The Whole World Knows About Volcanoes

FOCUS Volcano Web Search Project for Third Grade 2006.

Name______Home Room Teacher’s Name______

The whole world knows about volcanoes. There are myths in many cultures about volcanoes. How do you say volcano in a different language? Go to this web page and pick a language. Write the language and their word for volcano. Multiple Names of Volcano

Language______How they say volcano______

The word we use for volcano came from an ancient myth about a blacksmith named Vulcan. He was believed to be a blacksmith to the mythical gods and goddesses. The people living near a small island that they called Vulcano in the Mediterranean Sea thought that the island was a chimney for a his giant forge in which he made weapons for the Roman gods. They believed that the hot lava fragments and clouds of dust erupting from the island were from Vulcan beating out thunderbolts for Jupiter, king of the gods, and weapons for Mars, the god of war. Click here to see what the beaches of Volcano look like now. Volcano now What color is the sand?______

The unit we are studying is called Pele’s Peak. In Polynesia the people believed that volcanic eruptions were caused by the beautiful but wrathful Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes, whenever she was angry or spiteful. Her hair was made of fire and lava.

Here are images of the mythical Goddess Pele.

(There was a world famous soccer (football) player who was named Pele, also. Sometimes people may think you are thinking of him when you really mean a volcano!)

This is his famous kick. This is he.

Don’t get confused when you are doing your research! Click here for a picture and description of the real Polynesian volcano. Pele's Peak

What does Pele mean? ______

Mount Pelee is in Martinique. Saint Pierre was the name of the town near Pelee’s volcano. The eruption instantly killed 45,000 from the intense heat and poisonous gas. There were only two known survivors. One of them was a prisoner who was locked in an underground cell. Click below to read and see some pictures of the destruction of the entire town.

Story and pictures of St.Pierre Pictures of Mount Pelee- click on slides for show

Click this link and answer these questions. The eruption of Mt. Pelee, Martinique The town of St. Pierre was beautiful and expensive. It was sometimes called “The ______of the West.” One day, the beautiful town was suddenly covered by a giant cloud of poisonous gas. What color was the sulfuric cloud?______(Hint : Follow the link to see the picture of fumorole activity” Animals and insects that had lived on the mountain slopes entered the city and attacked the people. How big were the centipedes? ______. Fifty humans, mostly children, were bitten and died from what type of bites? ______The water in lakes began to boil and the mudflows reached 100 miles per hour. A tsunami flooded the shoreline. Some people tried to leave (evacuate), but they were turned back so that they could vote in an election. The local newspaper said that everything in the town was just fine, so more people who were scared of all the volcanic activity came INTO the town from the countryside. Then the volcano erupted violently with hurricane force. Who won the election?______Click here to see some beautiful pictures of deadly volcanoes. Find out which volcano is pictured below. Slides of volcanoes

This is a picture of ______in the state of ______. The water fills what part of the volcano? ______

Volcanoes usually erupt at the edges of huge plates of land. When the plates collide they may cause earthquakes, tidal waves, or volcanic eruptions. Click here to learn more about plate tectonics. Earth's Continental Plates

Scientists usually group volcanoes into four main types. Click here to read about each kind. Volcanoes: Principal Types of Volcanoes

The four main types of volcanoes are: 1.______which are simple blobs of built up magma with a single vent. 2.______which are steep and grand mountains. 3.______come from flowing lava that spreads out. 4.Mount Pelee in Martinique is this type of volcano.______.

Here are some more cool pictures of various volcanoes around the world.

Every year about ______volcanoes erupt, but they are usually very small and weak. Go to this webpage and see how often the REALLY huge ones erupt. Eruption Scale

Here is a list of the ones that have been erupting in your lifetime. Pick five and tell where they are and what they are called. LIST OF ACTIVE AND ERUPTING VOLCANOES - 1994-present Update on Current Volcanic Activity

The volcano is called ______, and it is in______. The volcano is called ______, and it is in______. The volcano is called ______, and it is in______. The volcano is called ______, and it is in______. The volcano is called ______, and it is in______.

The lava from a volcano can be hotter than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit! SANTORINI

We live in Atlanta, GA. Atlanta is named after the myth of Atlantis. Atlantis was supposed to have disappeared during a volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in Greece. Click here to read a little about the myth of Atlantis. Where can I find information on the legend of Atlantis

These are pictures of Santorini now.

The beaches are red.

The church of Panagia is on the island of Therassia. The volcanic eruption of 150 BC destroyed the islands around it, but it remained. A world-famous musician and composer from Kalamata Island in Greece wrote a song about the island of Santorini. His name is Yanni. Millions of people watched him perform the song at the foot of the famous Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Since most people all over the world know of him, he is often asked to write songs for the Olympics. Santorini is a famous volcano, and also one of his most well-known songs. It was played at the World Tennis Open. Double click below to listen to a small bit of the song, or click on the link and then scroll down to Santorini to play the song while you research the Santorini volcano. CPR's MIDI ArchivesYanni Santorini

After the volcano erupted, the island looked very different than it does now. Although nobody has found the mythical Atlantis, they have found many ruins. Click here to see a picture of a real town named Akroteri that is being excavated. It was destroyed by the volcano. Be sure to scroll down to see the urns lined up against the walls. Navigate around the website to learn more about the volcano there.

Excavating Santorini, Greece

About 3-6 feet (1-2 meters) of ash fell on the city, which did have a population of about 30,000. The residents appear to have been successfully evacuated (made to leave a dangerous area for their own safety and protection) prior to the eruption. No bodies were found in the ash like those found at Vesuvius. Archeologists also reported that it seemed like most objects and possessions that were movable had been taken from the city. They were lucky! Not everyone escapes the fury of a volcano, though. Let’s learn about some more famous eruptions… MOUNT VESUVIUS

The most famous deadly volcanic eruption was Mount Vesuvius, which is in the country of ______. It erupted and boiling mud coated and killed anyone it its path. The mud on the people and animals cooled making them look like statues frozen in time. Click here to see what the eruption was like. Pompeii: Vesuvius - What Did the Eruption Look Like?

People were going about their normal lives living a regular day. Several people had gathered for an election campaign. Click here to read about what a typical day in the city of Rome, another Italian city, was like back then. Did children go to school?______ROMA - History and Civilization of the Eternal City

You can see from these pictures that the city of Pompeii was built very close to the mouth of the Sarnos River and the foot of the volcano. An earthquake had struck a few years earlier when the volcano rumbled, but the people repaired their city and didn’t seem to think it would happen again. It was a pretty city with a population of over 20,000 people situated between two other cities called Herculenium and Stabiae and near the big city of Naples. It had been a city for more than 700 years before it vanished in the year 79 A.D. All three cities lay buried in ash for almost two thousand years!

Vesuvius erupted suddenly. The air became black with poisonous smoke and burning ash. Some people escaped, but more than 2,000 people from Pompeii died. All together more than 16,000 people died who lived anywhere near the volcano. The ash and burning cinders hurt even the survivors. When the ash and mud dried, they hardened like cement and sealed the city. The survivors wanted their valuable possessions, so they began to dig tunnels to where they thought houses had been. Later, more people used the tunnels to excavate the area looking for treasures. They found people, pets, and homes preserved in the ash just they way they had been thousands of years ago. They even found loaves of bread that were 2000 years old still in ovens. Some people were preserved in ash sitting or working while others fell down and were killed.

Would you still live near the volcano?______Click these sites to find out if people still live near Mount Vesuvius and if it ever erupted and killed people again. Then circle True or False. Pompeii and Herculaneum mount vesuvius

People lived close enough to be killed even after 79AD. True False The volcano erupted more than once since then. True False Pliny the Younger wrote about his experience during the eruption. True False

What are these pictures of? ______

AMERICAN TRAGEDY

Your parents will remember when a volcano here in The United States surprised everyone and killed 50- 82 people. It happened suddenly. Cinders and ash burst out of the volcano at 300 miles per hour. In less than 15 minutes the cloud reached 80,000 feet into the air. The sky turned black as far away as 250 miles. Immediately, there was an avalanche of hot debris and ash. There was a boiling mudflow that was faster than 90 miles an hour at the top and slowed and cooled as it made its way down the sides of the volcano. It destroyed 27 bridges and almost 200 homes. It killed people and countless wildlife. It also destroyed enough trees to have built 300,000 new homes! People were thankful and surprised by how many animals did survive and how quickly plants grew back.

Check this web page to read more about it. What was it called? ______In what year did it kill so many people?______The Deadliest Eruptions Fact Sheet

An Australian scientist named John Seach has a really cool website. Check out the pictures of him at volcanoes as they erupt in front of him. Surf through his website to answer these questions. Volcano Live - Volcanoes of the World

What do you call a scientist who studies volcanoes? ______Are there volcanoes on other planets?______If so, name another planet that has volcanoes.______Look at Breaking News. What did the Italian government just recently offer the people who live close to Mount Vesuvius?______Look at the Famous Quotes. Pick a quote and tell what was said and by whom. Put quotation marks around the actual words that the person said. ______

Go to frequently Asked Questions. Find out how long eruptions can last. They can last from less than one day to greater than______.The largest volcano is in the United States. Which state?______. Go to World Volcanoes. Imagine poking a hole in the classroom globe for every volcano there is. You’d be busy! Name a volcano in the Artic Ocean.______.______I hope you enjoyed your web tour of researching volcanoes and that you continue to enjoy learning about them.