Click
here for a high graphics version
Fire in
Yellowstone National Park
Intermediate Lesson
Conditions before the fire:
Precipitation
Temperature
Drought Index
Use the graphs above to determine what the conditions were before the
fire. Describe the:
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precipitation levels
-
temperature
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Palmer Drought Severity Index
What was the area of the burned portion of the park?
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How many acres? (What is an acre?)
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How many square miles?(units
converter)
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Compare to a smalleastern
state.
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What fraction of yourstate
would have burned?
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How many of your classrooms, school, school yard would it take to cover
the burned region? (have students measure and compare)
How did the fire affect the animals?
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Where can you see the animals in the park?
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How does this relate to where the fires were?
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How many animals died in the
fire in Yellowstone National Park? In other National Forests?
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Did animals sightings rise or drop after the fire? (create a chart, histogram
of before and after for each of 3 animals)
Where do you think most of the animals went during the fire? (squirrels,
bison, birds, elk, deer)
Check out the Fire
and Wind Exploration Site and
The North Fork Fire:
-
It was a big surprise that the fire threatened Old Faithful. Why?
-
Notice how the fire began to burn to the Southeast. Why?
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Notice how the fire begain to burn towards Old Faithful. Why?
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How close did the fire get to Old Faithful?
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How did they save
Old Faithful?
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What chemicals were used if any?
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What methods did the firefighters use?
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What other factors other than man may have saved Old Faithful?
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landforms (slope)
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elevation
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vegetation
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weather (wind, precip, humidity)
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Why did they try to save the area around Old Faithful?
Extensions:
Check out The
Essential Guide to GIS by Ed Parsons.
English explorations, a diary
of the Yellowstone Fires.
