Step 1: Select Your Location

Start by opening Google Maps on your phone or computer. Zoom into the area you will be viewing in the field. If you are on a desktop computer you will need to print the map, otherwise refer to the map on your phone or tablet while in the field. It will be helpful to watch Video 1.1:

Video 1.1. Orienting a map to the landscape. Closed captions and transcript available on Youtube.

Identify a safe and easily accessible place where you can view the landscape from above, and make and record your observations. Examples of viewpoints (also known as overlooks) include a hillside, bridge, or tall building – your instructor can suggest locations. When you go to the field you will need to bring

• camera (cell phone is fine)
• clipboard, some blank pieces of paper, and a pencil, and
• a digital or printed copy of the lab exercises.

Ahead of your departure read through the Lab Exercises.

Safety: Do not complete the remainder of this exercise until receiving a safety briefing and filling the proper paperwork (if applicable) from your lab instructor. In addition, your first goal when you arrive at a site is to ascertain whether the terrain is safe.

Step 2: Orient Your Map

Once you have arrived at your chosen viewpoint you will need to orient your map to your location. Open the map on your phone or tablet or pull out the paper copy of the map.

• Find your location on the map. If you are on Google Maps this is easily done by pressing the small arrow. Zoom in or out to view the map at a scale that reflects what you can see in the landscape.
• Find features on the map that are evident in the surrounding terrain.
• Turn your map (phone) so that the features in front of your view match the features on your map.
• Assuming north is at the top of your map, determine where north is relative to the direction you are facing.

Step 3: Frame Your Field Sketch (Figure EX1.1)

You may be new to this area of British Columbia or you may have lived here your entire life; regardless, you can build your geographic literacy by being able to name and describe the natural and built features of the surrounding landscape.

Find a suitable viewpoint and spend a few moments observing the landscape (see Figure 1.1).

Decide on an area that is appropriate to capture in your sketch. It may be a valley bottom with a river running through it or you could narrow in on a smaller area such as your neighbourhood. The sketch will be from above, a bird’s eye view or map view.

Photograph the landscape from your position. With annotation, this photograph will become Figure EX1.1 in your lab report (see example Figure 1.2).

Step 4: Create Your Field Sketch (Figure EX1.2)

Sketch a map of the area you identified. You do not need to be an artist to complete a field sketch. The best maps are simple with clearly defined lines. A sheet is provided for your sketch in Worksheets (Blank Sketch Map).

The following are important elements to consider as you draw your map. Refer to Figure 1.3 for a sample sketch map.

• Clearly define the boundaries or edges of your map. Mountains, watersheds, shorelines, roads and railways tend to define our vision and are commonly used as edges. The scale of a sketch is determined by the objects in view and the amount of detail required to be shown. Determine how much area you want to draw. From the viewpoint, the area in the rectangle on Figure 1.2 was selected for the sketch map.
• Identify pathways or routes which dissect your selected area such as roads, trails, rivers, streams, power lines. We generally experience our surroundings as we move along these routes. Show direction of travel of rivers with an arrow.
• Identify any significant junction points where important pathways come together. The confluence (meeting) of two streams, the intersection of two roads.
• Identify polygons or districts. These are small areas with a common feature, such as urban areas, single family housing, parks, open fields, changes in vegetation type (from leaf bearing/deciduous to needle bearing/coniferous) etc.
• Identify any significant landmarks that are distinctive because of their height, shape, or historical significance. An example might be a well-known mountain peak, a waterfall, a statue, a mall. (Lynch,1960)
• On your map you must also include
  • title/location,
  • date,
  • your name,
  • legend (symbols which indicate vegetation type, mountains, urban areas),
  • north arrow, and
  • approximate scale. Relate the scale to a dimension of your sketch map, as done on Figure 1.3.

Photograph your sketch map before leaving the field.

Step 5: Document Your Field Work (Figure EX1.3)

Take a selfie (photograph of yourself) at the field site holding your field sketch.

Step 6: Create the EX1 Portion of Your Lab Report

Once you are back home, open a Word document on your computer, and create a title page for your lab report that includes the title of this lab assignment, your name, lab section, and date.

Create the EX1 portion of your lab report by inserting the title Exercise 1: Field Sketch and insert the figures you created in the field:

1. Figure EX1.1: Frame of your field sketch. Insert the photo as a picture, and add a rectangle to indicate the boundary of your field sketch.
2. Figure EX1.2: Field sketch. Insert the photo of your field sketch.
3. Figure EX1.3: Documentation of field work. Insert your selfie.

Add descriptive captions to each figure to complete this portion of the report.

Create a new section of your lab report titled Exercise 2: Earth Spheres. Copy Table 1.1 below and paste into your lab report. The table is also available in Worksheets (Lab 01 Table 1.1).

Using the map, local knowledge, and if needed, a computer search, identify local characteristics of the hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, and anthropogenic impacts. Complete the table with

• Landscape features: identify two to four features for each sphere. Describe each feature with, for example, size, location and significance; and
• Anthropogenic impacts: describe ways in which the sphere has been altered by humans. Be specific.

Your answers may pertain to the area in general and need not be restricted to the area represented by your field map.

Table 1.1. Identifying Spheres, Their Characteristics, and Anthropogenic Impacts

Sphere	Task Description	Landscape Features	Anthropogenic Impacts
Hydrosphere	Name oceans, streams, lakes, wetlands, bogs, and provide a description of relative size and significance in the landscape.
Atmosphere	Describe characteristics of local weather and climate (e.g., consider seasons, temperature range, climatic changes).
Lithosphere	Name geomorphological features (e.g., mountains, valleys, plateaus, terraces, floodplains).
Biosphere	Describe vegetation types (e.g., coniferous*, deciduous**, grasslands, shrubs, mosses), spatial extent and distribution (e.g., dense, sparse, regular, irregular), aspect (i.e. direction slope faces).

*Coniferous tree is a needleleaf tree that bears cones

**Deciduous tree is a leaf-bearing tree that sheds its leaves seasonally

We are living through an era of rapid environmental change. Consider ways in which a change in one sphere may affect all others in your area. Point form is acceptable.

1. Specific to the landscape you are observing, describe how a catastrophic (very large) wildfire might impact each sphere. Consider both the immediate impacts and long-term impacts. List 4-7 impacts.
2. Identify one specific change created by the wildfire and discuss whether it is a positive or negative feedback loop. Describe in 2-3 sentences.
3. Depending on whether hydrological dams exist in your area, consider how either putting in a dam or removing dams (if they already exist) might impact local spheres and alter the entire watershed system. List 4-7 impacts.
4. Describe how a pandemic lockdown has impacted human activities and how it may have altered each of Earth’s spheres in your area or on a global scale. Provide two examples of how it has altered. Limit your answer to 4-8 sentences.

Create a new section of your lab report titled Exercise 3: Systemic Change and type in your answers.

Once all exercises are complete, save the assignment as a PDF and submit as directed by your instructor.