BY EMILY, ADDY, RUBY, And GRANT

Precision Publications, 2015

Knock, Knock, Knock! Who is it? asked Caleb Rivers. His bedroom door flew

open and his next door neighbor Mia Woods ran in. Do you have any idea what the heck this is? she asked

holding up her wrist. There was a large metal band on her arm that had two small buttons.

I have no idea, answered Caleb. Will you help me try to find out what this is? she said.

Caleb got a screwdriver and started to pry it open. Just as he started to get it open there was a flash and they were no longer in Calebs room.

1

Oh no! I think we

pressed a wrong button and got ourselves caught in the middle of a volcanic

eruption! Unfortunately, I think youre right.

2

WE BETTER RUN! Caleb and Mia screamed. After Mia and Caleb ran for quite awhile, they stopped to catch their breath as a blob of lava flew out of the volcano and landed next to them.

Let's run some more, this cant be safe if lava is flying at us! said Mia. Wait! You dont have to run. I just came to say, hi, said the blob of lava. Who are you anyway? Caleb asked curiously. Im Lava Blob, an expert in all things volcanoes. And I thought you might

want to learn a little about what's going on, since volcanoes can be pretty darn scary!

Yeah, that would be useful. said Mia.This extraordinary event has occurred for about 3.5 billion years and in the

last ten thousand years, more than fifteen hundred volcanoes have erupted. Most of these eruptions have occurred on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, or on the island country of Iceland. Unlike the volcanoes on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the one you're experiencing here in Hawaii occurs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean plate.

Thats so cool! I had no idea that volcanoes like this one have occurred for 3.5 BILLION years! said Caleb.

I know it is pretty cool, Lava Blob agreed. The earth we live on is made up of over 50 large tectonic plates. These plates are huge pieces of earth's crust, and are always shifting. Sometimes they pull apart and separate from each other.

Ah! I hope I dont fall in! said Caleb.You can't fall in silly, the plates only have small cracks in them Lava Blob

assured him. "Anyway when these plates do separate, the mantle underneath the earth's crust begins to melt. When the mantle melts, it turns into a lava now called magma. Sometimes when the plates separate, one slides under the other. More hot magma collects underneath the earth's crust until the pressure gets so high the volcano erupts.

Oh so thats how you came to be, said Mia. Yep, and some volcanoes can send 1,192 degree lava skyrocketing into the air,but the volcano I came from is not nearly that hot. It is safe. But just in case you should probably get going, Lava Blob continued.

Okay, bye! said Mia and Caleb. As they were walking and trying to figure out how to get home when Caleb tripped on a rock and fell in to Mia.

Ouch!, she said as she bumped her bracelet on the ground. Flash! And they were gone.

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The next thing they knew, they were standing in front of a mountain range.

Oh no, not again! Ugggg!!!

When you fell on that rock you must've bumped your bracelet, and hit

another button that sent us here!

4

This is horrible! What on earth are we going to do? asked Mia. Just then a rock came tumbling towards them.

Wow, that got me dizzy rocking and rolling around like that, the rock said with a halt. Im Rocky the Rock, and I thought you might want to learn a bit about some rockin mountains while you're here.

Umm...no thanks we better go, said Caleb.Actually while were here we might as well see what Rocky has to say, said

Mia.Oh...fine said Caleb with a sigh. That sounds like a rockin plan to me, said Rocky.Now lets rock and roll, so I can teach you a bit about what you're standing in

front of. Some mountains can exceed the height of 23,500 feet, or the length of 4,400 miles, and Im here to tell you how this colossal landform is created. When tectonic plates collide they do so with enough force to thrust up huge up mountains.

Wow, thats so cool! I didn't think anything had enough force to thrust up a whole mountain! Caleb exclaimed.

I know it is pretty rockin cool, but there's still some things I wanted to say. Most mountains are formed in one of two ways-- through subduction or through accretion. Sometimes when a tectonic plate slides under another the bottom one melts into magma, pressure then builds up and cracks begin to form on the top plate. Magma then shoots through the cracks forming a volcano. Many volcanoes are also considered mountains once lava has stopped flowing. This is called subduction.

The other way mountains can be formed is when one tectonic plate slides under the other. Some chunks of the bottom plate break off and get thrust up onto the top plate. And attaches to it this is called accretion.

Wow thats so awesome, said Caleb.Yeah, it is but I bet if we climbed up the smaller mountain over there we might

be able to see where we are in relation to your house and head home. said Mia.Good idea said Caleb. Not long after Caleb and Mia started climbing the

mountain, Mia slipped and caught her bracelet on a fallen branch. Flash! And they were gone.

top plate

bottom plate

5

What the heck just happened? asked Caleb and Mia at the same time.

I guess it had to do something with this wacky bracelet, said Mia, but Caleb didn't hear her. His attention was focused on the rock behind them.

What is that big rock thing? asked Caleb. I dont know, said Mia. Well I sure do, said a talking cactus. I am Facty

Cacti, and I am an expert on buttes and arches.Can you tell me what this big pillar of rock is?

asked Caleb.Sure I can, this is a butte and they can be 300

million years old, and he began to explain.

Buttes will last until erosion

such as sand or water erodes the softer rock

away.

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A butte is a large pillar of rock that is found in the southwestern United States. A butte is composed of solid piece of rock called a capstone that cannot be eroded by wind, rain, streams and dust and a softer rock below the capstone that cannot be eroded. The capstone is on top of softer rock such as sandstone. The softer rock wears away from erosion (mainly streams) leaving a tall pillar of rock. A rule that people use for identifying a butte is that the top has to be narrower than the height. said Facty Cacti.

Wow, said Caleb. I never knew that rock could be so amazing.

Yup, and if you have time we can take a quick little walk to see some amazing arches, said Facty Cacti.

I guess we have some time, answered Mia.Great. Off we go, said Facty Cacti.

Capstone StreamsRainSand

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What can you tell us about these things? asked Caleb.

A lot. First that ice plays a big part in forming arches, said Facty Cacti and he began to explain.

An arch is an formation of rock that can be found in the southwestern United States. An arch is formed when the area of land is under water such as a small lake or river. The salt and sand from the water sink down to the bottom. And after millions of years the water dries up and the sand and salt form sandstone. Now the sandstone is pushed up from the ground and becomes a large pillar. Next the erosion process starts. Sand, air and ice break the middle to form a large arch like the one behind us.

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Thanks a lot Facty Cacti, but we better be going now! We need to get home for dinner, said Mia.And so Caleb started jabbing at the bracelet again. And they were gone in a flash!

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Here we are at the Arches National Park.

Lets not worry

about that right now and try to find out where we

are,

It happened

again, I think it has to do with me hitting the bracelet,

They landed in a huge canyon.

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As Caleb stepped forward he almost stepped on a large snake. Watch where youre going missssster, hissed the snake. The namessss Sssssssnickers, pleasssssed to meet you. I can tell you anything about canyonssss and my cousin knowssss all about waterfallssss.

Can you tell us anything about this huge canyon were standing in, said Mia sarcastically.

Ssssssure, thissss isssss the Grand Canyon, said Snickers.Have you ever heard of the Grand Canyon? This DEEP

scar in earths face is 300 miles long, 1 mile deep, and at certain points, is 18 miles wide! And since a mile is 5,280 feet, the Grand Canyon is actually 1,584,000 feet long! And do you know how this was created? By a river!

Now you are probably wondering how this is possible. I mean, you cant pour water on the ground and you have a mile deep canyon! Well, the Grand Canyon was actually made up of of sedimentary rock so over time, the current of the river slowly washed away the layers of rock. And POOF! The Grand Canyon was born.

The big part of making a canyon is erosion. The current of the river washes away soft layers of sedimentary rock. And over millions of years, you will have a proud scar in mother natures face, a canyon.

One of the other ingredients of making a canyon is a dry climate. If you have a place that gets a lot of rain, the ground won't be able to form a canyon because of the soggy ground. And won't be able to carry more debris, but if you have a nice dry place with dry sedimentary rock, the river will be able to carry more rock and sand out of the way more easily.

The last ingredient is time. Sometimes the canyon will be formed more quickly, because of the current of the river. If it is slower, then it will be a LONG time before you see a canyon. But if the current is faster, then the canyon will be formed faster.

Wow! Isnt the process of canyons cool? Its amazing how just a little time, a dry climate, and a river, could make nature's most amazing creations, a canyon.

Wow these rocks are tou... ahhh, said Mia as she tripped over a large rock and smashed her wrist on the ground. And in a flash they were gone.

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rocks being eroded.

curent

more erosion.

fossils.

even more erosion.

canyon!

A snake that looked exactly like Snickers slithered up.

Are you Snickers?

No, I am his cousin, Slithers. And I can tell you all about

waterfalls.

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Waterfalls are an amazing part of Mother Nature. I mean, what other masterpiece can sculpt land and create flowing wonders on the Earths face? But, first of all, how are they made? Pretty much all you need is gravity, erosion, soft and hard bedrock, and a stream/river and then you get a waterfall. Now, lets get into detail.

Waterfalls start to form when you have a river bed with a slant. This slant gives an opportunity for erosion and gravity to start taking its place in the process of the making of a waterfall. But, if you have a flat stream or river, there won't be a time for gravity to happen in and you will only have water eroding downwards into the ground.

When you have that slant in the river or stream, the water current starts to cause a process called erosion. When erosion occurs, the river sweeps away the soft rock, leaving more of a slant in the river. But the harder rock stays at the top part of the slant. This gives a chance for the slant to get steeper. And as this happens, the water flow will get faster and stronger. This causes the bottom of the slant to become a pool. When the water plunges at the bottom of the pool, the water flow circulates, and starts to erode in back of the slant and create a cave. But eventually, the harder rock, that's on top, won't be able to take the pressure of the water, and will cave in. And when this happens, the slant will become a lot steeper, and will be steep enough to be considered a waterfall, said Slithers the Snake.

Thank you so much, but we best be going now are parents are probably worried, said Mia.

But first you must simply feel the water, said Slithers.Ok, said Mia. And stuck her hand into the water. Wo... and suddenly

she fell into the water as though the bracelet was pulling her. It must be the metals on the bottom, thought Caleb and dived in after

her. Mia and Caleb tumbled around until Mia hit her wrist on a rock. And in a flash they were gone.

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Who goes there?

Well, I am Bella the Bat, and I can teach you about the cave if you want.

Caleb Rivers and Mia Woods. And we dont know how we got here.

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Great! Let's get started.

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Many caves are formed when water seeps through the cracks in the earth. When the water hits limestone underground, it slowly creates a hollow space. Over many years the cracks grow into tunnels and rooms inside huge rocks.

Caves can be unique and beautiful because they can be filled with amazing formations and animals that you dont see every day. Water helps make the different formations. The most common are stalactites and stalagmites. These are formed when water drops from a cave ceiling to the floor. When the water dries, it leaves bits of limestone. When the stone hangs down from the ceiling they are called stalactites. When the forms grow bigger on the floor of a cave they are called stalagmites.

Now that you know some about caves we can go farther in, said Bella.

Ok, said Mia.

Wow! This is so

much darker. What kind of creatures live

in caves?

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There are many different

kinds of animals that live in

caves.

Some animals just visit caves but spend most of their lives outside. These animals include bears, foxes, snakes, groundhogs, raccoons, and rats. Some birds like to build nests in the entrance of a cave, such as swallows.

Other kinds of animals live both outside and inside caves. The most common are bats. They spend the day sleeping while hanging upside down in a cave. When it is night they go out and hunt mosquitos and gnats. Salamanders, beetles, millipedes, and centipedes are some other creatures that live both in caves and outside.

Some creatures spend their whole lives in caves. They are found in the very back of the cave where it is completely dark. These are very different because they look transparent or white. Many of them are blind or dont have eyes at all. The most common of these are salamanders, shrimp, crabs, crayfish, and millipedes. The olm is a type of salamander who lives underwater its whole life. It has gills on the side of its head that allow it to breathe.

Thanks Bella, but we should get going, said CalebLets see where we will go next, said Caleb and hit Mias wrist. With a

Flash! they were gone.

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They were back in Caleb's bedroom standing on the floor.

Mia do you want to sleep over tonight? yelled Calebs mom up the stairs.

Sure Mrs. Rivers. Thank you, answered Mia.So Caleb and Mia spent the rest of the day and night trying to find out how the bracelet had sent them through so many mysterious adventures. And where it would take them next.

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Magma:

Tectonic Plates:

Mantle:

Subduction:

Accretion:

Capstone:

Stalagmites:

Hot fluid or semifluid material below or within the earth's crust from which lava and other igneous rock is formed by cooling.

The dozen or so plates that make up the surface of the Earth.

The region of the earth's interior between the crust and the core.

The sideways and downward movement of the edge of a plate of the earth's crust into the mantle beneath another plate.

The process of growth or increase, typically by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter.

A stone fixed on top of something, typically a wall.

A mound or tapering column rising from the floor of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water and often uniting with a stalagmite.

Follett, Katherine. Cave Dwellers. N.p.: Learning A-Z, n.d.

Print.

Freedman, Jeri. The Creation of Mountains. New York: Rosen

Central, 2010. Print.

Granger, Ronald. Exploring Earths Surface. New York: Power

Kids, 2013. Print.

Harrison, David L. Caves: Mysteries Beneath Our Feet.

Pennsylvania: Boyd Mills Press, 2001. Print.

Nemeth, Jason D. Plate Tectonics. New York: Power Kids,

2012. Print.

Shannon, Terry Miller. Mysterious Caves. N.p.: Learning A-Z,

n.d. Print.

Silver, Donald M. Cave: One Small Square. New York: Learning

Triangle, 1993. Print.

addy is an energetic, creative girl who likes soccer and being crazy!

Grant is a 12 year old rock climber who loves acting and hacking computers.

Emily is an animal lover, who loves to draw, and likes nature.

Ruby is a 12 year old with a very unique personality, who loves doing aerial silks!

Read this book to jump into an amazing magical adventure where you will find everything you need to know and more about landforms far and wide.