The Geosphere is one of the four spheres -- Geosphere (earth), Hydrosphere (water), Atmosphere (air), and Biosphere (life) -- that make life on Earth possible. Each of these spheres are made of different materials and provide unique ways of supporting the miracle of life. In this lesson we will go over the Geosphere and answer three questions; What is the Geosphere made of, Why is the Geosphere important, and how does the Geosphere interact with other spheres?
The Geosphere is the land. From the smallest grain of sand to the biggest mountain. If you will, close your eyes, and imagine a mountain, some parts of this mountain you might notice are caves, rocks, dirt and cliffs, some things you might see that aren’t part of the Geosphere are, trees, fish, clouds, and rain. These are all part of the Geosphere. If we picture something bigger, like a continent, we might see even more Geosphere features, like plateaus, desserts, stalagmites, stalactites, craters, and hills. All of these make up the Geosphere.
We know what the Geosphere is, but why is it important for life? If there was no Geosphere, there would be nothing to walk on, there would be no ground for plants, there would be no habitats for animals, there wouldn’t even be space for us. In other words, if there was no Geosphere, Earth would be just a blob of water surrounded by air. The Geosphere has a great way of making sure that it sticks around. By using its various volcanoes to spew lava, which then cools, the Geosphere is constantly creating more land.
How does the Geosphere interact with the other three spheres? The Geosphere interacts mostly with the Hydrosphere (water) and Biosphere (life). The Biosphere and Hydrosphere both grind down the Geosphere shaping a lot of landforms you see. For example, if you look at a picture of a mountain from 50 years ago, and then look at a picture of that same mountain from today, you might notice that the older picture is more rough and cragged, while the current picture is smoother. This fifty year change is an example of the Hydro and Bio spheres interacting and shaping the Geosphere through erosion and weathering.
Thank you for reading about the Geosphere! In this lesson we went over and answered these three questions; What is the Geosphere made of, Why is the Geosphere important, and How does the Geosphere interact with the other spheres? I hope that when you go on a hike, you will be able to see all the parts of the Geosphere and know what they are doing for you. Who knows? Maybe you will start a collection of all the interesting things you find that are part of the Geosphere!
Question 1: Which one of these were on the list of things you might have seen on your imaginary mountain as part of the Geosphere?
Correct: Rocks
Wrong: Fish
Wrong: Clouds
Wrong: Rain
Question 2: If the Geosphere suddenly disappeared, what would Earth be like?
Correct: A blob of water surrounded by air
Wrong: Europa
Wrong: The Moon
Wrong: Walt Disney World
Question 3: What two spheres do the Geosphere interact with the most?
Correct: The Hydro and Biosphere
Wrong: The Atmo and Cryosphere
Wrong: The World War One and World War Two spheres
Wrong: The Bio and Anthroposphere