of heavy snowfall, earthquakes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes, where do you think are some of the safest places to live? Where are some places that are the least safe to live?
First, let's take a look at where natural hazards occur in the US. Some of the common natural hazards found in the US are represented by data in the interactive MapMaster utility. Log in to BBLearn, and go to the Study Area for the text book. Click on MapMaster Interactive Maps and then, under the 'Layered Thematic Analysis' heading, select North America. This will open the MapMaster utility.
There are several layers that portray natural hazards. Use the ones listed here to help you answer the questions below:
a. Average Number of Hail storms
b. Days with Heavy Fog
c. Earthquake Hazard Areas
d. Thunderstorm Occurrence per Year
e. Tornado Incidence/Tornado Alley
Answer the following questions:
1. Turn on the 'Average Number of Hail Storms' layer. Idaho farmers are familiar with the potential for destructive hail storms in mid-summer, but which states' farmers see the greatest potential for destructive hail based on the average number of hail storms per year?
2. Turn off the Hail Storm layer and turn on the 'Days with Heavy Fog' layer. What part of California's coast line experiences the most days with heavy fog? How is the topography there different from the rest of the California coast?
3. Turn off the Fog layer and turn on the 'Earthquake Hazard Areas' layer. What U.S. state has the highest overall earthquake hazard? From your reading in the textbook, what TWO types of faulting are associated with earthquakes there?
4. Turn off the Earthquake layer. Turn on both the 'Thunderstorm Occurrences per Year' and 'Tornado Incidence' layers. Where is the highest incidence of tornadoes? The highest incidence of thunderstorms?
5. Look at the general pattern of thunderstorms and tornadoes. Is there a relationship evident in the patterns? Do more tornados tend to occur in places where there are more thunderstorms, less thunderstorms, or is there no obvious correlation between the two?
Based on patterns of heavy snowfall, earthquakes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes, where do you think are some of the safest places to live? Where are some places that are the least safe to live?