Junior Ranger: Exploring Sounds on the Lakeshore

Mapping your soundscape

A soundscape is the natural and human-made sounds in an area. Along the lakeshore the landscape can vary from water to beach to pine-covered hillside. The soundscape is full of interesting sounds, such as the tumbling crash of rocks falling, the tweeting of birds, the high whine of a jet ski engine, or the slow rumble of cars along the highway.

How do human sounds impact animals living here? A natural soundscape is made up of all the sounds found in an area. These sounds are important for ecosystems, the web of living and non-living things in a place, to work properly. For example, some animals rely on using sounds to hunt their prey. If human sounds interrupt an animal trying to hunt, it might make hunting harder. Some sounds could make it more difficult for animals to find each other.

Lets create a soundscape map!

1. Find a way to record what you hear: Grab a blank piece of paper & a pencil or have someone else write things down; create a map of the sounds around you with modeling clay, or you could even make a mental map inside your head.
2. Find a place to sit outside. Look for a place that's not closed in by walls.
3. Sit still and listen to the sounds around you. You could even use the sound recorder on a phone or computer to save the sounds you hear and listen to them later.
4. Mark an X in the middle of your sound map to show where you are sitting. As you hear a new sound, draw a picture or create a shape on your map to show where that sound is coming from. Do this for 5 minutes.
5. Make a list of natural sounds and a list of man-made sounds from your map. Think about the sounds you noticed and how they might interact with each other. Which sounds are louder? What about softer sounds?
6. How many different sounds did you hear? Was it hard to hear the natural sounds? Could you hear animals? How difficult would it be for animals to find each other if other man-made sounds were too loud? What was your favorite sound? If that sound were a color, what would it be? If that sound were part of a song, what would it sound like?

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Listen to a red-tailed hawk from Cabrillo National Monument and a creek bubbling its way down into the Grand Canyon.

• Red-tailed Hawk

  
  

  Audio file for the Red-tailed Hawk courtesy through Xeno-Canto.org

  Credit / Author:

  Xeno-Canto.org

  Audio Transcript

  This raptor does not sing, but its hoarse, screaming kee-eeeee-arr cry is one of the most iconic when it comes to films and the American West. Almost every time any bird-of-prey is depicted, filmmakers use the Red-tailed Hawk’s cry.

• Grand Canyon Natural Sound: Hance Creek

  
  

  Recording of Hance Creek, flowing within the Vishnu schist above the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
  Audio Transcript

  The sound of water flowing in a small creek deep within the granite and schist walls of Grand Canyon.

Sounds Explorer Junior Ranger

Become a Sounds Explorer Junior Ranger! Explore sounds you hear in the outdoors.
Learn the science of sound and why sound is important to parks. Protect sounds you hear in parks and at home.
Check out the activity book here.

Return to the main Junior Ranger page