DO THE CONTINENTS REALLY MOVE?

Yes, the continents and oceans are constantly moving on the Earth's crust. More than 200 million years ago,the continents were joined in one huge land mass, but over millions of years this drifted and separated into the seven main continents we know today: Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, North America, and South America.

200 millions years ago

Many of the continents are locked together in a landmass named Pangaea.

100 millions years ago

Divergent plates begin to open up the Atlantic Ocean. South America drifts west, Antarctica heads for the South Pole, and India creeps towards Asia

Today

India is in place after colliding with the Eurasian mainland. Greenland separates from North America, which has a land bridge with South America, Australia drifts in the Pacific Ocean

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WHY IS BLOOD RED?

Blood is red because most of its cells are packed with a red-substance called haemoglobin. Using this, the red blood cells pick up vital oxygen and deliver it to the body's cells. To achieve this and other roles, such as removing waste, blood is pumped along blood vessels by the heart.

How dry is a desert?

The dry conditions in the deserts occur due to the lack of rain and snow, which is usually less than 25cm (9.8 in) in a year. The driest desert on Earth is the Atacama, Chile, where in many parts there has not been any rainfall in living memory. Hot desert are found close to the tropics, where the Sun's rays are strongest. Hot desert are freezing at night because there are no clouds to trap the Earth's heat.

HOW DO MOUNTAINS GROW?

Where the plates of Earth's crust crash into each other, land is pushed upward, forming mountains. The Himalayas are the tallest mountains on Earth, and the youngest. They formed over the last 145 millions years, as India crashed into Asia. Mountains are also formed when volcanoes erupt and molten rock builds up into steep mounds.

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