Transcript California Natural Resources

California’s
Geology &
Resources
• Students will know the resources of major economic
importance in California and their relation to California’s
Geology.
• Students will know the principle natural hazards in
different California regions and the geologic basis of
those hazards.
• Students will know the importance of water to society, the
origins of California’s fresh water, and the relationship
between supply and need.
• Students will know how to analyze published geologic
hazard maps of California and know how to use the
map’s information to identify evidence of geologic events
of the past and predict geologic changes in the future.
State Standards: California Natural Resources
and hazards
• Students will be able to list the major resources of
California and understand their relationship to
California’s Agriculture industry.
• Students will be able to describe the importance of water
resources, where our water resources come from and how
it affects agriculture in California.
• Students will be able to list the California natural hazards
and describe what they are.
• WHY?: It is important that we understand California’s
industry’s and the economic impact its natural resources
have on our everyday lives from the water that flows
through our faucets to the minerals that build and fund our
state.
Objectives
WHY?
CALIFORNIA’S WATER
California's Natural Resources
Agricultural
water use
• Crops
• Animals
Urban water use
• Homes
• Businesses
• Industry
• Public services
Environmental water use
• Streams
• Plants and Trees
• Wetlands
• Fish and other animals
• Coastal fresh water basins
Average Water use in CA
• Southern part of the state has 2/3 the
population and 1/3 the water
• Water is transferred from the North to the
South
• Why?
To support its growing
population and highly productive
agriculture
• California’s Agriculture productivity is the
highest in the nation and one of the highest in
the world.
• Agriculture is California’s largest industry
• Farm receipts total over $43.5 billion in 2012
• Because of California’s arid climate water is
essential for crop irrigation.
• Agriculture uses over 30% of California’s fresh
water resources.
Water Sources
• 1.) Mountain Snow
• Snow at high elevations melts & supply rivers & other fresh
water resources
• Source of surface water
• 2.) Groundwater
• Supplies most of CA surface water.
• CA rivers have been dammed, channeled and diverted to
control floods and supply water for hydroelectric power.
• Sea water contains salt
• Salt must be removed from the water before it can be used as
freshwater.
• The process to do this is called reverse osmosis: water must
be ran through a fine filter to remove the salt.
• This process is very expensive
• There is a reverse osmosis desalinization plant in Santa Barbara
which was built in 1990’s but is no longer in use because of the
high cost to operate.
Why not the
ocean?
• There are two major sources of surface water for
urban and agricultural areas
• The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta)
• The Colorado River.
• Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Bay-Delta)
• Serves 2/3 the population or 22 million people
• Decades-long conflicts between competing
interests over the use of available supplies have
been brought on by the state's swelling population
and periods of drought.
Major water sources
Bay Delta Area
Water Issues
• Water from the Bay Delta is sent south…..
• It is important for local farmers in the north
• Important for the ecosystem
• Who should get it?.....
• California’s population currently is estimated at 35.5
million, and is projected to hit 49.3 million by 2025.
• Decades-long conflicts between competing interests
over the use of available supplies have been brought
on by the state's swelling population and periods of
drought.
• Department of Water Resources (DWR) forecast a gap
between water supply and demand ranging from 2.4
million acre-feet during normal years up to 6.2 million
acre-feet in drought years by 2020.
Water Issues
• CALIFORNIA IS ONE OF the most biologically diverse areas
in the world.
• California is very rich in biological diversity, but a growing
human population and resulting habitat destruction are
threatening many ecosystems and species.
• One approach to balancing the conservation of at least some
ecosystems with increasing urban development is the
controversial Habitat Conservation Plan, authorized by the
Endangered Species Act.
• To save endangered species we must save their habitat.
• Why should we save endangered species? Congress answered this
question in the introduction to the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (Act), recognizing that endangered and threatened species of
wildlife and plants "are of esthetic, ecological, educational,
historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its
people."
Biodiversity/ Habitat Conservation
Extra Credit Page of the booklet:
• 1. Average water use in California goes towards what two
major sectors?
• 2. Where does California’s freshwater come from?
• Why can’t we use the water from the ocean?
• 3. What major issue face California and its water supply?
• 4. What two major water sources supply southern
California with water currently?
CALIFORNIA ENERGY
RESOURCES
Energy Resources
• California has a variety of energy sources including:
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petroleum
natural gas
geothermal
Nuclear
increasing amounts of renewable and alternative fuels, such
as solar and wind energy.
• California has a very diverse mix of fuel sources and
technologies--one of the most balanced in the world.
Energy: Fossil Fuels
• California’s central valley was once an ancient sea floor
that formed through tectonic activity.
• California is the 4th largest producer of oil and a major
producer of natural gas in the U.S.
• We use more than we produce
• CA imports 84% of the natural gas and 58% of the oil used
2nd extra credit page of the Booklet
• 1. What are California’s main energy resources?
• 2. What are fossil fuels and how were they developed in
California?
• What is Geothermal Energy and how to we turn it into a
energy source?
OTHER VALUABLE
RESOURCES…..
Last extra credit page IN BOOK
-RESEARCH OTHER SOURCES AND LIST THEIR
IMPORTANCE…….
CALIFORNIA NATURAL
HAZARDS
What are Natural
Disasters?
• A natural disaster is a natural event with catastrophic
consequences for living things in the vicinity.
• The human death toll resulting from natural disasters,
however, depends on many factors which are not "natural"
- emergency preparedness, for example.
What types of natural disasters occur in California?
• Earth Quakes (9)
• Volcano Eruption (9)
• Tsunami’s (11)
• Floods (11)
• Wildfires (13)
• Landslides (13)
• Droughts (13)
• Earthquakes occur at tectonic boundaries.
• California has 3 tectonic plates come together.
• Pacific Plate
• West Section of California ( SF to Imperial)
• North American Plate
• East part of California
• Gorda Plate
• Northern part of California
Earthquakes
• Faults are fractures along plates where movement occurs.
• Well known faults in California
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San Andreas Fault
Ellsinore
San Jacinto
Hayward Fault
Calaveras Fault
What are Faults?
Plate Boundary Map
• California has several active and potential active
volcanoes
• Northern California- Cascade Range
• Mt Shasta and Lassen peak
• Eastern Sierra- Long Valley
Volcanoes
• Seismic sea waves caused by fault movement.
• Since seismically active area possibility of a tsunami
• Along the Cascadia subduction zone
Tsunami
Tsunami
• Floods are the stage at which rivers or dams over flow. It
causes a sufficient magnitude of water to cause
considerable flooding of land and roads and/or threat of
significant hazard to life and property
• California levees are in critical condition and need repair
Floods
Flood Stages
• Common in California, Natural part of the environment
here
• Mediterranean type climate- growth of plants winter and
spring, dry out in summer
• More growth equals more fuel
• Plants adapt to regrow after fires
• Fires natural caused by lightning
• Following a fire the following usually happens- flooding,
erosion, and landslides
Wildfires
• The down slope movement of soil and/or rock
• An abrupt movement of soil and bedrock downhill in
response to gravity. Landslides can be triggered by an
earthquake or other natural causes. Undersea landslides
can cause tsunamis.
Landslides
Landslides
• After the abundant rains in
spring 2011, it would be easy
to think that our water supply is
endless. But it's important to
remember that in California,
the next drought may be just
around the corner. Wasting
even small amounts of water
today means less water is
available for the dry times we
know will come again.
Drought
Review Sheet- Write the questions and then answer the
question.
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Name the types of energy California uses.
Where does California rank in energy production?
What is a natural disaster?
What is California number one resource?
Why is water a big debate?
Who wants California’s water?
What types of natural disasters effect California?
Define each natural disaster.