Have you ever wondered what makes a mountain different from a volcano? Let’s dive into this exciting topic and find out!
First, let’s talk about mountains and hills. Sometimes, what looks like a mountain to one person might just be a hill to someone else. For example, in Northern Illinois, which is very flat, even a small hill can seem like a mountain. But did you know that some hills are actually made of garbage? That’s right! They are called landfills.
Now, here’s a cool question: Can a mountain turn into a volcano? To answer this, let’s look at a real-life story from Heimay, a small island near Iceland. This island is actually a mountain, but most of it is underwater. In 1973, something amazing happened. A crack appeared on the island, and lava started flowing out! The people living there had to leave for safety. The eruption lasted for six months, and when it was over, the island had grown bigger because of the new volcanic rock called basalt.
Did you know that many mountains in places like California, Oregon, and Washington are actually volcanoes? For example, Mount Lassen erupted in 1915, and Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. Even Mount Rainier and Mount Hood are volcanoes! But not every mountain is a volcano. So, how can we tell if a mountain is a volcano?
To find out if a mountain is a volcano, we can look for clues. One clue is the type of rock the mountain is made of. Volcanic rocks, like basalt, are dark and tough. They sometimes have little holes from air bubbles when the rock was still lava. If you find volcanic rock, there’s a chance the mountain might be a volcano.
Not every mountain is made of volcanic rock. For example, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado are made of sand and pebbles, and Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, has rocks with fossils from the ocean floor. These mountains are not volcanoes.
Some mountains were volcanoes a long time ago but are now extinct. This means they erupted in the past but are unlikely to erupt again. For instance, the Saint Francois Mountains in Missouri and some hills in Virginia have volcanic rock, even though they are far from any active volcanoes.
So, while not every mountain is a volcano, many are, and some are extinct volcanoes. You can discover more by looking for volcanic rock. Keep exploring and stay curious about the world around you!
Thanks for joining this adventure into the world of mountains and volcanoes. There are always new mysteries to uncover, so keep asking questions and learning!
Volcanic Rock Hunt: Go on a mini adventure in your backyard or a nearby park with an adult. Look for rocks and try to identify if any of them might be volcanic rocks. Remember, volcanic rocks like basalt are usually dark and may have little holes from air bubbles. Take a magnifying glass to examine the rocks closely. Can you find any rocks that look like they might have come from a volcano?
Create Your Own Volcano: With the help of an adult, create a simple volcano model using baking soda and vinegar. Use clay or playdough to shape a mountain around a small container. Add baking soda inside the container, and then pour vinegar to watch your volcano “erupt.” Discuss what happens during a real volcanic eruption and how it might change the shape of a mountain.
Volcano Detective: Imagine you are a detective trying to find out if a mountain is a volcano. What clues would you look for? Write down or draw three clues that might help you decide if a mountain is a volcano. Share your findings with a friend or family member and see if they can think of any other clues.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone ringing) – Hi, it’s Doug. What counts as a mountain? Would you call this a mountain or just a hill? For me, growing up, I thought of this as a mountain, but that’s probably because I grew up in Northern Illinois, one of the flattest places in the world. This hill, I guess, is one of the tallest things around. It turns out the only reason it’s there is because it’s an old landfill. It’s a hill made out of garbage.
Someone named Sophia has a question about actual mountains. Let’s give her a call now. (phone ringing) – Hi Doug. – Hi Sophia. – I have a question for you. Could a mountain turn into a volcano? – Oh, that’s a great question. Could a mountain turn into a volcano? If you’re thinking no way, here’s a true story that might change your mind. Heimay is a little island just off the coast of Iceland. A few thousand people live there and call it home. The island of Heimay is actually a mountain. If you were to sail up close to it, it may look more like a hill from the side. But when you include all the parts of it that are under the ocean, you can see that the parts sticking out of the water are the top of the mountain.
One day, in the year 1973, the people living on Heimay got the surprise of their lives. A crack had formed on one side of the island, and lava was spurting out. The residents of the island were evacuated to safety on nearby Iceland. The eruption lasted for nearly six months. Finally, the lava cooled off and became solid rock—volcanic rock called basalt. The island of Heimay had gotten bigger. So it seems like here’s a case where a mountain did turn into a volcano, at least for a few months.
Now, to be fair, I didn’t tell you much about the original part of Heimay, the part people had been living on. It’s made of basalt too. Technically, Heimay had always been a volcano; it just hadn’t erupted in a very long time. And so the people of Heimay were a little surprised. But it does make you wonder: could any old mountain suddenly turn into a volcano and start erupting lava?
I live in California, just a few hours south of Oregon and Washington. Anytime I drive around in these places, I’m always amazed at how many of the mountains here are actually volcanoes. Quiet, peaceful Mount Lassen in Northern California? It erupted 100 years ago back in 1915. Beautiful Mount St. Helens in Washington? It blew off half its top back in 1980, and it’s the same thing for so many other mountains in this area. Mount Rainier, which towers above Seattle? It’s a volcano. Mount Hood in Oregon? Volcano. Even little mountains like Black Butte along the side of the road in Northern California—it’s a volcano!
When you see so many mountains that are volcanoes, it gets tempting to think, well, is every mountain a volcano? How do we even find out? Would you just have to wait for it to erupt lava to find out? But surely not. Let’s say there’s a mountain near where you live. How could you find out if it’s a volcano? What are some clues you could look for?
Okay, you ready? You might have had different ideas. Maybe you thought to feel it, see if it feels hot. Here’s another possibility: look at what kind of rock the mountain is made of. If it’s volcanic rock, then there’s at least some chance that the mountain might have the ability to erupt lava. You can get good at learning what volcanic rock looks like. I mentioned basalt earlier; it’s one of the most common kinds of rocks that volcanoes are made of. It’s always dark in color and really tough. This is rock that doesn’t crumble easily. Some basalt even has little holes in it, like this. Those are air bubbles from when it was still lava.
If you go out and look at what kind of rock different mountains are made of, you’ll discover for yourself that not all mountains are made of volcanic rock. For example, check out the red rocks of Colorado’s Front Range, the east edge of the Rocky Mountains. They’re made of reddish-colored sand and bits of pebbles that formed along the bottom of a river. Or even Mount Everest in Asia, the tallest mountain in the world. Now, if there’s any mountain that might be a huge volcano, it’s tempting to think this has to be it. But climbers who’ve made it to the top can tell you that a lot of the rock up there contains fossils of animals that lived along the bottom of the ocean. Up on top of Mount Everest, there’s rock made of sand, pebbles, coral even. There’s no volcanic rock at all. Mount Everest has never erupted, and there’s no reason to think it ever would. It’s not volcanic.
Still, you might be surprised to find some mountains made of volcanic rock even if you live somewhere that’s not known for having volcanoes. Like in Missouri, for example. Thousands of miles from any famous volcanoes are the Saint Francois Mountains. The tallest peak, called Taum Sauk, was a volcano that spewed out lava, which cooled off and became volcanic rock. Or in Virginia, there are two small mountains—maybe we should just call these hills. But both of them are made of basalt. Where did that come from?
Not every volcano is an active volcano. All of these examples are extinct volcanoes—volcanoes that erupted a very long time ago and left behind volcanic rock, but which haven’t erupted since, and scientists think are really unlikely to erupt again. So in summary, most mountains won’t just erupt lava out of nowhere. If they do, it’s usually because there have been eruptions in the past. While not every mountain is a volcano, a lot of them are—sometimes extinct volcanoes of the past. You can look for clues by searching for volcanic rock.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Sophia, for asking it. Now for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and picked out three questions sent in to us that I’m thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from: how is steel made? Why does moss grow on rocks and trees? Or, who created the constellations? So submit your vote when the video’s over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you next week.
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