Environmental Science, 10th Edition (Cunningham)

Chapter 13: Restoration Ecology

GE Exercise: Kissimmee River Channelization

<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/8888888555/484165/google.jpg','popWin', 'width=210,height=178,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (34.0K)</a>

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: 27.4266, -81.1384

Overview: Kissimmee River Channelization, p. 294

To the NW of this place marker, you can see the meanders where the Kissimmee River winds through natural wetlands. To the SE, you can see the start of channelization that drains the land and speeds water to Lake Okeechobee. As you follow this drainage ditch to the SE, you can see the original, convoluted channel still in place. This channelization of the Kissimmee is only part of more than 1,600 km of canals, 1,000 km of levees, and 200 water control structures built in Florida by the Army Corps of Engineers to intercept normal water flow, drain farmlands, and divert flood water away from cities.

1
Why is the natural river more effective at retaining water than the artificial ditch?
A)The artificial ditch is lined with polypropylene to prevent it from losing any water.
B)The narrow, winding channel of the natural river impedes water flow and allows it to seep into adjacent wetlands, while the wide, straight channel of the ditch speeds water to the sea.
C)A rare application of reverse osmosis causes water in the natural river to be "pulled" into the surrounding soil.
D)Local people use buckets and hoses on a daily basis to suck river water into the adjacent soil in order to facilitate crawdad hunting, considered a local delicacy.
E)The artificial ditch is too shallow to retain water.
2
What evidence can you see that would make restoring the Kissimmee difficult and expensive?
A)Because the old river winds back and forth across the new ditch, there isn't a single place at which you could block the ditch and divert the water back into the original channel (it would have to be done at many places).
B)The many concrete abutments contouring the ditch would have to be altered or moved.
C)There appears to be a proliferation of quicksand sites surrounding the river, making every attempt at improvements quite dangerous.
D)Nesting sites of the endangered marsh vulture dot the landscape and cannot be legally disturbed.
E)The many industrial sites that abut the river would have to be moved.
3
Just downstream from our place marker is an oddly shaped structure that looks like an electrical connection. What do you think it is?
A)A large wading pool and tourist attraction
B)A fish ladder designed to mitigate harmful impacts from the ditch
C)A canal lock to allow ships to navigate the ditch
D)An aquatic laboratory for studying evolutionary biology
E)Probably a flood control structure to regulate flow in the ditch
Environemental Science Cover
Glencoe Online Learning CenterScience HomeProduct InfoSite MapContact Us

The McGraw-Hill CompaniesGlencoe

Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before you explore our Web site. To report a technical problem with this Web site, please contact the Web Producer.