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Take a virtual field trip with Google Earth!
Google Earth is a free, online application that uses satellite imagery to allow the user to zoom across the globe in a realistic, virtual environment. Downloading Google Earth is free at http://www.earth.google.com.

An overview manual is available by clicking here... Google Earth Overview (342.0K)

To continue:
- Make sure you have the Google Earth software installed and running.
- Copy the following latitude and longitude and paste into the "Fly to" field under the Search tab.
- Hit "Enter" for Google Earth to take you to the specified coordinates, then come back here and read the following overview.

Latitude/Longitude: -3.06527, 37.3591

Overview: Mt. Kilimanjaro,

At 5,895 m (19,340 ft), Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of the few tropical mountains in the world to have glaciers on its summit. The view of this snow-capped mountain from the warm, arid plains of central Africa is a world-renown sight. Unfortunately, Mt. Kilimanjaro, like alpine regions nearly everywhere in the world, is losing its famous snows. Since 1915, the mountain has lost 85 percent of its ice cap. If global warming continues, all the ice and permanent snows on the mountain will be gone by 2020.

Note that this site may be easiest to view with the "terrain" layer turned on, to show topography.

Question 1

What is the latitude of the mountaintop?

	A) About 1 degree S
	B) About 2 degrees S
	C) About 3 degrees S
	D) About 4 degrees S
	E) About 5 degrees S

Question 2

What is the small depression on the mountaintop within which the marker is placed?

	A) The depression was left behind from the heavy earthmoving equipment, which was used to remove the mountaintop.
	B) The central depression on the mountaintop is the meteor crater.
	C) The central depression on the mountaintop is the volcanic crater.
	D) The central depression indicates where soft soil eroded away over time.
	E) The central depression is the remains of an earlier, tropical lake.

Question 3

As you fly around the mountain, look at the surrounding countryside. Do you see any other mountain ranges?

	A) Yes
	B) No

Question 4

In what country is the mountain located?

	A) Kenya
	B) Uganda
	C) Burundi
	D) Tanzania
	E) Somalia

Question 5

If you scan down the mountain sides, you will see river channels running down toward the plains below. What might be the effect on surrounding farmlands when the snows of Kilimanjaro are permanently gone?

	A) The threat of snow avalanches will be greatly reduced.
	B) There will be more wild animals for the farmers to contend with.
	C) The farmers will have more area available for conversion to farmland.
	D) Loss of snowpack on the mountain is likely to reduce water supplies in streams running from the mountains.
	E) As tourism wanes, farming will become even more economically important.

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Overview: Vostok Station, Antarctica,

The Russian Vostok Antarctic Station, located at 78 degrees S, 106 degrees E, is the site that produced the longest ice core to date. Ice cores contain ice from thousands of years ago, as well as carbon dioxide and methane trapped in gas bubbles. By examining the subtle differences in the weight of oxygen and hydrogen atoms in ancient ice, climatologists can find clues to ancient climate conditions—such as how warm and cold the earth's atmosphere was. The Vostok core is the longest record to date, reaching 3,623 km long (over 3 km!) and 420,000 years.

Imagery in this part of the world may be poor when viewed close up. Zoom out to see Vostok's location in Antarctica. This is the most remote and coldest permanently staffed station in Antarctica.

Question 1

Look up the Vostok Antarctic Station online; what is its elevation?

	A) app. 4,883 m
	B) app. 8,834 m
	C) app. 8,348 m
	D) app. 3,488 m

Question 2

Why was it useful to drill at this elevation?

	A) The ice here is softer than in other parts of Anarctica.
	B) Stations at other elevations were not available for drilling.
	C) This location is easily accessed from the coast.
	D) This location gives a deep ice record.
	E) At this elevation, global positioning is more accurate.

Question 3

What is the latitude at Vostok?

	A) 87 degrees S
	B) 87 degrees N
	C) 78 degrees S
	D) 87 degrees N

Question 4

What is the lowest latitude (closest to the equator, smallest number) on the continent?

	A) About 52 degrees S, at the South Shetland Islands
	B) About 63 degrees S, at the tip of the Palmer Peninsula
	C) About 72 degrees S, at King George Island
	D) About 68 degrees S, at Pinnacle Rock
	E) About 72 degrees S, at Elephant Island