Since we have been talking about the Earth's layers and how plate tectonics affects magma in the Earth, I thought this recent satellite picture from NASA gave a good visual for what this movement within the Earth looks like once it reaches the crust. Taken a few days ago, the picture is of volcanoes in the eastern rift zone of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. Because they have been erupting since 1983, the area is covered with craters and lava flows. The craters are visible and the lava flow started at them and drifted down to the ocean. They also "trace" the rift zone. The youngest lava flows are black and older ones have weathered to gray or brown. Some of the more recent lava flows have destroyed nearly 200 buildings and homes.
Sorry the picture's kind of small! You can see a larger version of it at http://geology.com/nasa/kilauea-rift-zone/
No comments:
Post a Comment