Undersea Valleys, Mountains,
and Volcanoes
Activity: Students will learn that the earth’s
surface is as varied on the ocean floor as
it is on land.
- Explain that the National Geographic
Web site Physical Map of the U.S. shows
the surface of the earth in the United
States. Have students identify the major
plains, mountains, and valleys.
- Now ask them to predict what they think the
surface of the ocean floor would be like. Do
they expect to find mountains and valleys?
- Go to the Web site National Geographic:
Physical Map of the World, and click on the
Pacific Ocean. What do they notice about
the Pacific’s sea floor? It’s not smooth but,
rather, covered with mountains and deep
valleys! Many of the same forces that cause
geographical changes on land, such as
earthquakes and volcanoes, are also at work
on the ocean bottom.
- Visit the sites Looking at the Sea and The
Sea Floor. Have students identify and
describe the different levels of the ocean’s
topography, including the continental shelf,
the continental slope, and the ocean floor.
- Have students make their own model of the
ocean floor. They could create a painted
mural on the classroom bulletin board or
a 3-D diorama with modeling clay.
Encourage them to label the different levels
of the ocean floor using information from
the Web sites.
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