Earth and Maps

8 Splashes.

1. Grand CanyonThe Grand Canyon in Arizona is about 1,800 meters (a mile) deep, cut by the Colorado River over the last five or six million years through layers of rock laid down over almost two billion years.
2. Mount St. HelensHelens, a volcano in Washington State, erupted on May 18, 1980.
3. The Sea FloorThe Mariana Trench in the western Pacific is the deepest place in the ocean: its Challenger Deep is nearly 11 kilometers (about 7 miles) down.
4. Bar Harbor TidesTides are the slow rise and fall of the sea, pulled by the Moon and the Sun.
5. HurricaneHurricane Polo grew over the warm eastern Pacific, off the coast of Mexico, in September 2026.
6. Relief MapA relief map shows the shape of the land.
7. Stork MigrationWhite storks fly thousands of kilometers each fall from Europe to Africa, and back in spring.
8. EarthquakesGeological Survey publishes the earthquakes it has located around the world.