Volcanoes, for kids, are explored in all their fiery wonder here, from their hot inner workings to the way they affect lives, the landscape, and the global climate.
What natural occurrence can transform a landscape in minutes and affect the global climate for years? If you answered volcanoes, you’re right! Kids will enjoy getting down to the nitty-gritty with these explosive phenomena, which can blow the tops off mountains and flatten forests, as well as build islands in the space of days. They all disgorge the same hot stuff: tons of molten lava, ash, smoke – and valuable minerals too – whether they erupt on distant planets or moons, under the sea, or in our own backyards (like Mount St. Helens in 1980). First, the inner workings of volcanoes, for kids, are exposed in a section that explains how they form and why they explode, and also details the role played by hot spots and subduction zones.
Then survey some of the most violent volcanic activity throughout history, including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which buried the entire Roman city of Pompeii in ash and turned it into a time capsule. And what about the weird and wonderful side of volcanoes, which includes 12-foot worms that live near underwater volcano vents, a volcano that spews baking soda, and good ol' geysers like Old Faithful? Top it all off with a look at Dante, the volcano-diving robot, and a write-up on the people who study volcanoes. For kids, there is no cooler scientist than a volcanologist!
7 Topics in this unit
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Volcanoes: Active, Dormant, and Extinct
Volcanoes are like sleeping giants. After years, even centuries, of rest, they wake u ...
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An Inside Look at a Volcano
The roots of volcanoes lie 40 to 120 miles inside the Earth in a layer called the mantle.& ...
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How a Volcano Forms
Volcanoes exist because the surface of our Earth is in constant motion.
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Famous Volcanoes
The power of volcanic eruptions is hard to imagine, but let’s try.
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Hot Springs and Other Gifts From Volcanoes
Volcanoes have split personalities. For most of their long lives, they are quiet.
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Volcanic America
Traveling across the United States, you can see many landmarks left by volcanoes. You can ...
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Living with Volcanoes
Once volcanoes begin to erupt, nobody can stop them.
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