Year 7 took a break from being in the classroom to head out into the field this week. Our destination? The Mud Volcanoes of the Buzau Mountains. Don't worry these aren't the type of volcanoes that will lay waste to your house, disrupt your holiday through volcanic ash, or even get turned into a disaster movie. They are pretty cool and impressive all the same.
So why do they exist? Well put simply there is oil under the surface, as much as 30,000 metres deep. The oil gives off gas. This gas rises up through cracks in the rock, some of the rock it passes through is clay. This mixes with underground water to get the liquid mud 'erupting' out in volcano shaped cone. Due to the oil you will notice a smell similar to petrol whilst you are in the area.
Some of these volcanoes are constantly erupting meaning you watch them in action, others are more intermittent. You can see where the mud has recently erupted as fresh flows carve out mini gorges as they meander, in the same way water does in a river down the hill.
Of course, there is a very real risk of getting muddy in a place like this, so make sure you take a change of clothes just in case, and remember this.
There is a reason why you should tie your shoes up properly!!
As the year draws to close we have three final topics in KS3 for students. Due to the nature of the term these topics will be short and focus on some of the main points of the issues.
Year 7
Year 7 will be looking at Rivers, they will explore the 3 main stages of a river. These are the Upper Middle and Lower courses. In doing so they will learn about some of the landforms associated with them and the processes used in forming them.
This video based on the River Severn in the UK gives an overview of how a river changes from the source to the mouth.
As part of their last unit on Plate Tectonics Year 7 will also have the opportunity to visit the Mud Volcanoes near Buzau. When we return from the trip I will write a separate post.
Year 8
Coasts and population is the year 8 topic. This will be based around a field trip to Constanta, students on the trip will practice methods of data collection and see first hand how people interact with the coastline. In the lessons leading up to the trip students will learn these techniques and about the process occurring along coastlines.
Once such technique involves deciding if waves are Constructive or Destructive, we can do this by counting waves and looking at their characteristics. Something students have already tried with this video.
To help you decide if these waves are constructive or destructive take a look at this link from the BBC.
Year 9
Globalisation, a topic that will be relevant to all students whether they are choosing to continue with Geography next year. It has strong links to Business and Economics and something which impacts all of us as we go through life.
Students will be exploring the positives and negatives of Globalisation and considering what the future holds as we potentially become more and more globalised.
This video helps us think about it even though it is packaged as a history video it is full of Geography.
