Cascade Range

We just learned about the Olympic Mountains in the Pacific Coast Belt of the North American Cordillera.

Another mountain range in the belt is the Cascade Range which goes from British Columbia Canada, through Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

There are a lot of volcanoes in this mountain range, and for the last 200 years all of the volcanoes that have erupted in the lower US states were in the Cascades.

The most famous eruption was Mount St. Helens in 1980.

The famous people Lewis and Clark came through the Cascades mapping their way across the US.




(from: wikipedia - cascade range)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Malawi

Olympic Mountains

Remember we're learning about the moutain ranges in the Pacific Coast Belt on the North American Cordillera.

We just learned about the Insular Mountains.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coast Belt is the Olympic Mountains.

These mountains have water on three sides, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Seattle to the east.
Because they are surrounded by so much water, the western slopes are the wettest place in the lower 48 states, which doesn't include Alaska and Hawaii.

The tallest mountain in this range is Mount Olympus, which is different from the famous mountain in Greece.


(from: wikipedia - olympic mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Great Bear Lake

Insular Mountains

We just learned about the Coast Mountains in the Pacific Coast Belt, in the North American Cordillera.

Another mountain range in that belt is the Insular Mountains in British Columbia, Canada.

These mountains were made from lava, and created the Vancouver Islands and the Haida Gwaii Islands.
The bottom of these mountains goes below the sea level, which is called not fully exposed.

There are still many earthquakes in this area.


(from: wikipedia - insular mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Baikal

Coast Mountains

We just learned about the Yukon Ranges in the Pacific Coast Belt of the North American Cordillera.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coast Belt is the Coast Mountains.
On the west side of these ranges is a temperate rainforest, which then leads to ice fields and glaciers in the middle, and on the east side is plateaus and forests.

This mountain range has the largest bunch of ice fields in the world.


(from: wikipedia - coast mountains)


(from: wikipedia - coast mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Tanganyika

Yukon Ranges

We just learned about the Talkeetna Mountains in the Pacific Coast Belt of the North American Cordillera.

Another famous mountain range is the Yukon Ranges in Alaska and Canada.

There are a bunch of other smaller "sub ranges" inside the Yukon ranges, called the Anvil Range, Dawson Range, Miners Range, Nisling Range, Ogilvie Mountains, Nahoni Range, Pelly Mountains, Big Salmon Range, Glenlyon Range, Saint Cyr Range, Ruby Range, Russel Range and Wrangell Mountains.

The Wrangell Mountains are mostly from volcanoes, and are some of the largest shield volcanoes in the US.


(from: wikipedia - yukon ranges)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Michigan

Talkeetna Mountains

We just learned about the Chugach Mountains.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coastal Belt is the Talkeetna Mountains.

There is a glacier on this mountain called the Mint Glacier, and there is a Mint Valley, and even mountain peaks called the Troublemint and Doublemint peaks.


(from: wikipedia - talkeetna mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Huron

Chugach Mountains

We just learned about the Kenai Mountains.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coast Belt in Alaska is the Chugach Mountains.

These mountains are right by the Gulf of Alaska, and because of that they get more snowfall than anywhere else in the world, usually getting over 600 inches (50 feet!) of snow per year.


(from: wikipedia - chugach mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Victoria

Kenai Mountains

We just learned about the Pacific Coast Belt group of mountain ranges that are part of the North American Cordillera group of mountain belts.

There are many mountain ranges in the Pacific Coast Belt, like the Kenai Mountains.

The Kenai mountains are in Alaska, and are between 3,000 to 5,000 feet tall.
There have many glaciers on these mountains, as well as rivers that are very popular for fishing.

The mountains were named after the Kenai natives who lived in the area.





(from: wikipedia - kenai mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Superior

Pacific Coast Belt

We just learned that the North American Cordillera is a group of five different mountainous areas in North America.

The first area is called the Pacific Coast Belt.

This belt contains four mountain ranges: The Southern Alaska ranges, the Western System of Canada, the Pacific Border Province in contiguous U.S. and the Western mountain ranges of Mexico.



(from: wikipedia - Pacific Coast Ranges)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Caspian Sea

North American Cordillera

We just learned about the Saint Elias Mountains in Alaska.

Most of the mountain ranges we've learned about have been in Asia, as those are the highest mountains in the world.

In North America, there are mountain ranges that are part of a group of mountain ranges.
The word cordillera means a group of different mountain ranges.

The North American Cordillera is a group of five different areas called belts that all have mountain ranges in them.


(from: wikipedia - north american cordillera)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: US Virgin Islands

Saint Elias Mountains

We just learned about the Alaska Range mountains.

The next highest mountain range is the Saint Elias Mountains.

These mountains are on the southern coast of Alaska, right on the pacific ocean.
Because they are on the coast, they are called coastal mountains.
They are the highest coastal mountains on earth.


(from: wikipedia - saint elias mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Puerto Rico

Alaska Range

We just learned about the Andes Mountains.

The next highest mountain range is the Alaska Range.

These mountains are like a big wall blocking warm air from the Gulf of Alaska, so the weather on these mountains is very rough.

There are also earthquakes and volcanoes on this range, even though it is way up north in Alaska.


(from: wikipedia - alaska range)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northern Mariana Islands

US Virgin Islands

We just learned about the US territory of Puerto Rico.

Another US territory is the US Virgin Islands, which is in the Atlantic Ocean to the south east of Florida.

There are three main islands, and about 50 other very small islands.


(from: wikipedia - united states virgin islands)

The flag of the US Virgin Islands is white with an eagle between the letters V and I.
In one talon the eagle holds an olive branch, and in the other it holds three arrows for the three major islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix.

(from: wikipedia - flag of the united states virgin islands)

There is an old fort on one of the islands named Fort Willoughby that is over 200 years old.

(from: wikipedia - hassel island, u.s. virgin islands)

Trunk Bay on the island of St. John has a white sand beach and snorkeling.

(from: wikipedia - virgin islands national park)

In all of the rest of the US and its territories, people drive cars on the right side of the road. In the US Virgin Islands, they drive on the left side of the road. place

(from: wikipedia - right- and left-hand traffic)

Across the US are 10 very large satellite dishes, over 10 feet tall each.
They make up something called the Very Long Baseline Array, that can be used to look into outer space.
One of them is on the island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.

(from: wikipedia - very long baseline array)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Arkansas

Puerto Rico

We just learned about the US Territory of Northern Mariana Islands.

Another US territory is the island of Puerto Rico, which is just east of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean.


(from: wikipedia - puerto rico)

The flag of Puerto Rico has a blue triangle with a star in it, three red stripes and two white stripes.


(from: wikipedia - flag of puerto rico)

On Flamenco Beach, there are some old rusting tanks that were left there over 30 years ago, and people have painted graffiti on them.

(from: wikipedia - flamenco beach)

There is a fancy old fire station called Parque de Bombas that was designed over 100 years ago to show off at the world's fair.

(from: wikipedia - parque de bombas)

There is a giant telescope called Arecibo Observatory that is over 1000 feet wide.

(from: wikipedia - arecibo observatory)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Arizona

Northern Mariana Islands

We just learned about the US Territory of Guam.

Another US territory is the Northern Mariana Islands, which are north of Australia.


(from: wikipedia - northern mariana islands)

Their flag has a blue background, with a white star, a latte stone and a decorative wreath.

(from: wikipedia - flag of northern mariana islands)

Latte stones are large cut stone pillars that are from very old times.
Many people believe they were used to hold up large houses for the important people on the island.

(from: wikipedia - latte stone)

Pagan island is one of the islands in the territory, and people used to live there until the volcano erupted.
Now it is an empty island with a volcano.

(from: wikipedia - pagan island)

Anatahan is another island in the territory that is empty because of the volcanic eruptions.

(from: wikipedia - anatahan)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alaska

Guam

We just learned about the territory of American Samoa.

Another American territory is Guam.
Guam is in the Pacific ocean, north of Australia.


(from: wikipedia - guam)

The flag of Guam has a blue background, a red border, and the seal in the middle.
The seal is shaped like a type of stone called a Chamorro sling stone, which was used for hunting.
On the seal are a coconut, a boat called a proa, a palm tree, a river and the Agana Bay.

(from: wikipedia - flag of guam)

There is a high place on the island overlooking the ocean called Puntan Dos Amantes.

(from: wikipedia - guam)

There is a peninsula on the island that sticks out and makes an area called Apra Harbor that is very nice for ships to travel in and out of.

(from: wikipedia - apra harbor)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alabama

American Samoa

We've looked at the 50 states in the US, and Washington D.C..

There are also places called US territories, that are kind of like states except some of them can't do things like vote for president or some other laws.

One of the territories is called American Samoa.
It is out in the Pacific ocean, between Hawaii and Australia.

Their motto is "Samoa, Muamua Le Atua" which means Samoa, Let God Be First.


(from: wikipedia - american samoa)

The flag of American Samoa is red white and blue with a bald eagle on it.
The bald eagle is holding a Samoan uatogi war club for the power of the government, and a Samoan fue fly-whisk for the wisdom of the Samoan leaders.

(from: wikipedia - flag of american samoa)

The seal of American Samoa has the fue fly switch, the To'oto'o staff for the chiefs, and the Tanoa bowl for service to the chief.

(from: wikipedia - seal of american samoa)

There are tattoos there called pe'a for boys and malu for girls.
The boys get tattoos all the way from their back down to their knees.
The girls get tattoos from their thighs to their knees.


(from: wikipedia - pe'a)

There is a special fire dance in American Samoa called the siva afi, or fire knife.

(from: wikipedia - fire knife)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Liberia

Washington D.C.

We just learned about the US State of Wyoming

Another part of the US is Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. is a part of the US called a district.
It is the capitol city of the USA.
The district's motto is Justitia Omnibus which means Justice for All.

The letters D.C. stand for District of Columbia. It was called that because when the US wanted to make a capitol, Christopher Columbus was very popular, so they named the capitol after him.

Washington D.C. is in the eastern part of the US, right by Maryland and Virginia.


(from: wikipedia - washington, d.c.)

The flag of Washington D.C. is white with three red stars above two red stripes.
It looks like this because it was the flag of George Washington.

(from: wikipedia - flag of the district of columbia)

The seal of Washington D.C. has a picture of George Washington, a picture of lady liberty with a wreath and a stone tablet of the constitution.
It also has the US capitol, some farm crops, an eagle, a train and the sun.

(from: wikipedia - seal of the district of columbia)

Because it is the nation's capitol, there are many famous buildings and statues.

The White House where the President lives.

(from: wikipedia - white house)

The US capitol where the people work to make the laws for America.

(from: wikipedia - united states capitol)

The Lincoln Memorial, a building made to honor Abraham Lincoln.

(from: wikipedia - lincoln memorial)

The Washington Monument, a tall obelisk made to honor George Washington.

(from: wikipedia - washington monument)

The Jefferson Memorial, a building made to honor Thomas Jefferson.

(from: wikipedia - jefferson memorial)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tunisia

Wyoming

We just learned about the US state of Wisconsin.

Wyoming is a state in the west part of the US.

It's nicknames are the Equality State, Cowboy State, Big Wyoming and Wonderful Wyoming.
It's motto is Equal Rights

It has the fewest people of any state in the US.

(from: wikipedia - wyoming)

The flag of Wyoming has a red and white border with a blue background and a white picture of an American Bison.
The red is for the Native Americans and Pioneers, the white is for purity and goodness, the blue is for the skies and mountains.
The bison is for the nature found in Wyoming.


(from: wikipedia - flag of wyoming)

The seal of Wyoming shows a farmer and a miner, the lamp of knowledge, the words Oil, Mines, Livestock and Grain, and a statue in the center that says Equal Rights, which is for the equality of women in the state.

(from: wikipedia - seal of wyoming)

Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming. It is one of the largest and oldest national parks in the US.
It is a home to many animal species like moose, wolves and bears that can't live in big cities so they live naturally at Yellowstone.
It has many natural wonders, like it's own grand canyon.

(from: wikipedia - yellowstone national park)

Grand Prismatic Spring is at Yellowstone, it is the largest hot springs in the US.

(from: wikipedia - yellowstone national park)

The geyser Old Faithful is at Yellowstone, which erupts every 91 minutes.

(from: wikipedia - old faithful)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chad