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© 2010 Universal Uclick

release dates: March 20-26 12-1 (10)

Can you imagine anything in nature so big that it could change the climate and destroy plants and animals over much of the planet? Try to picture a supervolcano — a volcano so huge it could remake the world. Supervolcanoes are the most powerful volcanoes on Earth. Amazingly, three supervolcanoes have erupted in the area of Yellowstone National Park in the western United States. The Mini Page talked to a volcano scientist to explore more about super-volcanoes. Experts say we don’t need to worry about supervolcanoes. One erupts less than every 100,000 years or so.

Volcano terms to know • Magma is rock that is so hot it is liquid, or molten. It is underground. • A volcano is a place where the magma reaches the Earth’s surface. • Lava is magma that is no longer underground, but is flowing over the Earth’s surface. • A vent is the opening in the Earth where volcanic materials and gas erupt.

• A crater is the circular depression, or lowered part of the Earth, that was created when a volcano exploded. • An active volcano

is a volcano that is erupting or showing signs of activity.

When the Earth Blows Its Top

Supervolcanoes!

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from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

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In 1980, a volcano that had been dormant, or sleeping, for 123 years erupted in Washington state. When this volcano, Mount St. Helens, erupted, it sent out clouds of ash. Mount St. Helens was much smaller than a supervolcano.Volcanic ash is very dangerous. It is made of tiny bits of sharp, jagged rock and glass.When people and animals breathe it in, it can cause severe breathing problems and even death.Ash can kill crops. Mount St. Helens’ swirling ash caused lightning and forest fires.When Mount St. Helens exploded, the ash also damaged electronics and machinery. The hot ash coated jet engines, melting some of the parts.

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Magma collects in roomlike areas, or chambers, under the surface of the Earth. It escapes through openings in the Earth’s surface, becoming lava. But sometimes, if magma is especially thick, it doesn’t escape a bit at a time. Pressure builds up, and it explodes.


12-2 (10); release dates: March 20-26®

What is a supervolcano? The power of a volcano is measured by how much magma and ash it produces. A supervolcano is the biggest, most destructive volcano. Even the smallest supervolcano would produce enough lava to cover Texas in a layer as tall as an average 8-year-old. That one explosion would produce enough lava and rocks to fill about 240 cubic miles, or a cube 240 miles on each side and 240 miles deep. Supervolcanoes are exploding volcanoes. They are not the volcanoes where lava flows out more slowly.

Rocking the world A supervolcano eruption would change the climate all over the world. It would shoot out an enormous burst of ash and lava, like a firehose shooting miles into the sky. The ash would then move like a cloud across the sky, blanketing the land and blocking out the sun. A supervolcano could cause freezing conditions for years all over the world, even in the tropics. Plants and animals would die, and there would not be enough food. The last supervolcano was in Indonesia about 74,000 years ago. Experts believe it caused so much climate change and other damage, it killed most of the people on Earth. Human DNA studies back this up. When scientists trace differences in DNA, it appears that all modern humans descended from a group of a few thousand people living about 70,000 years ago. These people might have been the only ones who survived the effects of the supervolcano.

The Powerful Supervolcano

Words that remind us of supervolcanoes are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: ACTIVE, ASH, CALDERA, CLIMATE, EARTHQUAKES, ERUPTION, EXPLOSIVE, FLOW, GAS, GEYSERS, HOT, INDONESIA, KILL, LAVA, MAGMA, ROCK, SKY, VENT, VOLCANO, WARNING, YELLOWSTONE.

Supervolcano try ’nfind

Volcanoes are awesome!

V R M S R E S Y E G W O L F I O V O A E V I T C A V Y K S N L K E C G M K E T A M I L C D C H I N K M N O I T P U R E O A H O L T K A W A R N I N G N N M N T L K K A R E D L A C E O A V A L E V I S O L P X E S G A S E N O T S W O L L E Y I S E K A U Q H T R A E H S A A


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ready resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for Web sites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.On the Web:• www.greateryellowstonescience.org/topics/

physical/volcano• www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/index.htm• http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo• http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/kids/index.htmlAt the library:• “National Geographic Readers: Volcanoes!” by Anne Schreiber• “Volcanoes and Earthquakes” (DK Eyewitness Books), by

Susanna van RosePlease include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.

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Mount St. Helens was an exploding volcano. When a volcano is explosive, the lava, rocks and gases blow out with sudden violence. Mount St. Helens’ ash rose thousands of feet into the sky.

Lava spews from a volcano erupting in Paricutin, Mexico, in 1943.

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® 12-3 (10); release dates: March 20-26

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeAstounding Asparagus



Meet Logan Lerman Logan Lerman stars as Percy in the movie “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” He has starred in several other movies, including “Hoot” and the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie “A Painted House.” He starred as Bobby in the TV show “Jack & Bobby.” Logan, 18, grew up in Beverly Hills,

Calif., where he still lives with his family. He has a sister. He decided he was going to be an actor when he was only 21/2 years old. He saw a Jackie Chan movie and told his mom he was going to be an actor. When he was 4, his parents helped him get an agent, and he acted in two commercials. Logan enjoys playing soccer and baseball. He has two dogs.

You’ll need:• 1 pound fresh asparagus• 1 tablespoon olive oil• 1/4 cup sliced almonds• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheeseWhat to do:1. Break off bottom ends of asparagus spears.2. Heat 2 inches of water in a large skillet until boiling.3. Place asparagus spears in boiling water and cook for 2 minutes until

bright green.4. Remove asparagus from heat and rinse under cold water. Set asparagus

aside.5. Heat olive oil in same skillet. Add asparagus and sliced almonds. Stir to

coat with olive oil and heat through.6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.You will need an adult’s help with this recipe. from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

Nancy: What did the girl volcano say to the boy volcano?

Ned: “I lava you very much!”

Nathan: What do we call a clumsy volcano?Nadia: A fall-cano!

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All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?

Nash: What is a good name for a volcano?Norm: Ashley!


Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy and Alpha Mouse are hiking near a smoking volcano. See if you can find: • lips• frog • sleeping cat • alligator • cherry• word MINI • fish • bird • number 7• lizard • snake • elephant • eel• net • safety pin • giraffe • bucket


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The Mini Page’s popular series of issues about each state is collected here in a 156-page softcover book. Conveniently spiral-bound for ease of use, this invaluable resource contains A-to-Z facts about each state, along with the District of Columbia. Illustrated with colorful photographs and art, and complete with updated information, The Mini Page Book of States will be a favorite in classrooms and homes for years to come.

NEW!

To order, send $15.99 ($19.99 Canada) plus $5 postage and handling for each copy. Make check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to Universal Uclick. Send to The Mini Page Book of States, Universal Uclick, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS 66206. Or call toll-free 800-591-2097 or go to www.smartwarehousing.com. Please send ______ copies of The Mini Page Book of States (Item #0-7407-8549-4) at $20.99 each, total cost. (Bulk discount information available upon request.)Name: _____________________________________________Address: ____________________________________________City: ______________________________________________State: __________________________ Zip: ________________

The Mini Page® Book of States


12-4 (10); release dates: March 20-26®

Supervolcano hot spot Supervolcano sites are all over the Earth. Three of the biggest supervolcanoes ever to have erupted were in the area of Yellowstone National Park. The first, and largest, erupted 2.1 million years ago. This supervolcano was about 2,500 times bigger than Mount St. Helens. Its explosion created enough magma to fill 585 cubic miles. This is about 6,000 times greater than the amount produced by Mount St. Helens. So much magma burst out so quickly that the ground caved in, sucking in mountains and everything else around. This cave-in created a giant depression bigger than Rhode Island. A depression caused by a volcano is called a caldera (kal-DER-uh). This caldera is mostly filled in now. It is still visible from space. The other two Yellowstone supervolcanoes erupted 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago.

Watching out for dangers Experts say people don’t need to worry about a volcano erupting while they’re visiting Yellowstone. Scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory closely monitor conditions. Experts believe there would be plenty of warning if a volcano were getting ready to erupt. In Chile in 2008, a volcano erupted that was only about 1/1,000th of the size of a supervolcano. Even though there were no machines monitoring that system, increased earthquakes

gave people plenty of warning. Everyone got away safely. Yellowstone would be even safer.

Volcanoes at Yellowstone

Violence brewing underground Yellowstone National Park is the site of one of the biggest active volcano systems in the world. Experts believe there could be more magma under the ground there than almost anywhere else on Earth. There have been about 80 smaller volcano eruptions in the area since the last supervolcano eruption 640,000 years ago. These smaller volcanoes have produced slower-moving lava, rather than explosions. It has been about 70,000 years since a Yellowstone volcano last erupted. The liquid magma and gases created by the system cause a lot of movement in the earth. The ground goes up and down as if it’s breathing, rising or falling about a foot a year. There are about 2,000 earthquakes a year. Most of these are so small that visitors barely notice them.


The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

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Steam escapes from holes and vents in Yellowstone National Park. The volcanic system in the park creates the hot springs and geysers the park is famous for. Yellowstone has more geysers, hot springs and steam vents in one place than anywhere else on Earth.

Ash from the supervolcano at Yellowstone 2.1 million years ago covered about half the United States. This area is known as the Huckleberry Ridge ash bed. Compare this ash fall area to the ash fall area from Mount St. Helens.

The Mini Page thanks John Eichelberger, program coordinator, U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program, for help with this issue.

Look through your newspaper for stories and pictures on the power of nature.

Next week, The Mini Page is about the 75th anniversary of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book “Little House on the Prairie.”

Mount St. Helens

Yellowstone Plateau

Huckleberry Ridge Ash Bed

Ash-1980

release dates: March 20-26 12-5 (10)

(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 12, to be used in place of ad if desired.)



Supersport: Alex OvechkinHeight: 6-2 Birthdate: 9-17-85Weight: 233 Hometown: Moscow, Russia Alex Ovechkin makes hockey look like an art form. He skates across the ice with purpose, controls the puck, escapes defenders and finishes with a sharp shot into the net. The Washington Capitals star is one of the premier players

in the game, an NHL all-star. As of Feb. 15, the 24-year-old left wing ranked second in goals scored (42), sixth in assists (47) and first in total points (89). In the last two years, Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy awarded to the league’s most valuable player. He has athletic genes. His mother, Tatyana, won two Olympic gold medals in basketball. His father, Mikhail, played professional soccer. Alex likes listening to music, eating pasta and sushi, vacationing in Turkey and helping others. He bought eight Capitals season tickets to give to soldiers and people in need. He’s a tough guy with a hockey stick — but nice off the ice!

(Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 12.)

Standards Spotlight: Supervolcanoes!

Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page’s content and offer activities that will help your students reach them.

This week’s standard:• Students understand changes in the Earth and sky. (Science: Earth and Space

Science)Activities:1. Make a poster with newspaper words and pictures of things that are big and

powerful.2. Divide a paper into two columns. Put newspaper words for things that help the

Earth in one column. Put newspaper words for things that hurt the Earth in the second column.

3. Find three people in the newspaper who could be helpful if a volcano erupted near your city. Explain your choices.

4. How do supervolcanoes cause harm to (a) forests, (b) people, (c) animals and (d) machinery?

5. Use the Internet to research the volcano nearest to where you live. What is the history of the volcano?(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)

®from The Mini Page © 2010 Universal Uclick

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by Betty Debnam

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(Note to Editor: Above is camera-ready, one column-by-31/2-inch ad promoting Issue 12.)

Read all about super-

volcanoes

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