Avalanches A mass of snow which detaches itself from a mountain and falls down the mountain slope is called an Avalanche. Avalanches can be made up of loose snow or of large blocks of frozen snow. Minor earthquakes or changes in temperature generally cause the snow to break loose from the mountain and fall downward. Besides this avalanches are also caused because of the changes in depth, humidity and pressure. Most...

Rainbows a Wonder of Nature When we pass light through a prism of glass, we are able to see the seven colours it is made up of. A shower of rain leaves everything around looking bright and fresh. On occasions, during a shower of rain, we see an arch of seven colours in the sky, quite like the seven colours of light passing through a prism of glass. In reality both...

Storms, Hurricanes, and Tornadoes Storms are basically very strong winds. Most Storms or Thunderstorms take place when large masses of warm air rise rapidly thus forming large cumulonimbus clouds, others may occur along cold fronts in temperate regions. Storms result in heavy downpours of rain after which the sky becomes clear. Storms are generally accompanied by thunder and lightning. As the large clouds form, strong currents of air cause the raindrops...

Rains and Monsoons Water evaporates from the surface of the Earth and rises upwards into the atmosphere in the form of water vapour which gets condensed back into drops of water at higher altitudes. These droplets of water arc very light and clusters of them form clouds, as these droplets merge with each other to form larger drops, they become heavy and fall back to the Earth as rain. Clouds arc...

Climatic Belts of the World The usual weather condition in a particular part of the world is called the Climate. Climates can vary between various parts of the world and between the equator and the poles. Climatic conditions are influenced by various factors including proximity to the equator, landscape, proximity to the sea or ocean etc. However climates can be classified into five main types. Polar climates are found in the...

The Time Zones   While the sun is rising on one part of the Earth, it is setting else where, this is a result of the Earth’s rotation on it’s axis. In order to keep a track of time in different parts of the world, the Earth is divided into various time zones. These time zones mark the different setting of clocks in various parts of the world. The time in...

How Maps are Created Some maps show national or state boundaries and the locations of various cities, while others show the physical characteristics of the terrain in an area. Mapping was initially done on the ground by surveyors using various equipments which included tape measures, theodolites, plane tables, chains, striped poles etc. However today aircraft take photographs of pieces of land. using powerful cameras, once developed, these pictures are placed together...

An Introduction to Geology The surface of the earth is constantly changing;  some changes have been sudden, because of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, while others have taken place gradually over thousands of years. The science of studying the earth’s surface and its changes is called Geology and scientists who study it are called Geologists. Though geology has its origins in ancient India and ancient Greece, it was only in the 18th...