10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS
Your Name: _________________
Summary
This activity uses ArcGIS Online, a Webbased Geographic Information System
(GIS) (www.arcgis.com) as a tool for
analyzing the geography and science of
water from a spatial perspective.
Detail
This activity is written for upper
secondary/university level but can be
used at the lower secondary level, and
can even be modified for primary levels.
It can be used in formal or informal
educational settings and in an
independent or whole-class format. 10
investigations. Time estimated per
investigation: 1 class period of 50
Map of watersheds of the USA as determined by the EPA in
minutes; or, 2 or 3 of the items could be
ArcGIS Online. This is one of the investigations included in
investigated in one class period for
this activity.
briefer study. No previous experience
with GIS is necessary but (1) the geographic perspective is important, and (2) a background in the topic
investigated would be helpful; at a minimum, a short discussion on the processes and phenomenon
studied in each investigation should be held at the beginning; such as “What is a watershed? Why are
watersheds important?”
Computer requirements: Web browser, Internet connection. Can be run in a computer lab setting, with
students bringing their own tablets/laptops/devices, or with 1 computer in front of the class with a
projector.
Introduction
Water is a spatial subject: It can occur in solid, liquid, and gas phases on our planet and can easily move
between these three states. It moves through oceans, rivers, wetlands, and glaciers, and through the
hydrologic cycle at different rates. It is affected by long-term climate, everyday weather, hurricanes,
landforms, and air pressure. It has been channeled into settling ponds, water treatment plants, fields,
irrigation ditches, drainage ditches, canals, reservoirs, and through many other means by humans. It
acts as a change agent above, on, and below the surface of the Earth, affecting such phenomena as crop
yields, aquifers, erosion, floods, stream sediment, soil chemistry, weathering, and much more. It
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 1 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
operates on a scale from local to global. Because water exists, moves, and acts at different scales and
affects so many other phenomena, the geographic perspective is critical to understanding it. And, GIS is
a very useful tool in which to study water in all of its forms, processes, and aspects.
Watch the movie “geographic reflections on water”: http://youtu.be/ntJvY4LixqQ
Name 3 connections between water and geography.
Because of these and a whole host of other factors, the geographic perspective is critical to
understanding water. GIS allows the geographic perspective to be applied to the study of water, and
ArcGIS Online provides a toolkit and rich set of data that allows you to study water right away.
ArcGIS Online Investigations
Each investigation uses ArcGIS Online, on http://www.arcgis.com. It is best to start a new map for each
investigation, although ArcGIS Online allows for the combination of these investigations to be easily
conducted, for deeper analysis.
(1) Investigating Oceans
At ArcGIS Online, click on “map.” Change the basemap to a light gray canvas. Observe the planet as a
whole. How much of the world do you estimate is covered by oceans? Next, research this question to
determine the answer. How close was your estimate to the correct answer?
Change the basemap to the Oceans basemap. Describe the ocean floor. Does the ocean floor look like
you expected it to look? Why or why not?
Examine the detail for the oceans basemap:
http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=6348e67824504fc9a62976434bf0d8d5
How was this map created? How is ocean floor mapping different from mapping on land? What special
challenges does ocean mapping present? How well do you think we understand oceans as compared to
the land surface?
In what units are the ocean depths given?
Do some research on the three deepest trenches, and investigate them in ArcGIS Online, identifying
their location, using the measure tool to measure their length, and examining the depth readings to
determine their depth.
Do some research and answer the following question: Name three threats to ocean life, water quality,
coral reefs, or anything else in the ocean. If time permits, create a presentation using ArcGIS Online and
your ocean basemap that summarize your research findings.
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 2 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Zoom to one area of the ocean floor of interest to you. Describe that area, noting its physical features,
width, and depth. What threats to the sustainability of ocean life in the area you have chosen exist?
(2) Investigating Rivers
At ArcGIS Online (http://www.arcgis.com), click on “map.” Change the basemap to Light Gray Canvas.
Find the following rivers: The Amazon, the Nile, and the Yangtze. Use the measure tool to measure the
approximate length of each, indicate what direction(s) they flow, and indicate what body of water each
flows into.
Watch the following movies filmed at the following two rivers:
St Croix River at Scandia, Minnesota:
http://youtu.be/zhzUCs1ysWQ
The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, Missouri:
http://youtu.be/73EFBbhLTDg
Name at least three differences between what you observe about these two rivers.
Differences exist, but the two rivers are connected: The St Croix flows into the Mississippi River and
eventually flows past Cape Girardeau.
In ArcGIS Online, determine the following using the measure tool: How far apart are the locations
where these two movies were filmed? If the water flows at 20 mph, how long would it take for water
to move from Scandia to Cape Girardeau?
Using the city names in the search box, zoom to each location. Use the measure tool to measure the
width of the rivers. Using the “real time water data for the nation” site:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt, find a USGS gaging station near each location and determine the
gage height and the flow (in cubic feet per second) flowing past each point. Is it higher or lower than
normal right now?
(3) Investigating Dams and Reservoirs Along Rivers
Do some research on the following topic: Why are dams and reservoirs constructed? Name at least
three different reasons.
At ArcGIS Online (http://www.arcgis.com), click on “map.” Change the basemap to Light Gray Canvas.
Find the following rivers: The Amazon, the Nile, and the Yangtze. Zoom in and pan along each river.
Can you find dams and reservoirs along each river? If so, how many, and where are they located? What
is the average distance between each dam? What impact do dams have on aquatic life and water
quality? What impact do they have on electrical power generation? What impact do they have on local
and regional irrigation for crops? What impact do they have on providing water for municipal and
industrial use?
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 3 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Zoom to the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, southeast of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. You can
search on “Boulder City, NV” and then pan to the northeast to find the dam.
What two states are on either side of the dam? What river is the dam on? What direction is the river
flowing? How can you determine the river’s direction? What reservoir is backed up by Hoover Dam?
What famous canyon is upstream from this reservoir? What is the length of Hoover Dam in feet and in
meters? What is the areal size of the reservoir in square miles and square kilometers?
What shape does the dam have? Do some research to find out why it has the shape it has. Do some
research to determine: When the dam was built, why it was built, and how much concrete is in the dam.
Zoom to the Aswan Dam by searching on “Aswan, Egypt.” What river is the Aswan Dam on? What
direction is it flowing? Compare the surrounding terrain at Aswan vs. that surrounding the Hoover Dam.
What are the differences and similarities? Do some research to determine the following: Name three
benefits provided by the Aswan Dam, and three unfortunate consequences that the dam caused.
One of the most controversial projects has been the Three Gorges Dam in China. Search for and zoom
to Yichang, China. Zoom out a bit and experiment with different base maps. What river are you
examining? Pan 18 miles (27 km) northwest of Yichang to the dam site. Describe the physical
environment of this area. How would the physical environment pose a challenge to the construction of
the dam? Do some research on Three Gorges Dam. Name at least two reasons why this dam has been
so controversial.
Do some research to find the world’s three largest dams. In which countries are they located? What
rivers are they on? Is Hoover Dam or Three Gorges Dam one of the three largest? Zoom to each of the
three largest. Measure the length of each dam. Measure the areal size of the reservoirs formed from
each dam.
Conduct some research on the world’s three tallest dams. Are they the same as the three largest dams?
Zoom to each and indicate the countries in which they are located and the rivers they are on.
If time permits, add pushpins to your map for the three largest and three tallest dams of the world, save
your map, and share your map.
(4) Investigating Cities Along Rivers
At ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com) click on “map.” Change the basemap to Topographic. Find the
following rivers: The Amazon, the Nile, the Yangtze, and the Volga. What major cities are along each
river?
Change the basemap to imagery and examine urbanization along each river.
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 4 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Using “Add content”, find and add a map of country population. Based on your analysis of cities,
settlement patterns, and population, answer the following questions: Which river has the most people
living adjacent to it (i.e. within approximately 20 kilometers). How does population pressure influence
water quality along each river?
Zoom into the following cities: Manaus, on the Amazon, Cairo, on the Nile, Shanghai, on the Yangtze,
and Balakovo, on the Volga. Change the basemap to imagery. How did the river influence the original
location of each city? How has each city evolved over time? How does the river affect current day land
use patterns? Which city’s river contains the most sediment, according to the satellite imagery? How is
visual sediment a good indicator of water quality? How is visual sediment limited in terms of what it can
tell us about water quality?
Use ArcGIS Online to examine topographic and image maps of your own community. What rivers and
streams are important to your community? Did rivers affect why your community was originally
founded? Did rivers affect how your community grew and developed? Does your community take steps
to protect the riverbanks as parks or open space? What other land use is along the rivers in your
community?
(5) Investigating Watersheds
At ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com), click on “map.” Find and add the map “EPA Watershed Boundaries
NAD 83”. Expand the map layer to see the hierarchy of watershed details. Note the nesting process:
Subwatersheds nest within watersheds, watersheds nest within subbasins, and so on. What is the
finest, most detailed watershed unit called? What is the largest watershed unit called?
The finer detailed watershed units do not draw until you zoom in to certain map scales. Enable the
popups for each of these watershed units and complete the following:
In what region is Denver, Colorado?
In what subbasin is Ames, Iowa?
In what watershed is your own community?
Be sure that topographic is your basemap. Rivers are one of the features in this basemap. Examine the
relationship of rivers to watershed boundaries. What is the relationship between rivers and
watersheds?
Some watershed region boundaries are prominent ridges and mountain ranges. Name two ridges or
mountain ranges that are also watershed boundaries. Give the location of these ridges (state, area
within the state, and nearby cities), and the regions that they divide.
Find the continental divide that divides the drainage of the Atlantic Ocean and the drainage of the
Pacific Ocean. Follow it from Montana to New Mexico. Is the continental divide also a watershed
boundary? How did you determine your answer?
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 5 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Other watershed boundaries are more subtle on the landscape, and may not even be noticeable if you
were walking across the landscape in that area. Give the location of two of these “subtle” types of
watershed boundaries (state and area within the state, and nearby cities), and the watersheds that they
divide.
(6) Investigating Flood Zones
At ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com), click on “map.”
Using the Add button, add “FEMA 100 Year Flood Zones in the USA”. Do some research on a “100 year
flood zone.” What is meant by the term “100 year flood”?
At the USA scale, examining the counties, what do the 2 different colors of the counties indicate?
Find and zoom to North Platte,
NE. What two rivers meet at
North Platte? What part(s) of
town is most prone to
flooding?
Expand the data layers and
turn off the “counties with
flood data available” layer, as
shown below.
Zoom out until you see flood data adjacent to areas with no flood data, such as in the map pictured
above.
Describe how much of the land surface of western Nebraska is covered by the 100 year flood
zone. Does it surprise you? Why or why not?
At the same scale, pan to eastern Nebraska and examine the area near to and south of Omaha.
Compare the amount of terrain covered by the 100 year flood zone to western Nebraska. Are
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 6 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
you upstream or downstream from western Nebraska? Why do the two parts of Nebraska that
you have examined have different amounts of terrain covered by the 100 year flood zone?
Using the Search box in the upper right of the map, search for Cairo, IL. What two rivers meet at Cairo?
Change the base map to topographic and make it semi-transparent so you can see the streets of Cairo
along with the 100 year flood zone. How much of the town of Cairo is inside the 100 year flood zone?
Why is Cairo so prone to flooding?
Why do you think Cairo never developed into a large city, despite its strategic location?
Follow the Mississippi River upstream on your map to St Louis. What two major rivers flow together just
north of St Louis? Why do you think St Louis developed into a much larger city than Cairo?
Find and zoom to Owensboro, KY. How much of Owensboro, Kentucky is inside the 100 year flood
zone?
How much of your own community is inside the 100 year flood zone?
(7) Investigating Water and Food Production
Examine the resources on the World Water Day site:
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/
Look at the FAQ section and name three reasons why the linkages between water and food production
are important.
At ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com), click on “map.”
Using the Add button, add “USA Croplands 2009”. Examine the legend for this map layer. What does
this layer show?
Describe the pattern of cropland in the USA, naming at least 3 crops and where they are grown.
Name at least 3 reasons why these crops are grown where they are.
Name three regions of the USA where irrigation is required to grow crops. What implications does
irrigation have on the local and regional aquifers? What implications does irrigation and subsequent
crop growth have on the local economy, employment, and settlement? What implications does
irrigation and subsequent crop growth have on the international food market?
Zoom out to the world. Turn off USA croplands and Add the layer “World Bank Agriculture and Rural
Development.” Expand the layer to reveal the layers underneath. Turn on the “Percent land used for
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 7 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Agricultural.” Describe the pattern. Name three factors that influence how much land in a country is
used for agriculture.
Enable the popup for this layer. Can you find any countries where over 67% of the land is used for
agriculture?
Do some research on the relative amount of water needed for agriculture versus other land uses. What
implications does water quantity and quality have on crop production now, and in the future?
Turn off the “Percent land used for Agricultural” layer and turn on the “Percent Arable Land” layer.
Describe the pattern. Name three factors that influence the percent arable land in a country or region.
How does irrigation change the area, amount, and type of crops that can be grown across the world? In
your view, is widespread irrigation of crops sustainable? Why or why not?
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Water is a renewable resource.
Turn off this layer and turn on the “Crop production index”. Note that this data layer is time enabled,
with the time slider bar below the map. Describe how productivity has changed in the following three
countries: India, China, and the USA. Select another country of your own choosing and describe
productivity there.
What affect does global population increase have on the demand for food and for water?
(8) Investigating Wetlands
Do some research on the importance of wetlands. Name three reasons why wetlands provide value and
benefit to the environment and to society.
Do some research on how wetlands were valued and treated during the 18th and 19th Centuries versus
today. How have societal attitudes changed about wetlands?
At ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com), click on “map.” Change the basemap to topographic. In the search
box, enter “Suffolk, VA”. Pan to the southeast of the town of Suffolk to find the Great Dismal Swamp,
the largest wetland on the east coast of the USA.
What two states does the Great Dismal Swamp straddle the border of?
Use the measure tool. How large is the swamp? Give your answer in square miles and in square
kilometers.
Change the basemap to Bing Maps Aerial. Describe the appearance of the swamp.
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 8 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Do some research on the swamp. Name three bird species that the swamp is home to.
What notable American did some of the original surveys in the Great Dismal Swamp?
If time permits, add three pushpins to your Great Dismal Swamp map in three locations in the swamp.
Add text with the results of your research, and add one photo at each pushpin that was taken in the
swamp that illustrates your points. Save and share your map.
Pan the map to the Everglades in southern Florida; the largest wetland in the USA. Measure its area and
compare to the Great Dismal Swamp.
Do some research on the Everglades. What makes it unique? What are its three primary threats to its
preservation and health?
Zoom out, change the basemap to imagery, and examine the cities along the Atlantic coast of Florida
and the cities along the Gulf Coast. Name two ways in which urbanization impacts the Everglades.
If time permits, add three pushpins to your Everglades map in three locations there. Add text with the
results of your research, and add one photo at each pushpin that was taken in the Everglades that
illustrates your points. Save and share your map.
(9) Investigating Local Water Quality
At ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com), use the “Find Maps and applications” and search for “St Louis Water
quality owner:jjkerski”. One resulting map will be the St Louis Water Quality Data Collected by Student.
Note that there are similar titles; make sure you open the one with this title. Open in ArcGIS.com map
viewer. View the legend. it should look like the map below.
This map contains water features, watersheds,
and pH as collected by a student in four
locations along a stream in St Louis, Missouri.
In what direction does the stream on which the
water samples were collected flow? Indicate
the “from direction” and the “to direction”.
Describe the pattern of how the pH changes
along the stream.
Do some research on pH and use your research
to describe the pH that was collected along this
stream in St Louis.
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 9 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Note how the pH is higher at the third point from the west. The student discovered a cement plant
along Black Creek, which flows into Deer Creek just upstream from Point #3. Do some research on
cement manufacturing. Explain how the cement processing plant could affect the pH along Deer Creek
at point #3.
Change the basemap to Bing Maps Aerial. Would you describe this area as rural or urban?
Name three ways in which urban land use affects water quality.
Zoom to each point where pH was collected. Describe the local area where each of the points was
collected. Were any water samples collected at bridges? If so, which ones?
How can local conditions at each location (such as storm drains and weather) affect water quality?
(10) Investigating Weather and Streamflow
At ArcGIS Online, use the “Find Maps and
applications” box in the upper right to find a map.
Find “gages precipitation winds owner:jjkerski”
exactly as written inside the quotes. Specifying an
owner or author of a map is a convenient way to
narrow the search results, and you can use it on your
own content that you author in the future.
Open the resulting map the ArcGIS.com map viewer.
Click on the legend button. The map will appear
similar to the map shown at right.
Turn off all layers except the RIDGE precipitation
Radar. Describe the current precipitation pattern across North America.
Turn the Web map surface analysis and/or the USA wind speed and direction layers on to see the
current wind speed and direction. These 2 layers have different ways of portraying the same data.
Which do you find most useful, and why?
Describe the pattern of current wind speed and direction across North America.
Describe the pattern of current wind speed and direction related to precipitation events occurring right
now.
Go outside and determine the sky conditions and speed and direction of the wind. Does it match the
map you have been examining?
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 10 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Based on the map you have been examining, what do you predict the weather will be like tomorrow?
Do some research on air flow around high and low pressure systems. Which direction do winds flow
around a High pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere—clockwise or counterclockwise?
Which direction do winds flow around a Low pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere—clockwise
or counterclockwise?
Knowing that you are examining areas in the Northern Hemisphere, determine the location of at least
one high pressure system and at least one low pressure system.
Turn on the temperature layer. Are these values in degrees F or degrees C?
Describe the current temperature pattern across the continental USA. What is the highest temperature
currently and where is it located?
What is the lowest temperature currently and where is it located?
What is the current temperature listed for your community?
Based on the precipitation and temperature pattern that you see, can you determine the possible
location of any warm or cold fronts in the USA at this time? Where are they located?
Find a weather map online showing fronts and pressure systems. Does this map confirm your answer to
the previous question?
Turn on the USGS Stream Gages and weather stations. Zoom to an area where the current precipitation
is severe. What do you predict the height of the water will be in streams in this area? Click on one of
the gaging stations and examine the stream height. Some gaging stations have a “more information”
link that places you on the website for the real-time hydrograph for the gaging station at that location.
Are the streams in this area flowing higher due to the rainfall currently falling?
Other factors are important in influencing the amount of water flowing at any given time in a river. For
example, in the mountains of Colorado, streamflow is typically highest in May and June, when mountain
snows are melting, and the meltwater finds its way into nearby rivers. Therefore the streamflow in
these rivers is more dependent on the snowpack from the previous winter than the current weather.
Name at least 2 other factors that influence how much a stream is flowing at any particular time.
Would you expect a river to be higher near its headwaters or near its mouth? Compare the gauge
height of a point on the Mississippi River near St Paul, Minnesota, versus that on a gaging station at St
Louis, and then at Baton Rouge. Do your results confirm your hypothesis above?
10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 11 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com
Synthesis
Name three things you have learned about water through any of the above investigations.
Name three things you have learned about GIS through any of the above investigations.
How has the spatial perspective about water influenced your understanding of it?
If time permits, use the presentation mode in ArcGIS Explorer Online to create a presentation of your
own choosing where you explain what you have learned about a specific aspect about water. Give your
presentation to your peers, save it, and share it with others.
Additional Exploration
You have explored many aspects of water from a spatial perspective, but much more could be done.
Write your own question about water, investigate it, and answer it!

10 Ways to Teach and Learn About Water Using ArcGIS Online - Page 12 of 12
Author: Joseph J. Kerski – [email protected]
Copyright © 2012, Esri. http://edcommunity.esri.com