A JS reader tries to stump Mapman. Can you?Q: Where are the world's active volcanoes? --from Each S., Butler, Pennsylvania Butler is a city in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,121 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Butler CountyGR6. History The city was named for Maj. Gen. A: The U.S. Geological Survey The term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information. A geological survey counts at least 500 active volcanoes in the world today. Most of them occur in the Pacific Ocean, near where the boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates This is a list of tectonic plates on Earth. Tectonic plates are pieces of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere. The plates are around 100 km (60 miles) thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called shift along the coasts of continents and countries. Volcanologists (scientists who study volcanoes) call this area the Ring of Fire (see map). Not all volcanoes occur along Earth's shifting plates. Some of them formed in the middle of the ocean. Look at Hawaii's Kilauea and Mauna Loa--two of the world's most active volcanoes. They are located above a geothermal region called a "hot spot." Other volcanoes wreak wreak tr.v. wreaked, wreak·ing, wreaks 1. To inflict (vengeance or punishment) upon a person. 2. To express or gratify (anger, malevolence, or resentment); vent. 3. havoc in cold places. In Iceland, for instance, massive glaciers blanket volcanoes. The ice serves as a temporary lid to the fiery activity below. When I traveled to that Arctic nation a few gears ago, I visited a glacier that covers an active volcano called Katla. The glacier looked like a charcoal cathedral and smelled like rotten eggs. On closer inspection, I saw a river of silt oozing oozing exudation of fluid. out of its base. Even though Katla's next big eruption was expected to be decades away, I grew uneasy when I heard the ice gurgle gur·gle v. gur·gled, gur·gling, gur·gles v.intr. 1. To flow in a broken irregular current with a bubbling sound: water gurgling from a bottle. 2. and groan. --Jim McMahon, Mapman Got a Question? E-mail Mapman at mapman@scholastic.com or write to Mapman, Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, NY, NY 10012. If we publish your question, you will win a handheld electronic sudoku puzzle! Play the Mapman Game at: www.scholastic.com/juniorscholastic |
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