Rainforests grow in layers depending on the height of the trees. The tallest trees poke out above the forest. Below them is a thick roof of tree-tops called the canopy. Next comes a layer of shorter trees, herbs and shrubs.
What are grasslands?
Grasslands are huge plains of grass, trees and bushes. They grow in warm, dry places where there’s too little rain for forests to grow, but enough rain to stop the land turning into a desert.
Why did a grassland turn to dust?
In the 1930s, farmers in the south-west USA ploughed up the grasslands to grow wheat. But a terrible drought turned the soil to dry, useless dust which blew away in the wind. This was called a dustbowl.
Amazing!
Grassland animals eat different bits of the grass to avoid competition – zebras eat the tops, wildebeest eat the stems.
What are grasslands used for?
People use grasslands for grazing animals such as cattle which are raised for their meat. They also grow crops such as wheat and barley in gigantic fields. One wheat field in Canada was the size of 20,000 soccer pitches.
Is it true?
Rice is a type of grass.
YES. Rice is a cereal plant, which belongs to the grass family. The grains of rice come from the flower-heads. Ric
Why do volcanoes blow their tops?
Volcanoes are mountains that spit fire. Deep under the Earth there is red-hot, runny rock called magma. Sometimes the magma bursts up through a crack in the Earth’s crust and a volcano erupts.
Amazing
Some of the world’s highest mountains are volcanoes. They include Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa. Luckily for this nosy lion, Kilimanjaro is now long extinct.
What is lava?
Once magma has erupted from a volcano, it is called lava. Some lava is thick and lumpy. Some is thin and runny. In the air, it cools and turns into hard, black rock.
Is it true?
Volcanic ash can flow as fast as a train.
YES. Clouds of gas and ash can flow across the ground at over 160 kph!
What happened to Pompeii?
In AD 79, Mt Vesuvius in Italy blew its top in a massive explosion. The nearby city of Pompeii was buried under a huge cloud of hot ash and rock. Thousands of people were suffocated. Others fled for their lives.
How long do volcanoes sleep for?
Hundreds or even thousands of years. A sleeping volcano is called dormant, but it can wake up at any minute. A volcano that still erupts is called active. An extinct volcano is one that is never likely to erupt again.
Amazing!
The most active volcano on Earth is Kilauea in Hawaii. It has erupted non-stop for almost 20 years! All that lava means the island of Hawaii is getting bigger every day.
