Exploring the Geology of Our National Parks

Harding Middle School
Grade 7
Ms. Thompson / Ms. Musal

National Parks contain a variety of resources and enough land or water to ensure sufficient protection of these resources. As you explore Earth, you will be learning about interactions of the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere and will use the national parks formed by such processes as examples of these interactions. For your project, each student will select a park to research. Listed here are some starting points for research in the library and on the Internet.

Assignment Handout: (MS Word.doc 77K) | (PDF 168K)

Web Sites

The National Park Service PARKNET. Click on Visit Your Parks to find a Park by name or other criteria. 

Park Geology Tour - Geologic Features from the NPS Geological Resources Division. Use this page to identify specific parks where a geologic feature is found. Click on the identified park to find field notes about the geologic feature.

American Park Network is the publisher of park visitors' guides. The online guide to soem parks includes a geology section.

Mapping the National Parks from the Library of Congress American Memory. Documents the history, cultural aspects, and geological formations of four areas that eventually became National Parks: Acadia, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone.  

US National Parks from GORP(Great Outdoor Recreation Pages)

Image Gallery for Geology. Good examples of the geologic phenomena found in our National Parks, although the photographs are from a wider area.

Grand Canyon | Big Bend | Bryce Canyon | Lassen | Yellowstone

Other electronic resources

Research Databases
(Outside the Library OPLIN databases require an Ohio public library card for access.)

Books and videos

  • Pages of Stone: Geology of Western National Parks and Monuments by Halka Chronic

    • Main Adult 557.3-223
  • The Geologic Story of the National Parks and Monuments, 4th ed., by David V. Harris and Eugene P. Kiver

    • Main Adult 557.3-4531
  • There are several books on the national parks in the juvenile and adult travel sections, including: 
    •
    • Our National Parks: America's Spectacular Wilderness Heritage (Reader's Digest)

      • Main Adult 917.3-7086
    • US National Parks East (Insight Guides)

      • Main Adult 917.3-US
    • National Park Guide by Michael Frome

      • Main Adult 917.3-Frome
  • Also, search the Library's catalog for books about specific parks and specific geological features, e.g., volcanoes.
  • Check the Travel Pamphlet File by state.
  • Videos:
    • Kids Explore America's National Parks

      • Main and Madison Juvenile: jVIDEO 917.3
    • Touring America's National Parks

      • Main AV VIDEO 917.3
Lakewood Middle School Pathfinders