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August 30, 2005
Science Lesson #5 -Fire Mountain
Indonesia lies on a significant part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where two large tectonic plates, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific plates, collide with a third, the massive Asian plate. The denser (heavier) of these plates (in this case the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific plates) are forced to descend into the earth’s mantle. This means they sink below the land plate of Asia where they begin to melt at approximately 100 km beneath the surface. Some of this newly melted rock (magma) then rises to the earth’s surface and erupts to form a neat line of volcanic islands from Sumatra to the Banda Sea. This distance is over 3000km! With Indonesia’s volcanic activity also come earthquakes and the tsunamis. Most places in Indonesia are vulnerable to this tectonic activity and instability.
Gunung api is the Indonesia word for mountains of fire. It seems to be a very fitting description!
Lesson Activities:
• Investigate pyroclastic flows (moving clouds of hot ash and lethal gases) and lahars (an Indonesia word for volcanic mud flows) to discover their destructive nature. Research their impact on the surrounding area after an initial volcanic eruption.
• Create a diagram of the anatomy of a volcano. Label each different section, identifying the location of magma, cone, lava, etc.
Posted by barb at August 30, 2005 4:18 AM
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