Curiosities of the Earth for children

It was discovered some time ago that in reality, the Earth is not completely round or spherical, its shape is irregular , being somewhat wider at the equator than at the poles, due to some differences in its internal composition and rotation. In addition, it presents other types of irregularities on its surface due to the weight of the oceans and continents, as well as the effect produced by the attraction of the moon.

The shape of the geoid , which is how it is called, is very useful for science, which explains the functioning of the internal processes of the Earth, the circulation of the oceans, the movement of large masses of ice, especially that of the poles and changes in sea level.

There is a point located in Canada, in Hudson Bay, where gravity behaves differently. At this point the gravity is less than in other parts of the world, this is due to two factors:

• One is related to the movements of magma in the Earth’s mantle and the movement that slowly displaces tectonic plates. These movements are called convection currents and are considered to be responsible for between 55% and 75% of the lower gravity in the area.
• The other factor is the disappearance of the ice sheet that existed in the past. Formerly, in the Ice Age, there was a gigantic ice sheet that covered the entire area and, due to its weight, caused the land to fall and sink in this area, changing its mass and gravity. This phenomenon is responsible for between 25% and 45% of the lesser severity.

Another of the great curiosities of the Earth for children is undoubtedly the situation at the deepest point on the planet. The deepest point on planet Earth is in the Mariana Trench , which is located in the Pacific Northwest, east of the Mariana Islands near the island of Guam.

The lowest point on Earth is 10,994 meters deep and there the pressure is more than 1,100 atmospheres, while on the surface of planet Earth the pressure is 1 atmosphere.

First, we will make it clear that a planet does not need natural satellites. The fact that the Earth has the Moon and that it is the largest satellite in the Solar System in relation to its planet, is the result of a pure catastrophic chance.

Be that as it may, the Moon has a slowing effect on the Earth’s rotation . According to scientists, before the Earth had the Moon, a day lasted only about six or eight hours . Some experts point out that, on planets with a faster rotation, such as Jupiter, the winds are also stronger. Therefore, the Moon has prevented our planet from being subjected to gales of more than 160km / h on a daily basis, which, without a doubt, would have hindered the development of life and, with it, our existence.

In addition, the Moon also influences the stability of the Earth’s axis of rotation. Without its presence, the movement of the Earth would change the inclination of the solar rays, having modified the climate considerably throughout history, there would be no eclipses, the nights would be darker and the tides would be much weaker.

In this other AgroCorrn article we tell you much more about The importance of the Moon on Earth .

We believe that a normal day in our life lasts 24 hours, which would be the time it takes us to locate the sun at the same point in the sky, considering, therefore, that the Earth has made a complete turn on itself. However, a day is actually 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds long .

In other words, every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds, the Earth makes a complete turn on its axis, giving rise to the temporal succession and the change between day and night. This is the fact that there have been leap years. Here we tell you more about why there are leap years and what they are .

Another of the most outstanding curiosities of the Earth for children is that our planet has another common name: the blue planet . Contrary to what its main name suggests, this other name suggests that it is a planet that we identify with water.

The truth is that it is called that because, in reality, although there is a lot of habitable land, the Earth has 70% of its surface covered with water . Specifically, 2.5% is fresh water and the rest is salt water. In addition, of the low percentage of fresh water, 68% of this is ice water that is at the poles.

To finish talking about some of the best known and at the same time strange curiosities of the Earth for children, we cannot leave behind the fact that the Amazon rainforest or Amazon jungle , which is located in South America, is known as the lungs of the Earth .

It is known by this other common name because we can consider it to be the area of ​​the planet that provides more oxygen or O and consumes more carbon dioxide or CO2. Specifically, 20% of the Earth’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon rainforest in South America. This is undoubtedly an indisputable reason why this jungle area of ​​the planet must be preserved.