Summary

Hello everyone! We are very excited to be on the way with this Web of Water adventure…

Starting at Table Rock State Park in Greenville, South Carolina we met with park rangers and a middle school class from Pickens School doing experiments with water. We explored the Blue Ridge Mountains and the headwaters of the Saluda to begin our voyage -- filming on the Middle Saluda River, Jones Gap State Park, and Caesars Head State Park.

Up in the mountains you can really see the connections coming together as streams make waterfalls, and waterfalls make rivers that all make their way down to the sea.

View the Webisode 1: In the Mountains transcript.

Wait! There's more...View the Blue Ridge chapter of the WOW doc!
or View the entire documentary!

Landform

The Blue Ridge Mountain Region is located in the northwestern corner of South Carolina and covers approximately two percent of the area of the state. South Carolina State Hwy. 11, also known as the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, serves as a fairly accurate and easily recognizable eastern boundary for this region, which occupies the northern portions of Oconee, Pickens, and Greenville counties but also extends north and west well beyond the borders of the state. This region is the only truly mountainous region in South Carolina. Although other regions are hilly in places, none show the drastic elevation changes and high relief (difference in elevation between high hills and adjacent low valleys) that characterize the Blue Ridge. Several mountain peaks rise to more than 3,000 feet above sea level, and many mountains have very steep slopes and high cliffs. Local topographic relief can range from a few hundred feet to more than a thousand feet from valley floor to ridge crest. The best scenic lookouts are often located at the tops of cliffs because most other areas, including the mountain tops, are covered with trees and other vegetation.

Mountain streams or creeks are usually small and rocky with clear, cold water and many rapids and waterfalls. They generally flow in narrow valleys which have developed a rectangular drainage pattern due to the underlying geologic structure. Occasionally these streams will disappear below piles of rock debris fallen from the adjacent mountainside, and reappear as springs at the downslope side. Landslides and other mass movement of rock and soil are common occurrences in the mountains. The amount of water flowing in these creeks varies greatly, depending on the amount of precipitation which has fallen recently in the local area. Occasionally small floodplain areas, called hollows or coves, occur along flatter sections of streams. Such areas contain rich bottomland soil for farming and provide a unique habitat for wildlife. No natural lakes occur in this region although beavers occasionally dam up small streams to form ponds and engineers have constructed several reservoirs in the area.

SC Maps Teaching Manual, 4th Edition (2000), section 2

Scavenger Hunt

Find the answers to these questions in Webisode 1: Blue Ridge!

1. What mountain chain is Table Rock Mountain a part of?

2. When interpreting a topographic map, what do contour lines reveal about a landscape?

Check your answers with the "Scavenger Hunt Master," found in the Resources section of the site! Teachers can use Ian's "Discussion Questions," with standards correlations, for further extension and enrichment - also in the site's Resources section!

Teachers

Look for South Carolina science standards correlations to Web of Water webisodes under "Teachers" and "Standards" in the Resources section of the site! You will also find Ian's "Discussion Questions" for extension and enrichment, also tied to the South Carolina science standards, in the Resources section of the site!

Here are some Web resources related to this webisode. Find Web resources to other webisodes on respective pages, or see them ALL under "Teachers" and "Web Links" in the Resources section of the site!

WATER CYCLE, WATERSHEDS, AND WATER SCIENCE
(ALL webisodes)

A 70-page .pdf from the Environmental Protection Agency containing in-depth examination of water resources, the water cycle, and more that includes lessons, conservation tips, worksheets, etc:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/pdfs/gndw_712.pdf

Water Source Books for grades k-12 from the Environmental Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/wsb/index.html

An entire unit on hydrology from the National Park Service about Wind Cave National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/wica/Hydrology_PDF.htm

Lessons and activities relating to groundwater:
http://www.groundwater.org/kc/kc.html

This “Models of the Water Cycle” set contains background information with activities and links to an interactive demo of the water cycle for grades 6-8:
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?BenchmarkID=11&DocID=8

This “Models of the Water Cycle” set contains background information with activities and links to an interactive demo of the water cycle for grades 3-5:
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?BenchmarkID=4&DocID=393

Lessons on hydrology surrounding Bryce Canyon National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/brca/forteachers/hydrology.htm

United States Geological Survey (USGS) site on “Water Science for Schools:”
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/

Create a model of a watershed with the following lesson:
http://sf-rocks.sfsu.edu/SFROCKS_Website/For_Teachers_files/WhenItRains.doc

Lesson dealing with issues relating to water conservation:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/waste-not-want-not/

Lesson materials to help teachers get students to start thinking about water usage; this can be used as a collaborative project in which students can share their results on the Web:
http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/drainproj/index.html

Posters for United States Geological Survey (USGS) outreach, including ones on watersheds, water quality and water use:
http://water.usgs.gov/outreach/OutReach.html

A Discover Carolina lesson about drainage divides and watersheds that involves use of topographic maps:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09d01.pdf

A series of questions testing knowledge of watersheds:
http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/watershed/watershed2.html

Resources about ecosystems, including climate, food webs, biogeochemical cycles:
http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/ecosystem.html

In-depth explanations of Earth’s cycles, including the water cycle:
http://www.visionlearning.com/library/cat_view.php?c3=&cid=22&l=&let1=

A grade 4 “Land and Water Unit Template” from the Delaware Department of Education:
http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/staff/ci/content_areas/files/science/4%20Land%20and%20Water%20Unit%20Template.pdf

MAPS AND MAP READING
(Blue Ridge)

Table Rock topographic map available through the SC Maps Web site:
http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/cartography/TableRockTopo.html

SC Maps lesson plan about interpreting the topographic maps:
http://www.ces.clemson.edu/geolk12/SCStudies/unit2/PAunit2Day1.doc

Discover Carolina lesson in topographic map reading:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09d01.pdf

Topographic map and aerial photo interpretation activity from Discover Carolina:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09d01.html

Topographic maps and aerial photos of Table Rock at SC Maps:
http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/Pages/2/Table.htm

Maps of South Carolina available through the SC Maps Web site:
http://www.cas.sc.edu/cege/resources/posters/SCGA%20Posters.pdf

A quiz on interpreting landforms based on topographic representations:
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/gary/earth/activities/map/map.html

27 Ideas for teaching with topographic maps from the United States Geological Survey (USGS):
http://education.usgs.gov/common/lessons/teaching_with_topographic_maps.html

SC Maps activity involving interpretation of aerial photographs:
http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/map%20resource/8thSample.html

Discover Carolina topographic map and and aerial photo interpretation activity:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09d01.html

FOREST ECOLOGY, STREAM ECOLOGY AND THE FOOD WEB
(Blue Ridge, Sandhills, Coastal Zone)

Introductory lesson from Discover Carolina about forest ecosystems including forest layers, and the food chain:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09b02.html

An introduction to mountain stream ecology from Discover Carolina:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09a02.html

Discover Carolina lesson including a forest layer diagram and food chain worksheet:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09b01.html

Discover Carolina lesson about stream ecology and the food web at Carrick Creek in Table Rock:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09a03.html

Discover Carolina lesson about forest ecology, including habitats, biotic and abiotic factors, food chain dynamics, and transfer of energy:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature02b02.html

A suite of biology lessons from NASA about Earth’s cycles and the food web:
http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/bio_train.html

WEATHERING, EROSION AND DEPOSITION
(Blue Ridge, Coastal Plain)

An animation that demonstrates the formation of waterfalls and the effects of erosion:
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es1305/es1305page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization

Activities for grades K-4 that demonstrate water erosion and other forms of natural erosion:
http://www.youth.net/cec/cecsci/cecsci.03.txt

More activities that demonstrate water and wind erosion, with substantial background information:
http://www.utm.edu/departments/cece/old_site/seventh/7J2.shtml

Experiments to compare the variables of ground cover and changes in slope to understand erosion control:
http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/education/lessons/act15.htm

A series of fully supported activities to demonstrate weathering and erosion:
http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/jesei/weather/teachers.pdf

Lessons for middle grades that distinguish types of weathering and erosion, while examining the origins and roles of soils; also includes discussion of glacial erosion and deposition:
http://www.uwsp.edu/Education/pcook/unitplans/docs/erosion_and_deposition.doc

A “Sediment Deposition Lab:”
http://minerva.union.edu/hollochk/pedagogy/files/jg1.pdf

A series of videos and animations illustrating “Processes of River Erosion, Transport, and Deposition:”
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/geomorph/visualizations/erosion_deposition.html

WATER QUALITY
(Blue Ridge)

In this lesson about aquatic ecology for grade 5 from Discover Carolina, students investigate the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on water quality:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature02a02.html

A lesson for grade 5 from Discover Carolina on the relationship between pH and water quality:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09a01.html

A lesson for grade 5 from Discover Carolina on the relationship between temperature and water quality:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature02a01b.html

A Discover Carolina lesson that explores the relationship between macroinvertebrates and water quality:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature09a02.html

More Discover Carolina lessons involving study of macroinvertebrates that allow calculation of a water quality index:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s05nature107.html

See how the Maryland Department of Natural Resources keeps real-time data for monitoring of water quality. Have your students analyze the implications at specific sites:
http://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/eyesonthebay/index.cfm

A United States Geological Survey (USGS) Primer on Water Quality:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-027-01/pdf/FS-027-01.pdf

Resources for help in teaching water quality based on monitoring as well as macroinvertebrate studies:
http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/education/kidsinthecreek/

Real-time water resources data from United States Geological Survey (USGS), including water quality, flood data, and more:
http://water.usgs.gov/data/

Informative web resource exploring all aspects of water, including water quality assessment and methods of monitoring:
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/waterq3/WQintermpuzzle.html

Aspects of water quality and their affects on marine life:
http://www.h2ou.com/h2wtrqual.htm

EARTH’S CYCLES
(Blue Ridge)

An introduction to the carbon cycle with a lesson plan suggestion:
http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_4_2_15t.htm

Resources about ecosystems, including climate, food webs, biogeochemical cycles:
http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/ecosystem.html

An in-depth look at the carbon cycle from NASA:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/index.php

A lesson about “The Human Impact on Water Quality” from Teacher’s Domain:
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.lp_waterquality/

An experiment that students can do to learn about decomposition under various conditions:
http://www.globe.gov/tctg/decomp.pdf?sectionId=107

In-depth explanations of Earth’s cycles:
http://www.visionlearning.com/library/cat_view.php?c3=&cid=22&l=&let1=

More on Earth’s cycles:
http://www.lenntech.com/matter-cycles.htm

The carbon cycle and the greenhouse effect:
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/CarbonCycle.html

A suite of biology lessons about Earth’s cycles and the food web:
http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/bio_train.html

SYMBIOSIS
(Blue Ridge)

A lesson on lichens that involves a “lichen hunt” for grades 3-8. Introduces the concept of mutualism:
http://myfwc.com/docs/educator/LichensWeLoveEm.pdf

A lesson from Teachers Domain with several activities to help students understand relationships within an ecosystem:
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/nat08.living.eco.humeco.lpsymstra/

An extensive lesson on mutualism and co-evolution:
http://biology.arizona.edu/sciconn/lessons2/Roxane/page1.htm

ADAPTATION
(Blue Ridge)

The South Carolina Aquarium curriculum for adaptations, food chains, communities and ecosystems, and decomposers:
http://www.scaquarium.org/curriculum/iexplore/three_five/pre.htm

A lesson from Teachers Domain that explores a variety of ways that animals adapt themselves to their environments (with links to several media resources):
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.reg.lp_adapt/

GROUPINGS OF RESOURCES
(Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Sandhills)

The Discover Carolina program curricula:
http://www.discovercarolina.com/html/s01overview.html

The SC Maps Teacher’s Manual:
http://www.cas.sc.edu/cege/resources/scmaps/scmaps_manual.html

Teacher resources from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), including PowerPoint presentations on rocks and minerals, weathering and erosion, natural disasters, landforms, plate tectonics, etc.:
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/geology/Education.htm

NY Regents Exam Preparation Center on the Web for Earth Science; topics include composition of the earth, topographic mapping, rocks and minerals, weathering, erosion and deposition, as well as earthquakes and plate tectonics:
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/earthsci/earthsci.cfm

A page of Web links to resources about Earth processes:
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/gary/earth/web/earth.html

United States Geological Survey (USGS) science education resources with links to further resources for various grade ranges:
http://education.usgs.gov/

An interactive site about various aspects of ecology including lessons on water, streams and mountains, photosynthesis, forest ecosystems, adaptations of animals, co-adaptation of organisms, and more:
http://www.gfawesome.org/~flashVersion=true/school/lessons.html

Knowitall

Use RiverVenture.org to learn about how rivers are connected, and how we are all connected to them:

• At the Estuary module of RiverVenture.org, learn about the sensitive salt marsh ecosystem and issues relating to pollution. Look for an object relating to DHEC to find out more about water quality and what factors help us measure it.

• The Three Rivers module of RiverVenture.org focuses more on natural resources and how rivers have shaped communities.

Learn more about the Cherokee and other Native American tribes in South Carolina through Knowitall.org at Periscope! Look for the back issue about Native American Heritage Month.

Go to SC Life to learn more about the plants and animals of the Cove Forest ecosystem and other habitats. Here, you can also read more about beneficial relationships between plant and animal species.

Go to Knowitall.org and learn about South Carolina’s landform regions and about different types of maps at the following Web sites:

• RiverVenture.org

• A Natural State

• Scoot, or

• The History of South Carolina Slide Collection