Environmental Science, 10th Edition (Cunningham)

Chapter 12: Biodiversity: Preserving Landscapes

GE Exercise: Great Bear Rainforest

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Take a virtual field trip with Google Earth!
Google Earth is a free, online application that uses satellite imagery to allow the user to zoom across the globe in a realistic, virtual environment. Downloading Google Earth is free at http://www.earth.google.com.

An overview manual is available by clicking here... Google Earth Overview (342.0K)

To continue:
- Make sure you have the Google Earth software installed and running.
- Copy the following latitude and longitude and paste into the "Fly to" field under the Search tab.
- Hit “Enter” for Google Earth to take you to the specified coordinates, then come back here and read the following overview.

Latitude/Longitude: 51.9503, -127.857

Overview: Great Bear Rainforest, p. 253

Stretching for 250 miles along the coast of British Columbia from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaskan border, the Great Bear Rainforest encompasses more than 21 million acres of temperate rainforest. Narrow, misty fjords cut deep into the rugged coastal mountains. Ancient forests of giant cedar, spruce, and fir shelter wolves, bear, deer, mountain lions, and other native wildlife. A unique race of white or cream-colored bears found only here are called Kermode bears by scientists, but are popularly known as "spirit bears," the name given them by first nations Gitga'at people. It's estimated that 20 percent of the world's remaining wild salmon migrate up the wild rivers of this rugged coastline.

In 2006, officials from the provincial government, First Nations tribes, logging companies, and environmental groups signed a historic agreement for managing the world's largest remaining intact temperate coastal rainforest. About 6 million ha (15.5 million acres), or an area about the size of Switzerland, will be managed within this area. One-third will be entirely protected from logging. In the remaining area, only selective, sustainable logging will be allowed. The area encompassed by the Great Bear Rainforest extends from the northern end of Victoria Island almost to Prince Rupert. The Queen Charlotte Islands are included in this protected area.

1
Can you find evidence of logging activity in the Great Bear Rainforest, and if so, how could this happen if the area is protected? 
A)There is no logging activity because it is a completely protected area.
B)There is evidence of previous logging activity, but there is no active logging today because it is a protected area.
C)There is evidence of historical logging as well as current logging activity; only one-third of the Rainforest is protected from logging (a type of compromise that is often reached when protecting wilderness areas).
2
To the northeast of the place marker, there's a network of narrow fjords that encircle Knight Island and penetrate deep into the mountain range. By using the Paths measuring tool (in the Tools menu), how far inland do these channels reach from the place marker?
A)The northern fjord reaches about 120 km inland; the southern arm reaches about 140 km inland.
B)The northern fjord reaches about 140 km inland; the southern arm reaches about 120 km inland.
C)The northern fjord reaches about 200 km inland; the southern arm reaches about 360 km inland.
D)The northern fjord reaches about 50 km inland; the southern arm reaches about 70 km inland.
3
If you turn on the Geographic Web layer, you'll see a marker for Mount Waddington, the tallest peak in the Coastal Range about 188 km SE from the Great Bear marker (or find the location at 51 deg 22 min N, 125 deg 15 min W). If you turn on the "terrain" layer, then the elevation of your pointer (mouse) is reported along with its latitude and longitude at the bottom of the window. How tall is Mount Waddington?
A)2112 m
B)420 m
C)4016 m
D)2525 m
E)3456 m
4
Mount Waddington is only about 40 km from the head of the Knight Inlet. How much elevation difference is there between the mountain peak and the surface of the Inlet?
A)2112 m
B)420 m
C)4016 m
D)2525 m
E)3456 m
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