release dates: March 20-26
12-1 (10)
© 2010 Universal Uclick
When the Earth Blows Its Top
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Supervolcanoes!
Magma collects in roomlike areas, or
chambers, under the surface of the
Earth. It escapes through openings in
the Earth’s surface, becoming lava.
But sometimes, if magma is especially
thick, it doesn’t escape a bit at a time.
Pressure builds up, and it explodes.
photo by Oman/Combs, courtesy National Park Service
art by Arthur J. Anderson, courtesy National Park Service
Can you imagine anything in nature
so big that it could change the climate
and destroy plants and animals over
much of the planet? Try to picture a
supervolcano — a volcano so huge it
could remake the world.
Supervolcanoes are the most powerful
volcanoes on Earth. Amazingly, three
supervolcanoes have erupted in the
area of Yellowstone National Park in
the western United States.
The Mini Page talked to a volcano
scientist to explore more about super­
volcanoes. Experts say we don’t need
to worry about supervolcanoes. One
erupts less than every 100,000 years
or so.
In 1980, a volcano that had
been dormant, or sleeping,
for 123 years erupted in
Washington state. When this
volcano, Mount St. Helens,
erupted, it sent out clouds
of ash. Mount St. Helens
was much smaller than a
supervolcano.
Volcanic ash is very
dangerous. It is made of tiny
bits of sharp, jagged rock
and glass.
When people and animals
breathe it in, it can cause
severe breathing problems
and even death.
Ash can kill crops. Mount St.
Helens’ swirling ash caused
lightning and forest fires.
When Mount St. Helens
exploded, the ash also
damaged electronics and
machinery. The hot ash
coated jet engines, melting
some of the parts.
Volcano terms to know
• Magma is rock that is so hot it is
• A crater is the
liquid, or molten. It is underground.
circular depression,
• A volcano is a place where the
or lowered part of
magma reaches the Earth’s surface.
the Earth, that was
• Lava is magma that is no longer
created when a volcano
underground, but is flowing over the
exploded.
Earth’s surface.
• An active volcano
• A vent is the opening in the Earth is a volcano that is erupting or
where volcanic materials and gas erupt. showing signs of activity.
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12-2 (10); release dates: March 20-26
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
The Powerful Supervolcano
The power of a volcano is
measured by how much magma and
ash it produces. A supervolcano is
the biggest, most destructive volcano.
Even the smallest supervolcano
would produce enough lava to cover
Texas in a layer as tall as an average
8-year-old.
That one explosion would produce
enough lava and rocks to fill about
240 cubic miles, or a cube 240 miles
on each side and 240 miles deep.
Supervolcanoes are exploding
volcanoes. They are not the volcanoes
where lava flows out more slowly.
A supervolcano eruption would change
the climate all over the world. It would
shoot out an enormous burst of ash and
lava, like a firehose shooting miles into
the sky. The ash would then move like a
cloud across the sky, blanketing the land
and blocking out the sun.
A supervolcano could cause
freezing conditions for years all over
the world, even in the tropics. Plants
and animals would die, and there
would not be enough food.
The last supervolcano was in
Indonesia about 74,000 years ago.
Experts believe it caused so much
climate change and other damage, it
killed most of the people on Earth.
Human DNA studies back this
up. When scientists trace differences
in DNA, it appears that all modern
humans descended from a group of
a few thousand people living about
70,000 years ago. These people might
have been the only ones who survived
the effects of the supervolcano.
Lava spews from a volcano erupting in
Paricutin, Mexico, in 1943.
photo courtesy National Park Service
Rocking the world
photo by DE White, National Park Service
What is a supervolcano?
Mount St. Helens was an exploding
volcano. When a volcano is explosive,
the lava, rocks and gases blow out with
sudden violence. Mount St. Helens’ ash
rose thousands of feet into the sky.
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Ready Resources
The Mini Page provides ideas for Web sites,
books or other resources that will help you learn
more about this week’s topics.
On the Web:
• www.greateryellowstonescience.org/topics/
physical/volcano
• www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/index.htm
• http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo
• http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/kids/index.html
At the library:
• “National Geographic Readers: Volcanoes!” by Anne Schreiber
• “Volcanoes and Earthquakes” (DK Eyewitness Books), by
Susanna van Rose
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Brown
Bassetews
try ’n
The N d’s
find
Houn
Words that remind us of supervolcanoes are hidden in the block below.
Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find:
ACTIVE, ASH, CALDERA, CLIMATE, EARTHQUAKES, ERUPTION,
EXPLOSIVE, FLOW, GAS, GEYSERS, HOT, INDONESIA, KILL, LAVA,
MAGMA, ROCK, SKY, VENT, VOLCANO, WARNING, YELLOWSTONE.
TM
Volcanoes
are awesome!
Supervolcano
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Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.
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®
12-3 (10); release dates: March 20-26
Mini Spy . . .
TM
TM
Mini Spy and Alpha Mouse are hiking near a smoking
volcano. See if you can find: • lips
• frog
• sleeping cat • alligator • cherry
• word MINI • fish
• bird
• number 7
• lizard
• snake
• elephant • eel
• net
• safety pin • giraffe
• bucket
Rookie Cookie’s Recipe
Astounding Asparagus
You’ll need:
• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
What to do:
1. Break off bottom ends of asparagus spears.
2. Heat 2 inches of water in a large skillet until boiling.
3. Place asparagus spears in boiling water and cook for 2 minutes until
bright green.
4. Remove asparagus from heat and rinse under cold water. Set asparagus
aside.
5. Heat olive oil in same skillet. Add asparagus and sliced almonds. Stir to
coat with olive oil and heat through.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Meet Logan Lerman
photo by Doane Gregory,
courtesy Twentieth Century Fox
Logan Lerman stars as Percy in the
movie “Percy Jackson & the Olympians:
The Lightning Thief.” He has starred in
several other movies, including “Hoot” and
the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie “A
Painted House.” He starred as Bobby in the
TV show “Jack & Bobby.”
Logan, 18, grew up in Beverly Hills,
Calif., where he still lives with his family. He has a sister.
He decided he was going to be an actor when he was only
21/2 years old. He saw a Jackie Chan movie and told his mom
he was going to be an actor. When he was 4, his parents
helped him get an agent, and he acted in two commercials.
Logan enjoys playing soccer and baseball. He has two dogs.
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
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W
E
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Book of States
state is collected here in a 156-page softcover book.
Conveniently spiral-bound for ease of use, this invaluable
resource contains A-to-Z facts about each state, along
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from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
TM
All the following jokes have something in common.
Can you guess the common theme or category?
Nancy: What did the girl volcano
say to the boy volcano?
Ned: “I lava you very much!”
Nathan: What do we call a clumsy volcano?
Nadia: A fall-cano!
Nash: What is a good name for a volcano?
Norm: Ashley!
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®
12-4 (10); release dates: March 20-26
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Volcanoes at Yellowstone
Supervolcano sites are all over
the Earth. Three of the biggest
supervolcanoes ever to have erupted
were in the area of Yellowstone
National Park. The first, and largest,
erupted 2.1 million years ago.
This supervolcano was about 2,500
times bigger than Mount St. Helens.
Its explosion created enough magma
to fill 585 cubic miles. This is about
6,000 times greater than the amount
produced by Mount St. Helens.
So much magma burst out so quickly
that the ground caved in, sucking
in mountains and everything else
around. This cave-in created a giant
depression bigger than Rhode Island.
A depression caused by a volcano is
called a caldera (kal-DER-uh).
This caldera is mostly filled in
now. It is still visible from space.
The other two Yellowstone
supervolcanoes erupted 1.3 million
and 640,000 years ago.
Mount St. Helens
Ash-1980
Yellowstone
Plateau
Huckleberry
Ridge
Ash Bed
Ash from the supervolcano at
Yellowstone 2.1 million years ago covered
about half the United States. This area is
known as the Huckleberry Ridge ash bed.
Compare this ash fall area to the ash fall
area from Mount St. Helens.
photo by Jim Peaco, courtesy National Park Service
Supervolcano hot spot
Steam escapes from
holes and vents in
Yellowstone National
Park. The volcanic system
in the park creates the
hot springs and geysers
the park is famous for.
Yellowstone has more
geysers, hot springs and
steam vents in one place
than anywhere else on
Earth.
Violence brewing underground Watching out for dangers
Yellowstone National Park is
Experts say people don’t need
the site of one of the biggest active
to worry about a volcano erupting
volcano systems in the world.
while they’re visiting Yellowstone.
Experts believe there could be more
Scientists at the Yellowstone
magma under the ground there than Volcano Observatory closely monitor
almost anywhere else on Earth.
conditions. Experts believe there
There have been about 80 smaller
would be plenty of warning if a
volcano eruptions in the area since
volcano were getting ready to erupt.
the last supervolcano eruption
In Chile in 2008, a volcano erupted
640,000 years ago. These smaller
that was only about 1/1,000th of the
volcanoes have produced slowersize of a supervolcano. Even though
moving lava, rather than explosions. there were no machines monitoring
It has been about 70,000 years since that system, increased earthquakes
a Yellowstone volcano last erupted.
gave people
The liquid magma and gases
plenty of warning.
created by the system cause a lot of
Everyone got
movement in the earth. The ground
away safely.
goes up and down as if it’s breathing,
Yellowstone
rising or falling about a foot a year.
would be even
There are about 2,000 earthquakes
safer.
a year. Most of these are so small
that visitors barely notice them.
Look through your newspaper for stories
and pictures on the power of nature.
The Mini Page thanks John Eichelberger,
Next week, The Mini Page is about the 75th
program coordinator, U.S. Geological
Survey Volcano Hazards Program, for help anniversary of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book
“Little House on the Prairie.”
with this issue.
The Mini Page Staff
Betty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.
photo by Oman/Combs,
courtesy National Park Service
Read all
about supervolcanoes
in
®
Distributed by Universal Uclick
by Betty Debnam
Appearing in your
­newspaper on ______.
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
(Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-31/2-inch ad
promoting Issue 12.)
release dates: March 20-26
12-5 (10)
®
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick
Standards Spotlight:
Supervolcanoes!
Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we
­identify standards that relate to The Mini Page’s content and offer activities that will help
your students reach them.
This week’s standard:
• Students understand changes in the Earth and sky. (Science: Earth and Space
Science)
Activities:
1. Make a poster with newspaper words and pictures of things that are big and
powerful.
2. Divide a paper into two columns. Put newspaper words for things that help the
Earth in one column. Put newspaper words for things that hurt the Earth in
the second column.
3. Find three people in the newspaper who could be helpful if a volcano erupted
near your city. Explain your choices.
4. How do supervolcanoes cause harm to (a) forests, (b) people, (c) animals and
(d) machinery?
5. Use the Internet to research the volcano nearest to where you live. What is the
history of the volcano?
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
(Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 12.)
TM
Supersport: Alex Ovechkin
Height: 6-2
Weight: 233
Birthdate: 9-17-85
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Alex Ovechkin makes hockey look like an art form. He skates
across the ice with purpose, controls the puck, escapes defenders
and finishes with a sharp shot into the net.
The Washington Capitals star is one of the premier players
in the game, an NHL all-star. As of Feb. 15, the 24-year-old left wing ranked
second in goals scored (42), sixth in assists (47) and first in total points (89).
In the last two years, Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy awarded to the
league’s most valuable player. He has athletic genes. His mother, Tatyana,
won two Olympic gold medals in basketball. His father, Mikhail, played
professional soccer.
Alex likes listening to music, eating pasta and sushi, vacationing in Turkey
and helping others. He bought eight Capitals season tickets to give to soldiers
and people in need. He’s a tough guy with a hockey stick — but nice off the ice!
(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 12, to be used in
place of ad if desired.)
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