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    Where On Earth?: Geography Without the Boring Bits
    Where On Earth?: Geography Without the Boring Bits
    Where On Earth?: Geography Without the Boring Bits
    Ebook184 pages1 hour

    Where On Earth?: Geography Without the Boring Bits

    By James Doyle

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    About this ebook

    Where on Earth? is Jam-packed with all of geography's greatest hits, with all the boring bits taken out. From lava-spewing volcanoes to cool ways to remember the world's highest mountains, longest rivers and most desolate deserts - plus all the countries and continents in which these fantastic features are found. The perfect learning companion to help all school children get to grips with discovering the world around them.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMichael O'Mara
    Release dateNov 20, 2011
    ISBN9781780550510
    Where On Earth?: Geography Without the Boring Bits
    Author

    James Doyle

    James E. Doyle has worked in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1997. His professional focus is on systems analysis, strategic planning, and policy development. Dr. Doyle holds a Ph.D. in international security studies from the University of Virginia. He has managed cooperative projects with Russia’s nuclear weapons institutes on the development of technologies and procedures for monitoring the dismantlement and storage of nuclear warheads and fissile materials. Previously, Dr. Doyle was a senior policy analyst at Science Applications International Corporation.

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    Book preview

    Where On Earth? - James Doyle

    INDEX

    WELCOME TO THE WORLD

    Have you ever pondered who would win in a fight between a polar bear and a penguin, or wondered why everyone goes on about how important rainforests are?

    Have you ever asked yourself, ‘How do hurricanes happen?’ and, ‘What makes a mountain?’

    All these questions and many more are answered in this brilliant book. It’s packed with information about the amazing planet we live on. There are sections on its record-breaking physical features, from mountains and deserts to islands and oceans. Read about its worst natural hazards, from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to wildfires and whirlwinds. Don’t miss the section that makes sense of maps. Filled with fascinating facts and statistics, this book even has a continent-by-continent list of countries and their capitals.

    Soon you will be able to answer anyone who asks ‘What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?’ or ‘Where on Earth is the tallest waterfall?’

    The world is at your fingertips.

    HOME, SWEET HOME!

    Earth, the planet you call home, is one of a group of eight planets that move around the Sun. These planets in order of closeness to the Sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together, they make up what is known as the Solar System.

    Until recently, Pluto was considered the ninth planet in the Solar System. It is smaller than the Earth’s moon and, in 2006, scientists decided to reclassify it as a ‘dwarf planet’.

    Planet Earth is very special. No other planet in the Solar System has been found to support life – and at present it is the only one known to do so in the whole Universe.

    Earth’s Vital Statistics

    It’s A Small World After All

    The Earth sometimes feels like a huge place, but in fact, it is only the fifth largest planet in the Solar System. Jupiter is the biggest – its diameter is 11 times that of Earth.

    What Is The World Made Of?

    Earth is known as a ‘terrestrial’ planet, which means it is mostly made from rock, rather than gas. It is made up of three main layers.

    The Crust. This is the outer layer of the Earth. It is about 8 km thick under the oceans, and up to 40 km thick under the continents. It is mostly made of granite and basalt – two types of rock made by volcanoes. Human beings live on this solid outer surface.

    The Mantle. Under the crust is the mantle. The mantle is about 2,900 km thick. With temperatures reaching nearly 2,000 °C, the mantle rock is so hot that it has partly melted into thick, gooey, molten rock, called magma.

    The Core. The Earth’s core is so deep below the surface that scientists aren’t entirely sure what it is made of. They believe it is made mostly of iron and nickel, and that it is extremely hot, with temperatures of over 7,000 °C! The outer core is about 2,250 km thick and is liquid. The inner core is about 2,600 km in diameter. Despite the scorching temperatures, the inner core is thought to be solid, due to the weight of the layers above pressing down on it.

    Journey To The Centre Of The Earth

    The distance from the Earth’s surface to the centre is about 6,400 km. However, you could never actually make a journey to the centre of the Earth – you’d either be fried to a crisp in the scorching heat, or crushed to death by the huge pressure of the layers above.

    Cracks In The Crust

    The Earth’s crust is broken into pieces, like a giant jigsaw puzzle. These pieces are called plates. There are seven enormous plates, and many smaller ones. The study of how the plates move is called plate tectonics. The plates float on the partially melted mantle, which moves them slowly over the Earth’s surface. Most of the plate edges, or boundaries, are under the sea and move only a few centimetres a year.

    Drifting Apart

    Did you know that all the land on Earth was at one time joined together in one great continent, called Pangaea? The first person to suggest this was a German geographer named Alfred Wegener (1880–1930).

    Wegener noticed that on a map the shape of the east coast of South America looked as if it fitted into the west coast of Africa. When he watched icebergs drifting out to sea in Greenland, he realized that the continents must be moving, too. However, it was not until the 1960s that scientists could prove his theory.

    Rocks and fossils also show that the continents were once joined. Fossilized remains of Mesosaurus, a dinosaur species that lived around 300 million years ago, have been found only in Africa and South America, suggesting that at one time the two continents were joined.

    Continents On The Move

    The world has changed a lot in the last 250 million years. These maps show you how the continents are thought to have moved in this time.

    250 Million Years Ago.The continents were joined in one enormous land mass, called ‘Pangaea’ which means ‘all lands’ in Ancient Greek. It was surrounded by a huge ocean, called ‘Panthalassa’, which means ‘all seas’.

    200 Million Years Ago. Pangaea started to split into two giant continents – ‘Laurasia’ in the north and ‘Gondwana’ in the south.

    135 Million

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