When you look at a mountain, or a valley, do you wonder how it got there?
A farm is nestled at the base of beautiful mountains. These mountains are volcanoes.
When you look at a map of the world, have you ever noticed how the continents look as though they could almost fit together like a puzzle?
Earth is very old – over 4.5 billion years old. And the land on our planet is constantly moving and changing. It’s happening right NOW!
It’s weird to think about, right? I mean, we know about the water cycle, so we know water on Earth is moving and changing. And we know about wind and changing weather, so we know there’s lots going on in the atmosphere. Plants and animals are growing and moving. That’s no surprise. But sometimes we don’t think about how the very ground beneath us is also moving and changing.
Being the good scientific thinkers you are, I know you’re saying, “WHAT?!? That sounds a little CRAZY! What’s your EVIDENCE?” So, recently I traveled to the country of Iceland to gather some photographic evidence for you.
Ms. Christie-Blick climbing mountains in Iceland. They are all volcanoes in this picture. These have been dormant a long time. The “ground” you see is volcanic ash.
Iceland has many mountains because it sits between two continental plates. Since it is right at the edge of two plates, the ground here moves A LOT. This movement causes friction, which creates heat, melting rock underground.
Can you find the country of Iceland? Part of the country is on the North American Plate, and part of it is on the Eurasian Plate. It’s on the boundary of both plates.
Look for the “You Are Here” star on the map, showing that Iceland is at the two plate boundaries.
The underground natural heating creates some weird and wonderful phenomenon around Iceland, like mud pots….
and geysers.
The liquid rock under Iceland, called magma, sometimes breaks through the surface of the earth. We call this a volcano.
When it erupts, the liquid rock from under the earth pours onto the top of the earth and creates more land. As the lava cools, it mounds up higher and higher and can become a very tall mountain, or it can spread out.
Ms. Christie-Blick walks across cooled lava, which has spread across the land for many miles in all directions.
I saw many different types of volcanic landscapes in Iceland – beautiful and fascinating! In some areas, the land was still very hot. I had to watch out where I stepped.
Other areas had cool ground but their tumultuous history left behind magnificent scenery.
Ms. Christie-Blick inside the caldera of a volcano. It’s been dormant for a long time, and has filled up with rain water. (Chirpy is in the backpack.)
Chirpy sitting on waves of lava that have cooled into rock.
Lava poured out of a volcano and hardened into rock. Years later, an earthquake cracked it open. It filled with rain water and melted snow. Now people throw in coins and make a wish while picnicking at this beautiful spot!
Seismologists, scientists who study earthquakes, know that there’s usually some movement of the earth before a volcano erupts. Engineers have built monitors to detect the earth’s movement. Engineers and scientists work together to increase our understanding of the geosphere. Warning systems are in place to tell people when a volcano is about to erupt so they can move away from the area.
A measuring device in the metal box is placed near volcanoes. It’s powered by wind and sun. It sends information about ground movement to scientists’ computers.
When those large blocks of earth, continental plates, move away from each other, they can crack the earth wide open. We call this action of the geosphere an earthquake. Sometimes it creates a small crack in the ground.
An earthquake cracked the ground open. It’s now filled with rain water and melted snow.
Other times, it can create a very deep and wide crack, creating a valley. In the picture below, I’m inside one of those cracks caused by an earthquake, looking at what the inside of the earth looks like.
Ms. Christie-Blick inside the earth that has cracked open.
While movement of the geosphere can create beautiful landscapes, it also has an impact on the biosphere. People are often affected by the earth’s movement and changes, not only in Iceland, but in areas around the world, especially near areas where two continental plates meet.
On April 25, 2015, a strong earthquake was felt in Nepal, a country north of India. It broke apart buildings and roads. It started an avalanche on Mount Everest. This has had tragic consequences for thousands of people. Over 2000 people have died.
Buildings crumbled during the earthquake in Nepal, destroying property and lives.
The Bardarbunga volcano recently erupted in Iceland. The eruption went on for several months! Lava poured down its sides creating more land, and changing the landscape around it. Any human-made buildings or roads quickly got swallowed up by the lava.
As with Iceland, the Hawaiian Islands were created by volcanoes, and they continue to erupt.
The geosphere is active indeed, constantly changing the shape of the land and the lives of the people who live nearby.
Amazing! I never knew how interesting volcanoes really are! It’s really hard to believe that the magma is really melted rock. you could see really well on the last video, when it showed the flowing magma. So cool! 😀
I learned that lava can spread far and fast also i learned that there can be lots of fire and lots of magma 🙂
i learned that guisers are really hot water
We learned that there are things called mud pots. We also learned earthquakes can be very tiny, instead of being super big.
I never new that the lava after it erupts it creats more land. WOW
I never new that their was something called a mud pot. I knew about the hot pot but a mud pot. And also beautiful land and what is an mud pot .very fasenating Mrs.Christie-Blick
look like you had a nice trip.
We learned about volcanoes and the tools used to detect ground movement made by engineers.We also learned that volcanoes take a long time to erupt.Mud pots are very interesting
The Geosphere is fun to learn about but at the same it is dangerous.I learned that the scientist can track volcano before it erupts.
Wow, volcanos are amazing! Now I kind of want to got to Iceland.
I have learned that when volcanoes erupt the liquid rock from under the earth pours onto the top of the earth and creates more land.
We Learned that after lava destroys everything in its path. It tuns into black hardened rock.
I never new that there was such a thing called a hot pot.I also did not know that lava cooled waves into rocks that is amazing! I would really like to go to iceland!
We did not know that over 2000 people died in an earthquake!! Thats crazy!
I learned that lava will take over any thing in its way. I also learned that the lava hardens on the top but, on the bottom is still warm and hot with lava still burning.
Wow! I can’t believe how old the earth is! It’s so amazing how the waves of lava have dried and are now solid rocks, and it’s so interesting how the crater filled with rainwater and is now a pond.
I learned that if you touch hot lava you will immediately turn into ash
Iceland is amazing to learn about! Its amazing how wonderful volcanos look! The video about the volcano ruining the farm that we watched in class was fun to watch and helped me learn more about iceland and volcanos! I love learning about Iceland and hope to learn more about Iceland in the next few weeks.
i know that the earth is always moving and changing but i did not know that it was moving in so many ways like that a volcano can make more land and can wash away roads and man made things
I learned that lava poured on rocks and that made rocks combine together. But then an earthquake caused so now they are not combined together they are separate and that it is now a river or a lake.
I never knew what the earthquake monitors looked like. It looks very complicated.Its amazing to think about how the ground could be solid rock,and then and earthquake happens and it splits apart. And now it’s a beautiful pond for people to picnic at. It’s also very interesting to watch the guizer shoot out from the ground.
Wow that was amazing! I never knew that a drone could fly so close to a volcano. My grandparents youst to live in Hawaii, I wonder if they know about any other volcanos in Hawaii.
Learning about Iceland is fascinating. We knew the Earth is always moving and changing, but we did not know it does so in so many ways. For example, volcanoes in Iceland create more land.
We new new that nepal had that big of an earthquake. Also we never new that volcanoes can turn into ponds and valleys!
We learned about how Iceland is on two different plates. Also, most of the mountains in Iceland are volcanos.
We think that it is cool that scientists have made devices to warn people of natural disasters. We also think that the mud pots are also very cool.
We learned that geoshere can be very beautiful,but it also can be very dangerous.Such as earthquakes because many people died from it.