Describing geological maps?

Question

i have to compare a topographical map,a geological map and the image from google earth of a specific area and describe the land use changes..i'm a beginner at these things and i really need help..can someone enlighten me on the key things that i have to do?

Answer 1

Topo maps tell you elevation, geo maps tell you rock type and google images tell you true life.

Some suggestion I can give is to look at the vegetation on the google image and compare it to the geo/topo.  Maybe you'll find certain plants like certain rocks or elevations (you also may find out the same about human activity, like mining or construction building).  A topo map will also show river streams (and dry beds as well).  You should be able to follow that on a google image.  Compare topo and geo maps too.  Sometimes elevation and rock type work together.

On your google image, also be sure to look for straight lines (or a smooth arc).  Nature is normally messy, so geometric shapes tend to indicate some sort of human activity.  

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to simply try and find patterns between the maps.  Either between all 3 or between 2 of them.

Hope this helps some.  If you get really stuck, I also recommend asking your professor (or if you're doing this for a job, then ask a collegue).  They're there to help, otherwise there's no point for you to do the activity if you don't really learn anything.  :-)