Cortes Bank

Cortes Bank:

Cortes Bank

Cortes Bank is a dangerously shallow chain of underwater mountains in the Pacific Ocean. It is located about 188 kilometers west of Point Loma San Diego, USA, and about 82 kilometers south-west of San Clemente Island. It is in the middle of the ocean. Cortes Bank was originally a California channel island 10,000 years ago but when the Ice Age came, it lowered the sea level by 400 feet. The end result was Cortes Bank.

There is a model of the underground mountain at Cortes Bank:

Here is a bird's eye view of Cortes Bank:

This spot is capable of producing some amazing waves due to its location. Cortes Bank reaches a peak of about 30 kilometers long and rises from the ocean floor from about 1kilometer down. Some of the peaks come to just 1-2 meters below the surface at Bishop Rock, depending on the tides. The peaks are a hazard to large ships. Because it is located so far off the coast, there is really no limit to the amount of swell that can pass by this spot.The waves at Cortes Bank signal danger on the underwater rocks and are so big they show up on radar.
The location of Cortes Bank is shown below:

Bishop Rock, which is one of the jagged peaks in the underwater chain, rises to within 1 to 2 meters of the surface. This place has been known to ocean-going ship captains and fishermen for years.

Here is an example of how big the waves at Cortes Bank get:

To get the biggest waves at Cortes Bank, you need perfect conditions. Cortes Bank requires light winds, low tides and big storm swells from the northwest in order to reach its full potential. This surf spot is also a place where rough sea storms take place.

These need to happen all at the same time. This happened on 19th January 2001, where California's surfers went to test their skills against the biggest wave every ridden. These waves were traveling so fast that the surfers couldn't catch up to the wave paddling, instead they had to get there by a jet skier who towed them with a rope until they were moving fast enough to engage the wave. Surfers measure the waves from the back and the biggest wave of the day was 30 feet according to their measurements. A watcher on the other side, said he saw waves up to sixty feet tall.


This link to a video explains Cortes Bank in more detail:
http://www.surfline.com/surflinetv/how-it-works/how-it-works-cortes-bank_22567

Y9 Geography: Coastal Management Vocabulary

Here are the vocab words for this unit. They are divided up into 4 groups. You will have 4 quizzes for this unit - 1 for each group. They will happen every 3 classes starting next week. Knowing key terms will be essential for your success on the assessment at the end of this unit.

Quiz #1
7.1
breakwaters
silting -
tidal flushing -
sea change
urban stormwater
silting
tidal flushing
dredging
introduced plants


7.2
ground swell -
plunging waves -
spilling waves -
surging waves -
wind swell -
wave height
wavelength
fetch
surf and swash zone



Quiz #2
7.3
aeolian -
spinifex -
constructive waves
corrasion
corrosion
refraction
deposition
destructive waves
erosion
hydraulic action
longshore drift

Quiz #3
7.4
erosion-accretion cycle
groynes -
revegetation -
sea walls -

7.5
rock wall
beach nourishment
sand bar

7.7
environmental impact study -
impact assessment -

Quiz #4
7.8
bitou bush -
marram grass -  
noxious weed -  
foredune

hind dune
tertiary species
fore dune
off-shore bar
incipient dune
beach berm
secondary species

7.9
anemometer -
hygrometer -

Y9 Extended Response Revision

Communities do not remain static, but continually experience change. There are many inter connected factors that contribute to the changes and differences between and within communities. In a world that is experiencing rapid globalisation it is important for decision-makers within communities to understand and respond to these changes

Describe the factors causing change in relation to Australia's communities.

Include in your response:

• the location of a community effected
• the specific characteristics of this community (eg. rural/urban, population, ethnicity, age, any other characteristics that make it a community).
• Description of the factors causing change in your chosen community.
• Describe the effects of those changes upon your chosen community.

Year 9: Chapter 4 - Gulargambone - an Australian community facing change

Read pgs 106-119 in your text book and answer the following questions in your blog.

• pg 109: 1-7, 8b, 9a-d, 10 (9A2 - Due Wed 7/9) (9B2 - Due Fri 9/9)
• pg 113: 1-6 8-11 (9A2 - Due Wed 14/9) (9B2 - Due Mon 12/9)
• pg 117: 1-12a-f  (9A2 - Due Fri 16/9) (9B2 Due - Tue 13/9)

Year 9: Australia's Population

Use the internet to answer these questions:

1. What is demography?
2. In what year did the Australian population reach 20 million? How quickly is the population growing?
3. How many Aboriginal people are estimated to have lived in Australia before Europeans arrived?
4. What the two main ways the population can grow? What percentage of the population growth in 2010 can be attributed to each way?
5. What is the total fertility rate for 2010?
6. What was the total fertility rate for Australia in 1935? How does this compare to other years? Why do you think that it compares this way?
7. What is the trend in the fertility rate for Australia since 1950?
8. What is the average size of a family in Australia? How does that compare to the US?

Year 9: Are we a racist nation?

Read this article and answer the questions below on you own blog: http://goo.gl/zrTIW

1. Who is the author and what is his job title?
2. Who does he work for and what is supposed to do in this job?
3. What does the author say is often the beginning of a racist comment? Have you every heard anyone use this line to say something racist? If so, what did they say?
4. What percent of Australians are born overseas or have an overseas parent?
5. What is a 'monoculture'?
6. What are some welcome benefits of online technology?
7. What are some unwelcome results of online social media?
8. What makes racism online so dangerous?
9. What will help stop racism online?
10. What does the author suggest we need to do to stop racism?

Year 9: How has Australia changed in your life time?

List some of the ways that Australia has changed in your life time.

Use the following categories: physical change, socio-economic change, and cultural change. Have five changes for each category.

Choose ONE example from each category (three total). What are some of the ways that we can find out how Australia has changed in each of these categories? What research could we do to figure out how Australia has changed?

For each of the THREE from above find an answer. Then write a paragraph about how you think the information you have found has led to change in Australia. (put all this information in the same blog post)

Year 9: Tue 7/19 Research Action Project

1. Discuss assessment and hand back for class (must return at end of class)
2. How to do research?
3. Presentation/Discussion:  Subjective vs. Objective Research
        - What is the difference?
        - What value do they play in research?
        - How to conduct Subjective/Objective Research?

Year 9 Geo Thur 16/6 + Fri 17/6: Changing Australian Communities

1. What is a primary source when doing research? What is a secondary source? Which one is better? When do you use these types of sources?
2. What is a primary source for finding population data for Australia? Why?
3. What is the population of Australia?
4. What is the 'growth rate' of Australia for 2010?
5. How many 'new' Australians were there in 2010?
6. How many of the 'new' Australians were born in Australia and how many are immigrants?
7. Which state had the greatest growth in population for 2010?
8. What changes have you noticed in your area that could be related to growth in population?
9. Is it good that Australia's population continues to grow?
10. When, in history, has Australia NEEDED the population to grow? Why? Where did these people come from?

Communities + The best El Nino/La Nina Projects

Brainstorm about how your community has changed. This could be change in buildings, change in people, ect.

THEN....

You and your table members need to have a look at all the different projects posted in the comments section of the previous post (http://cavsgeographyclass.blogspot.com/2011/06/year-9-geo-el-ninola-nina-projects.html).

Choose one that you think is the best.

Then as a class we'll have a look and choose the best from the two classes.

Year 9 Geo El Nino/La Nina Projects

Please paste the URL of your group's work in the comments section.

after this please score your other group member/members for the following out of 5 (5 is the best):

1. Complete Work on Time
2. Communication
3. Quality of Work

Include a comment on your overall reaction to working with this person/ these people.

Year 9: How many parts of the project have you complete?

In a short blog post, detail which of the six parts of the project you have completed, who did the work, and describe how far along you are on the parts not complete.

1. World el Nino Map
2. World la Nina Map
3. Australia el Nino Map
4. Australia la Nina Map (w/ natural disaster)
5. el Nino Natural Disaster Fact Sheet
6. la Nina Natural Disaster Fact Sheet

Then, GET TO WORK!!!

Year 10+ 9 Thursday 5/5: Mapping

Using the Synoptic Maps and the Sydney weather report below answer the following questions: (more questions under the synoptic charts). Copy the images from this page and put them in your blog.

1. What is it about the pressure system stalled over Australia that relates to the weather over the next 4 days?
2. What is the air pressure in each of the next 4 days for each of the capital cities? How does this correspond with the predicted weather for these cities?

1. What is the contour interval (sometimes abbreviated CI)? Convert to metric.
2. What is the scale of the map? Convert it into the metric system
3. What is the gradient of the line? Calculate in metric system.

Year 9: Landslides, Tsunamis and Earthquakes

Deadly Storms in the US

Last week there were some seriously deadly storms in the Southeast of the US. Give me a dot point brief on these storms to utilize in my upcoming discussion with Barack Obama.

Monday 2/5: 2.2 Landslides, Earthquakes and Tsunamis + Consolidating Group Work

Today you need to bring all of the work you did individually in your group on natural hazards into one post. Each of you should have a post on your blog consolidating all the information you have gathered.

Also, you need to begin 2.2 questions 2.2 to be finished tomorrow in class.

Year 9 Fri 29/4: 2.1 Review and Analysing Natural Hazards

1. Each of your groups is assigned a natural hazard. For your natural hazard list 5 unique concerns for the three types of impacts this hazard can have on communities. Then describe how the different groups in question 11 of 2.1 Questions would need to react to you particular hazard.

2. Review 2.1 Questions

Year 9: Wed 27/4 - 2.1 Intro to Natural Hazards

You have 5 minutes to complete the crossword below (don't work with anyone else see how well you can do on your own). 

Then you are going to work on the 2.1 questions 1-11 in class. If you don't finish they are homework.

Year 9 Wednesday 16/3: The Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

1. Tell me all about the recent natural disaster in Japan: (nytimes.com has some great info)

• Where was the epicentre of the earthquake?
• What was the size of the earthquake?
• What are some of the areas most effected? Describe the devastation and include an image.
• Describe the impending man-made disaster: what, where , why?

2. Catch up on last class's homework.

HW: 1.10 1-18

Year 9 Fri 11/3: Australia's Natural Resources

Classwork:
(Include graphs in your answer)
1. Who is Australia's largest export partner? What products do they export with them? How much of each product do they export? For what purpose does that country need the products they import from Australia?

2. Who is Australia's largest import partner? What do they import from them? How much? Why do you think that Australia imports these goods from this country?

Homework:
Answer questions 1-18 on pg 35 of your text book.