After conducting the activities which introduce them to the phases of the water cycle, students will now apply what they have learned by looking at data from the Olympic Peninsula to see how the water cycle occurs there.
1. Students will be directed to view a National Weather Service precipitation map (http://www.ocs.orst.edu/pub/maps/Precipitation/Total/States/WA/wa.gif) for Washington state.
Which areas get the greatest amount of rain? How much?
Which areas get the least amount of rain? How much?
Why is there such a difference?
2. Students will then be directed to a precipitation map of a relatively dry area of the Olympic Peninsula. The area is near a town called Sequim, which is pronounced "skwim." (http://www.sequim.com/maps/rainfall.html) Students will investigate present and monthly rainfall and calculate the likelihood of rain using archived data (http://www.sequim.com/cgi-bin/weatherstation).
3. Students will collect information on Forks, a town on the West coast of the Olympic Peninsula (http://www.atmos.washington.edu/cgi-bin/forecast_obs). They will be asked if they think it is raining in the Forks area right now. Students will compare the differences in precipitation between Forks and Sequim.
4. Students will then be directed to study a relief map showing the topography of the Olympic Peninsula (http://www.olympus.net/travel/peninsula.html).