| Geophyscial Cycles
The surface of the earth does not hold still. Continents and islands
have been coming together, splitting apart, folding, sinking, rising,
and rotating for millions of years. They are propelled by forces deep
within the earth.
In recent years, the ability of satellites to send back photographs of
the entire surface of the earth has greatly enabled geologists and other
scientists to learn more about the geophysical cycles that form our planet.
Sample some of the following activities to learn more about geophysical
cycles.
Places To Go | People
To See | Things To Do | Teacher
Resources | Bibliography
Places To Go
The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find out
about geophysical cycles.
 Plate
Tectonics
There are 7 major tectonic plates on the earth. Each one of them is more
than 1,000 miles wide. Visit them virtually. Each large plate touches
3 or more other plates. None can move without affecting all of the others.
Plate movements are responsible for most of the earth's volcanoes, earthquakes,
high mountain ranges, and deep ocean trenches--all of these are found
along plate boundaries or former boundaries. Scientists don't agree on
how many smaller plates exist. Some of the smaller plates are less than
100 miles wide and may be difficult to detect. However, they think that
there may be about 20 total plates.
The
Formation of Pangaea: The Making of a Supercontinent
Visit Pangaea. At Pangaea, you can step right from Brazil into Africa.
The
Great New Madrid Earthquakes
Most earthquakes are caused by the movement of the earth's plates along
faults. Travel to New Madrid, Missouri to learn about a series of some
of the most destructive earthquakes ever recorded in North America that
occurred in 1811 and 1812. Five of them are estimated to have measured
at least 8.0 on the Richter scale. The largest of the earthquakes were
felt over two-thirds of the United States and parts of Canada. They were
so powerful that the Mississippi River actually flowed backwards for a
time, and in some areas around New Madrid, the ground shifted as much
as 20 feet!
USGS Earthquake Information
Visit the San Andreas Fault. Do you know where the Wasatch Fault is in
Utah? Find out the latest places where those plates are moving and those
faults are shifting. From this
part of the USGS site, scroll down to find the map of the world that
shows current earthquake activity. Run your cursor over the hot spots
on the map to see the actual location of the quake and then click on the
spots to find out further information.
 Cave
Formation
Virtually visit a cave and discover the geological processes that form
them.
The
Earth - Enchanted Learning
Visit the crust, the mantle, and the core of the earth. The crust is the
thin outer layer which is kind of like the skin of the earth. On the average,
the crust is only about 6 miles thick. There are 2 kinds of crust --oceanic
and continental. Continental crust is older and thicker than oceanic crust.
The mantle right below the crust is about 1800 miles thick and is made
of extremely hot rock that is mostly melted and bubbles around like really
thick molasses. The mantle has 3 layers. The core is even hotter. It is
made of metal and is thought to be liquid on the outside and solid inside.
 Volcanoes
on Other Planets
Earth is not the only planet with volcanoes! Virtually travel to Mars
and check out Olympus Mons which is the highest volcano in the solar system.
It's about 16.5 miles high which is more than four times as high as Mount
Kilimanjaro, the highest volcano on earth.
Cascades
Volcano Observatory
Travel to the Cascades Volcano Observatory to find out about Mount St.
Helens.
Museum
of the City of San Francisco
Travel back in time to San Francisco in 1906. Find out about the famous
earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco. Read eyewitness accounts,
see actual photographs, newspaper clippings, and more.
Mid-Atlantic
Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a line of volcanic mountains that runs along
the rift (A rift is a place where the earth's crust is spreading open
and new crust is forming. It is different than a fault.) between the American
and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is the longest and tallest mountain range
in the world.
 Inside
the Earth
Travel to the center of the earth. It's hot there. The temperature is
thought to be about 7500 degrees Kelvin which is hotter than the surface
of the sun!
Krakatoa
You can't really visit Krakatoa any more--because it no longer exists.
It was an island between Java and Sumatra. The Krakatoa volcano erupted
in 1883 and blew the island apart. The tidal wave or tsunami that the
explosion generated killed 35,000 people in nearby islands. Find out what
other effects that this huge explosion had on the rest of the world.
People To See
United
States Geological Survey - Ask-A-Geologist
Geologists are scientists who study the earth. Ask them about plate tectonics.
 Ask-A-Geologist
Ask a geologist about the Ring of Fire. This site encourages questions
from students.
Charles
Richter
Get to know Charles Richter. He is responsible for the Richter Scale that
measures the size and magnitude of an earthquake.
Ask a Volcanologist
You can ask your questions about plate tectonics and how they relate to
volcanoes to the experts at Volcano World.
Alfred Wegener
Meet Alfred Wegener. He was the first to suggest that all the continents
had once been one big continent. He concluded this because he found traces
of tropical ferns in the Arctic. Find out more about Wegener.
 Vulcan
Chat with Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. According to the ancient Romans,
Vulcan caused volcanoes. He lived beneath Mt. Etna which is a large volcano
on the island of Sicily. (Vulcan was also the one who made thunderbolts
for Jupiter). Besides volcanoes, Vulcan also caused forest fires. Because
of his destructive nature, most of his temples were built outside of towns
Ask a Scientist
Send questions to scientists, technologists, or mathematicians at the
Science & Technology Awareness Network.
Zvi Har’El’s Jules Verne Collection
Visit with Jules Verne. He kind of travelled to the center of the earth
in 1864. One of the things that he discovered on the "way down" was a
forest of giant mushrooms. (By the way, the total distance from the surface
of the earth to its center is 3,958 miles).
Things To Do
 USGS : This Dynamic Earth
Plate tectonic processes cause volcanoes, earthquakes, and the formation
of new land.
Plate
Tectonics
Plate tectonics explain why evidence of past glaciers can be found in
deserts and why fossils of marine animals can be found in rocks far from
the ocean. Find out more.
All
About Plate Tectonics: Earth's Plates and Continental Drift
Investigate continental drift.
 Volcanoes
Online
Explore plate tectonics from this ThinkQuest Junior site. You can also
play a game where you save a hapless village from a volcano by correctly
answer earth science questions.
 Tushar
Mountains
Learn about Utah mountains. Mountain building is an active and ongoing
process, and mountains are continuously being formed and worn down--even
today! Geologists think that the oldest mountain range is probably the
Barberton mountains of South Africa. We have a lot of mountains in Utah--the Abajo
Mountains, La
Sal Mountains, Pine
Valley Mountains, the Uintah
Mountains, and many more.
The
ABC's of Plate Tectonics
Find out what happens when continents collide. In some places which are
called divergence zones, the plates are pulling apart. In some places
called convergence zones, the plates are pushing against each other. When
plates push against each other, the crust either crumples up or else one
plate is forced down partially into the mantle of the earth. There are
also places on the earth where plates simply slide past each other as
they move or drift.
 Volcano World Earth Science Lessons
Check out the excellent lesson activities from Volcano World about plate
tectonics and the layers of the earth.
Ring
of Fire
Check out the Ring of Fire. From this graphic,
you can see how this ring is near the plate boundaries.
 Volcanoes.Com
Find out about the active volcanoes in the world.
EarthForce
"If you have ever felt the rumble of an earthquake or seen the eruption
of a volcano, you've witnessed earthforce. For scientists, the word force
is defined as a push or pull that causes a change in motion. Earthforce,
then, is the pushing and pulling in the core, crust, or water of the Earth
that causes motion like eruptions, quakes, or floods." Find out more.
University of Utah
Seismographic Stations
Find out about Utah's earthquake threat and Utah's active faults.
Teacher Resources
Online activities are a listing of internet
sites with fun, interesting, and educational tasks attached to each one.
(You can learn how to use this WWW
Activities tool created by UEN for Utah educators).
Virtual Field Trips are teacher and student-created
tours of curricular topics. (You can learn how to use this UEN Virtual
Field Trip tool created by UEN for Utah educators).
Lesson Plan/Webquests/
Bibliography
- Clark, John Owen Edward. Earthquakes to Volcanoes. New York : Gloucester
Press, 1992.
- Drohan, Michele Ingber. Earthquakes. New York : PowerKids Press, c1999.
- Farndon, John. How the Earth Works. Readers Digest : Pleasantville,
New York, 1992.
- Green, Jen. Volcanoes. Brookfield, Conn. : Copper Beech Books, 1998.
- Murray, Peter. Earthquakes. Chanhassen, MN : Child's World, c1999.
- Pipes, Rose. Mountains and Volcanoes. Austin, Tex. : Raintree Steck-Vaughn,
c1998.
- Sattler, Helen Roney. Our Patchwork Planet : The Story of Plate Tectonics.
New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1995.
- Silverstein, Alvin. Plate Tectonics. Brookfield, Conn. : Twenty-First
Century Books, 1998
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