Geological deformation of Iceland
Hey kiddo, let's talk about Iceland's rocks and mountains! Iceland is a place where the Earth's crust is constantly moving. The Earth's crust is like the skin on an apple, but a bit thicker. This skin is made up of different plates, just like how you have different plates on your dinner table. These plates can move and sometimes they bump into each other, making the ground shake. This is called an earthquake!
Iceland is on a part of the Earth's crust where two plates are moving apart and creating a crack in the Earth's surface. This crack is called a divergent boundary. The two plates are the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. They move apart at a rate of about 2 centimeters every year, which is about the same as the growth of your fingernails. Can you believe that?
When rocks near the divergent boundary are exposed to the air, they can cool and harden. This process is called solidification. The hardened rocks eventually form a mountain range. Iceland has a lot of mountain ranges because of this process, and they are often covered in glaciers.
Iceland is also on top of a hot spot, which is like a really hot oven inside the Earth where magma, or molten rock, rises up from the mantle. When the magma reaches the surface, it cools and forms volcanoes! Iceland has a lot of volcanoes, some of which are still active today. An active volcano means that it has erupted recently or is likely to erupt soon.
So kiddo, that's how Iceland's rocks and mountains were formed - by the movement of tectonic plates and the hot spot underneath Iceland. It's pretty cool, isn't it?
Iceland is on a part of the Earth's crust where two plates are moving apart and creating a crack in the Earth's surface. This crack is called a divergent boundary. The two plates are the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. They move apart at a rate of about 2 centimeters every year, which is about the same as the growth of your fingernails. Can you believe that?
When rocks near the divergent boundary are exposed to the air, they can cool and harden. This process is called solidification. The hardened rocks eventually form a mountain range. Iceland has a lot of mountain ranges because of this process, and they are often covered in glaciers.
Iceland is also on top of a hot spot, which is like a really hot oven inside the Earth where magma, or molten rock, rises up from the mantle. When the magma reaches the surface, it cools and forms volcanoes! Iceland has a lot of volcanoes, some of which are still active today. An active volcano means that it has erupted recently or is likely to erupt soon.
So kiddo, that's how Iceland's rocks and mountains were formed - by the movement of tectonic plates and the hot spot underneath Iceland. It's pretty cool, isn't it?