Notes on Madam How and Lady Why: Ch. 4 The Transformations of a Grain of Soil

Ch. 4 The Transformations of a Grain of Soil

 P. 78 In 1529 in Mexico, the conquistador Cortes ordered one of his men, Montano, to lead a very dangerous expedition to retrieve 60 lbs of sulphur from Popocatépetl (Popo’s Crater), which was used as gunpowder: http://www.dankat.com/mstory/volcano.htm

 P. 79-80 The difference between soul/spirit and physical body

 P. 81-83 Description of lava flow

 Video of Kilauea (Hawaii) erupting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=488BkTUsMa4&feature=related

 Whinstone: any various hard, dark-colored rocks, esp. basalt and chert (Free Online Dictionary)

 Slag: vitreous (glass-like) residue left by the smelting (melting or fusing) of metallic ore (Free Online Dictionary)

 Cinder: a burnt or partially burnt substance that cannot be reduced to ashes but is incapable of further combustion (Free Online Dictionary)

 Fascinating photo essay of volcanism and other geologic phenomena in Hawaii: http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/02ocean/hwgeo.htm

 P. 85-96 Kingsley explains the rock cycle

 Madeira: an island near Portugal

 Lothians of Scotland: Lothian is a region in Scotland which includes Edinburgh and Dunbar (Wikipedia)

 Rock cycle: http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/rockcycle

 Advantages/fertile soil: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/PlusSide/fertile_soils.html

 Advantages/mineral resources: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/PlusSide/mineral_resources.html

 Advantages/geothermal energy: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/PlusSide/geothermal.html

 Potash: a potassium compound often used in agriculture, being an ingredient in fertilizers (Princeton.edu)

 Magnesia: also called periclase; magnesium oxide (Princeton.edu)

 Silicates: types of rock that consist predominantly of silicon/oxygen; most of the Earth’s mantle and crust are made up of silicate rocks (http://smsc.cnes.fr/lexique/s.htm)

 Carbonic acid gas: carbon dioxide gas (absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis) (Princeton.edu)

 P. 88 Eruption of Skaptar Jokull in 1783 (and some other stories of volcanoes affecting the weather): http://www.volcanoweather.owlinc.org/

 West India Islands: West Indies, a group of islands just to the east of South/Central America

 Giant’s Causeway/Fingal’s Cave: Two corresponding areas of unique lava formations in Ireland and the Hebrides (near Scotland); they figure in legends about Finn McCool (Fionn Mac Cumhaill) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingal's_Cave http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant's_Causeway

 An example of a trap dyke in the Adirondacks of upstate New York: http://www.summitpost.org/route/205900/Trap-Dike-Winter.html

 Chalk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk

 An old geological map of the British Isles (volcanic—igneous—rock is labeled ‘E’ for “eruptive rocks” and is colored dark red): http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/jpg-Geological-Maps/8GB-Old-Map-British-Isles.jpg

 Some very cool pictures of rock formations in the South of England (Wessex), and more geological maps of the British Isles and Europe: http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/Geology-Britain.htm

 Since we live in Texas, a geological map of our state (igneous rock shown in pink): http://geology.about.com/od/maps/ig/stategeomaps/TXgeomap.htm

 Virtual geology field trips: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/onlineguides.html#txandnm

 Geological structures and landforms in Dallas County: http://www.geog.unt.edu/~williams/lab_10.htm

 Madam How’s ice plough: glaciers

 Madam How’s gentle spade: rain