The air smells like rotten eggs. Plumes of steam rise from road drains. Peculiar crusts of yellow, white, and red cover the rocks. Mud puddles bubble. Rocks burn your hands. The ground vibrates as a hissing geyser spews hot water 100 feet into the air.
Welcome to New Zealand’s North Island, where the earth boils beneath your feet. This hot spot is part of the Ring of Fire, a circle of volcanoes and earthquake-prone areas that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
New Zealand sits above a crack between two enormous sections, called plates, of the earth’s outer shell. As the two plates slowly move together, the edge of one plate is pushed under the other, where it melts into hot molten rock. This molten rock heats rocks and groundwater above it, creating a thermal zone.
Underneath Rotorua lies a huge reservoir of steam and hot water heated by molten rock. The steam escapes in the air through cracks in the rocks. Scalding hot water rises to the surface through openings in the ground, forming hundreds of hot springs and geysers throughout the city.
Minerals in the boiling water coat the ground near the hot springs and geysers with different colors— white from silica, red from iron, yellow from sulfur. The sulfur fumes tarnish silver and corrode electronic equipment such as televisions and computers. The sulfur gives Rotorua its rotten egg smell. No wonder the city’s nickname is “Rotten-rua”!
Bu hikaye Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids dergisinin November/December 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Faces - The Magazine of People, Places and Cultures for Kids dergisinin November/December 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Animal Central
From golden frogs to big cats to colorful birds, the national animals of Central America represent the geography and cultures of the region. For a quick sampling of creatures plain and beautiful, common and rare, read on.
31 Countries Biosphere
The Trifinio Fraternidad Biosphere Reserve is located at a spot where El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras converge. A biosphere is the layer of planet Earth where life exists.
THE LEGEND OF THE QUETZAL BIRD
A Mayan Tale retold by Pat Betteley illustrated by Amanda Shepherd
Semana Santa GUATEMALA'S HOLY WEEK
What if Easter preparations meant dyeing sand, collecting pine needles, and staying up all night to work on an art project that you knew would be ruined the very next day? Well, welcome to Guatemala’s Semana Santa, or Holy Week.
ME OH-MAYA!
The Maya are groups of people who live in parts of Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Their ancestors created a great society. At its peak, from 600-900 C.E., the Maya civilization was more advanced than its neighbors in the Americas.
Playing Games Honduras-style
Would you play the same games in Honduras that you do in the United States? You might. Children in Honduras enjoy many of the same games North Americans do. They go fishing and shoot baskets. They play sandlot baseball—called bate (BAH tay). They fly kites and ride bikes. Their parents may go horseback riding or play golf or tennis.
LIVING A LONG LIFE IN THE Blue Zone
Most people would like to live as long a life as possible. No one really knows why some people live longer than others, but did you know that where you live can play a big part in how many years you’ll be alive? If you live in a Blue Zone, chances are that you will live much longer than people in other parts of the world.
ATTENTION WORLD: Belize Saves Their Coral Reef
Sea turtles float in clear waters, colorful corals hug the ocean floor, and aquatic animals glide among the mangrove roots. Welcome to the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, the second-largest coral reef in the world (Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is number one). Several years ago, this reef was in crisis, heading toward destruction. But the people of Belize fought back to save their reef’s health.
The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a 51-mile long canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
This is Central America!
It’s time to visit Central America. But first, it helps to know exactly where Central America is. Despite its name, it is the southernmost part of North America, which can seem a little confusing. It makes up most of the isthmus dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean Sea. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger landmasses and has water on both sides.