Download Fire Quided _s KEY

“Fire” Guided Reading Questions, pages 3-12 KEY
Directions: Use these questions/prompts to guide your reading. Answer the questions on
this paper.
I.
Geologic Time
1. Where we live used to be under the ocean (Pacific Ocean).
2. What are the names of the two plates that continue to collide here in
Washington? The North American Plate and the Juan de Fuca Plate
II.
Plate Movement
1. What is convergent plate movement? What does it mean for Washington?
Convergent plate movement is when two giant plates meet and one is
forced under the other. This is the type of plate movement in WA, with
the Juan de Fuca Plate moving under the North American Plate.
2. What is the major landform in Washington, that has resulted from plates
meeting? The Cascade Mountain Range
3. What is happening to the Juan de Fuca Plate as it ‘meets’ the North
American Plate? (2 things) The plate is melting as it is pushed under the
North American Plate and the melted rock keeps rising through cracks
in the crust and is creating volcanoes.
III.
Volcanoes
1. Mt. Saint Helens is the (smallest/largest) of the volcanoes that make up
the Cascade Mountain Range.
2. What does it mean if a volcano is described as ‘dormant’? It is inactive
and/or it describes the time in between eruptions.
3. What other Washington volcanoes (3) are mentioned in this section?
Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier
4. How was the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington created? It was
created by magma repeatedly flowing through fissures (cracks) in the
crust, cooling, and creating layers of basalt.
5. What is basalt? Basalt is the rock that is formed when lava cools and
hardens.
IV.
Ring of Fire
1. What is the Ring of Fire? It is the area of land that borders the Pacific
Ocean that is known for volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
V.
Earthquakes
1. The most recent earthquake in Washington was on February 28, 2001 and
it measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.