Global GIS
Investigate natural hazards, biomes, resources, climate, vegetation, population, and hydrology using the spatial data from the series of USGS Global GIS CDs.

GIS Course at Sinte Gleska University
Investigate natural hazards, biomes, resources, climate, vegetation, population, and hydrology using real-world data, tools, and readings in a 10-module course.

Siting a Fire Tower in the Nebraska Loess Hills
Locate the best site for towers to spot wildfires. Download Digital Line Graph (DLG), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) public domain data and create contours, slope, and aspect maps. Choose fire towers on high ground, flat ground, on pasture and hay, close to roads and rivers.

Siting an Internet Cafe in Denver, Colorado
Locate the best site for an Internet Cafe in an urban area. Download and analyze Census demographics and TIGER files. Choose sites based on population statistics, and proximity to busy streets, high schools, and universities.

Siting an Internet Cafe in Houston, Texas and Answer Key
Locate the best site for an Internet Cafe in an urban area.

Exploring The Titanic
Learn about ocean currents, map projections, shipping, historical geography, map scale, climate, and more using this series of lessons using language arts, mathematics, history, and GIS, while investigating the 1912 voyage, sinking, rescue, aftermath, and 1985 discovery of the ship RMS Titanic.  

Exploring Africa
Investigate the physical and cultural geography of Africa in this 7-part unit, including population, natural resources, natural hazards, river systems, landforms, climate, land use, and more.  GIS and Non-GIS (paper maps) version available.

Landfill and Watershed Analysis in Northern Montana
Study environmental issues in a Montana watershed. Download and analyze EPA data and a watershed from the National Hydrography Dataset. Study landfills and stream gages within the watershed.

Analyzing Hurricanes Along the Texas Gulf Coast
Examine hurricane hazards along coastlines. Download and analyze data and assess coastal hazards in relation to cities and reservoirs.

Earth Exploration Toolbook:  GIS Mapping and Analysis
GIS-Based Lesson from the TERC's EET project where students examine earthquake distributions and activity, and try to predict where the next big earthquake will occur.

Analyzing North and Central American Hurricanes - ArcView 3 with Answer Key.  ArcGIS 8 with Answer Key
GIS-Based Lesson analyzing the spatial pattern, intensity, and distribution of North Atlantic hurricanes from 1851 to 2001.

Exploring World Demography
Explore population, health, and other variables around the world in an investigative environment.

Investigating Flooding in Local Communities- Lesson and Data.
Investigate the impact of historical and potential modern flash floods on communities, schools, buildings, and streets by examining 1937 aerial photographs, current ground photographs, historical accounts of floods, and current streamflow in this lesson that uses a variety of media, including GIS.

Creating and Analyzing a Digital Elevation Model 
Create your own digital elevation model (DEM) from a USGS topographic map and analyze it using GIS tools, and download, format, and analyze a USGS DEM from the Internet in this lesson.

Siting Fire Towers
Determine the optimal location for fire towers that are close to rivers, close to roads, roads, on high ground, and on flat terrain by downloading and analyzing Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Line Graph (DLG) data from the USGS in this lesson.

Google Earth KML File   Google Earth Screen Capture 1  Google Earth Screen Capture 2  
Example KML file and two screen captures from Google Earth that illustrate an example of latitude and longitude locations that can be captured with a GPS, plotted on the Earth, and examined with local and regional terrain, features, and satellite imagery.

Jefferson County, Colorado Demography and Test Score Analysis
Lessons and data that invite students to explore the demography of west Denver and examine the influence of demographic variables on ACT and SAT achievement tests.

Oil: "Burn It - Pump It - Ship It" 
Investigate oil production, consumption, and reserves for the past 20 years around the world with this GIS-Based Lesson.

Other Activities and Lessons for Exploring the Earth.

Find A Map!
Links to popular USGS map resources and map databases, including:
The Education Map Catalog,
The National Map, and
The National Atlas.