Transcript California Geology

California
Geology
Agriculture Earth Science
• 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 WATER
RESOURCES
California Geology
• Water Resources
• Vital issue in California
• Statistics show:
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
• Constructed infrastructure of dams, water diversions,
aqueducts, canals and water storage reservoirs make this
possible.
• 80% of water goes to Agriculture Production
CA Water Resources
• 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 $27 billion in 2001
• Because of California’s arid climate water is
essential for crop irrigation.
• Agriculture uses over 30% of California’s fresh
water resources.
Water and Agriculture
• Water resource issues in California involve both water
supply and water pollution
• Cities, farmers and environmentalists have battled over
who will control California 's water.
• Fundamental controversy surrounding California 's water
supply is one of distribution.
Water Issues
• Within California, there are two major arteries
serving as the sources of surface water for urban and
agricultural areas: The Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta (Bay-Delta) and 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.
Water Issues
Major water sources
• Mountain Watersheds
• High Elevation snow packs supply rivers and other fresh
water resources
• Surface and Groundwater
• Supplies most of CA surface water.
• CA rivers have been dammed, channeled and diverted to
control floods and supply water for hydroelectric power.
Water Sources
• 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?
• The Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District is proposing
to build a peripheral canal around the Delta in order to
divert more water to Los Angeles. This may have
disastrous consequences for Discovery Bay. Right now
the L.A. Water district and other water contractors are
running the show for this canal project.
• The Delta is more than a “plumbing fixture” to export
drinking water to Central and Southern California. The
Delta is an important freshwater estuary: important for
the ecosystem; important the local farmers and local
economy; and important to thousands who enjoy
swimming, fishing, boating, and water sports.
Water Issues
• 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
Bay Delta Area
• 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
CALIFORNIA MINERAL AND
ENERGY RESOURCES
California Geology
• California uses a variety of energy sources including:
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petroleum
natural gas
geothermal
hydroelectric
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 Resources
• Fossil Fuels are formed by organisms that die and
accumulated on seafloors. Over time, oxygen poor
sediments bury them. Over millions of years pressure
from overlying rocks/sediments and the thermal energy
from the earth turn the organic material into hydrocarbon
molecules which are crude oil and natural gas. These are
California’s most important fossil fuel resources.
• 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
Energy: Fossil Fuels
• The earth’s internal thermal energy is released to the
surface all around the world. This energy is called
geothermal energy. Like mineral resources it can be
concentrated in certain locations like
• California’s tectonic activity concentrates the release of
thermal energy in the form of hot water or steam which is
used to generate electricity.
Geothermal
Energy
Geothermal Energy
• California is also a leader in energy efficiency.
• The state has placed a priority on energy efficiency in
buildings and appliances
• California is 49th in energy consumption among the 50
states: that is, we use less energy per person than almost
all the other states in the U.S., despite our prosperous and
diverse economy.
Energy Efficiency
• In terms of energy use, about half the energy (49%) goes
to transportation, about a quarter (27%) for industrial use,
and the rest for commercial and residential uses.
California Energy resources
• Petroleum (51%) of the primary energy
• Primary energy is energy that is used directly, for instance, as fuel
in cars).
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Natural gas was second (34%)
Nuclear (6%),
Hydroelectric (5%),
Geothermal (3%),
Coal (1%)
California produces about 45% of the energy, including about
half the petroleum used, and 17% of the natural gas.
California Energy
CALIFORNIA NATURAL
HAZARDS
California Geology
• 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 are Natural
Disasters?
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Landslides
Volcano Eruption
River Flooding
Earth Quakes
Wildfires
Drought
What types of natural disasters
occur in California?
Map of Natural Disasters
• Earthquakes occur in tectonic boundaries.
• California has three 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.