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Lab 13: earth: biomes map

  1. Go to geoguesser: https://www.geoguessr.com/referral-program/JDC3-E1LM-EDS1?s=pl
  2. Or openguessr here: https://openguessr.com/
  3. Start with your home, see how close you can get
  4. Next go global: what tricks or clues do you find?
  5. Finally, focus on Hawaii, the island you live on today, see what clues there are for you
  6. What clues did you use in each case?

Biome mapping:

  • Biomes are defined by temperature and water, with some variations with altitude, which impacts both, as well as distance from the ocean (why?).
  • Fortunately we live on an island with many of the defined biomes used to define ecosystems around the planet.

Your challenges: 

1 Biome map of Hawaii Island:

  1. Map out the biomes we have on our island on your huge big island map, with some detail about each (min-max temp, annual rainfall).
  2. at the bottom of your map, include your home location, with a description of the biome there (Brazil, Spain, Germany, Mars, etc.)
2 Your kingdom map
As the ruler of your own island, you know a great deal about it. On a large paper, sketch out what your home island looks like. It must include the following:
  1. at least one volcano
  2. at least three valleys next to each other, with ridges on each side and a stream running through the middle
  3. a coral reef where each river meets the ocean
  4. some form of vegetation: trees, vines, grass, etc.
  5. some form of animals for food (be creative, but no cannibals please) Joke: why don't cannibals eat clowns? They taste funny...
  6. a description of the weather and biome there
  7. three ahupua'a, one on each side of the main river

3 Questions: email your answers for credit

  1. what sort of animals (fauna) and plants (flora) would you expect to find in each biome on our island?
  2. biomes are like your friends: it is not so much what they will do, it is what they won't do-how are these similar?
  3. why is the big island able to host so many different biomes, and compare it to another place on the planet of similar size
  4. how does a marine environment impact the biomes?
  5. include a photo from google earth of your home location and what biome is there

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