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Earth Science

Plate Tectonics: the difference between convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries

Earthโ€™s lithosphere (surface) is broken into massive, irregularly-shaped pieces, called tectonic plates. Some of the plates are so large that they span entire continents. Others are smaller. Tectonic plates sit atop a denser, soft part of the mantle called the asthenosphere. If you need a refresher, view my Layers of the Earth post. The theory […]

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Earth Science

What are the different types of volcanoes? Shield volcanoes, fissures, calderas, and more!

A volcano is an opening in the crust where lava, volcanic gases, and ash are expelled onto the earthโ€™s surface. They typically have cone-like shapes with depressions at their centers. There are three main types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes (also known as composite volcanoes), and cinder cones. Apart from these main types, other categories […]

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Earth Science

Moraines, Cirques, Kettles, & More: types of glacial landforms and how they form!

Glaciers make a big mark on the landscapes beneath and around them. Even thousands of years after a glacier disappears, you can still find evidence of its presence in the glacial landforms left behind!

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Earth Science

River channel types: identify straight, meandering, braided, and anastomosing channels

Different rivers naturally have different planforms – and that’s a good thing! You will find healthy streams and rivers with a variety of different natural planforms – no one planform is necessarily better than the others. What is best is for a river to be in as close to its natural state as reasonably possible.

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Earth Science

Common Landforms: how they form, definitions, and examples

Many forces work together to shape the landscape. Plate tectonics, Vocanic activity, erosion, and deposition work slowly over time to form and change our earth’s surface. All these forces working together create some pretty unique and cool landforms! In this post, we’ll take a closer look at 12 common landforms – what they look like, […]