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.
I learned that Seismologists scientists study earthquakes and know if a earthquake is going to happen even if it happened yet
It was incredible how that magnitude 7.8 earthquake made cracks in the road and even made an avalanche on Mount Everest. It makes me wonder how destructive can a earthquake be.
I have learned that in Iceland there is hot ground and many volcanos and hot springs
and near China there was an earthquake that is beleiving that 1000 are dead. People are devestated and are to afraid to sleep indoors because they are afraid an earthquake might strike again. The earthquake has caused avalanches and 10 people are dead because of that. It also caused a temple/touriest attraction to fall to peoples doom.
I had no idea that so many people suffered in the news video. This slide was fasinating! I liked the mud pot video. It gave me a better understanding about how everything works. The scientist thing with the titonic plates was pretty cool. It felt cool to be treated like a scientist. I liked it when chirpy was showing us the flowing rippled rocks. The left behind ‘nice scenery’ was pretty awesome how you got on that rock. I guess chirpy chickened out. Too much water!
wow! It is hard to believe that the world is moving and shifting as we speak. I did not know that iceland has all of its mountains because its in the middle of two continental plates
The pictures were really cool. I did not know that earthquakes could be that violent and destructive.
It is crazy how much distruction an earthquake can cause
I never new that under ground the land still moves from the plates, I thought it stayed the same.
It is very cool how the grounds natural heat creates something like mud pots.
I learned that geysers are so fun to watch. It is really cool to be that close to hot water. I learned that the water is only hot underground when it bursts it is no longer hot. 😂
These photos made me realize how much tectonic plates affect the lives of people. For example, because of an earthquake in Nepal, Mt. Everest had an avalanche, killing more than 2,000 people. Also, the Bardarbunga volcano eruption devoured the things around it. The picture was very dramatic. I also learned that volcanoes can erupt for months.
I learned a ton of incredible facts about the geosphere. Some things I learned by watching all these videos and observing all these pictures is a whole lot of the geosphere is in iceland. Also earthquakes can really damage not just your home but your own self.
The mud pots are very interesting! I had no idea that there were mud pots! I learned that mud pots are like hot pools.
Wow, I didn’t know that the Geosphere moved and changed this much! I also didn’t know that Mud Pots existed. Iceland is an interesting place when it comes to the Geosphere! I learned new things and saw many reviewers.
I think it is really cool that all the continents can almost fit together. Also if the volcanoes erupt that are surounding the farm won’t that melt the barn.
One fact I learned is that Volcanoes can dry up and become pools of water or it can become very cool rocks.
i never knew that the hotpools acully are deep and sometimes they can be just bubbling
we did’t know that there was so much rivers in iceland
Cool! I learned way more stuff about volcanos. I had no idea it was melted rock. I thought it was just a thing you could find deep in the earth. I also learned a lot about earthquakes. I learned from the earthquake in Nepal that they can be way more violent than I thought.
These photos and pictures are really cool. When I was reading the text and watching the videos I learned about the earthquake in Nepal. It was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and killed over 2,000 people!
I learned that if you touch the lava you’ll burn to ash.
I had know clue that a volcano could erupt for multiple days!!:o
I learned that there are meany eruptions that happen in island.
All the valcanos are so beutiful.
I learned that you can go in to a volcano after it erupted after many years
I learned that when the lava erupts it makes more land. WOW
sweet I like how the volcanos erupet I learned that Mud pits are rearly hot and that hawi got attaked by a volcao its very intersted that a drone flimed a volcano