This animation is an adaptation of part of a narrated video shown in the HoloGlobe exhibit at the Smithsonain Museum of Natural History and the Earth Today exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The red triangles represent volcanic activity over a 36-year span. This animation is meant to be combined with a map of the earth, such as the Blue Marble imagery. Full description.

This activity is an active simulation of an explosive volcanic eruption. The model volcano is a plastic 35 mm film cannister that erupts (the lid blows off) when gas pressure generated by dissolving alka seltzer is sufficiently high. It is realistic in that the timing of the eruption is difficult to predict precisely and in that the eruption occurs when the pressure of the gas exceeds the confining ... Full description.

These activities present evidence, illustrations and visualizations for some of the changes in the Earth's crust. Students will learn to categorize materials as either chemically or physically weathered, describe how a glacier can change the crust of the Earth (erratic rocks, hills, scraping), and identify at least five examples of changes in the crust within walking distance of their school. Full description.

This collection of virtual field trips and field trip guides spans the United States and Canada and is organized geographically. The sites contain descriptive local geological or earth science information and are developed by a variety of universities as course components as well as by local and national geological associations for professional and public education. Links to downloadable versions ... Full description.

This site has a lesson plan for a class activity on mountain building and graben and horst formation. This particular lesson is number 14, at the top of the page. There are a few other geology lesson plans also listed on this site. Full description.

At this site, different kinds of eruptions are compared with Hawaiian eruptions. Students will learn that volcanoes can erupt from vents on their summits or flanks, eruptions interact with water in submarine environments as new islands form beneath glaciers and in crater lakes, and volcanic eruptions can be classified by the character of the eruption, including the following types: basaltic flood, ... Full description.

This article, entitled Mountains of Fire, describes the relationship between the types of volcanic activity and plate movement and the connection between types of volcanoes and how they erupt. The article is supported by a video of an erupting volcano, a photograph of an eruption and an animation depicting pyroclastic flow and the formation of a composite volcano. It is also supported by three sidebars, ... Full description.

This beginning geophysics course is designed for geology majors. It provides a relatively rigorous and homework-intensive overview of the structure and evolution of the Earth and terrestrial planets, at a level higher than a descriptive geology class, but lower than the standard introduction to geophysics for seniors or first year graduate students. Demonstrations are presented with links to a variety ... Full description.

This activity will help students to visualize, in three dimensions, features represented by contour lines on a topographic map. It includes background information, vocabulary, materials, and procedure. Full description.

This Why Files short article discusses some new research on Yellowstone Caldera, a giant volcanic hotspot in Wyoming. Rock has been remelted inside the caldera. Using highly sensitive techniques to extract data from almost microscopic zircon crystals, two geologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that over the past 2 million years, the giant Yellowstone volcano erupted at 700,000-year ... Full description.