How Far Will Your Monarch Travel?

Measure the distance between your home town and the over-wintering sites in Mexico. The sites are all within 100 km west of Mexico City (19N, -100W), as shown on these maps.


Try This! Journaling Questions

  • How many miles (and/or kilometers) will your butterfly travel? After measuring the distance on your map, check your answer with the Online Distance Calculator.
  • What places will your butterfly cross on its way to Mexico?
  • What does the monarch need along the route?
  • Write a short story about your butterfly's journey south, from a monarch's perspective.

National Geography Standards

The World in Spatial Terms
How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.

National Math Standards

Geometry
Specify locations and describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry and other representational systems.