First Children Encyclopedia

(Marvins-Underground-K-12) #1

The ground holds many useful things,


from fuels like coal and oil, to drinking


water, and building materials. These


valuable items are known as resources


and we have dug, drilled, and


searched for them for many years.


Resources in the ground

In hot water


Water in the ground can get very


hot near volcanoes. In Iceland,


they use this naturally hot water to


heat houses or make steam to turn


electricity generators.


Which underground resource are plastics made from?


Finding fuels


Oil and gas are often found in pockets deep


underground. Sometimes, these are even


below the seabed. Coal develops closer


to the surface in layers called seams.


256


Deep drilling
Oil rigs far out
at sea use huge
drills to extract
the liquid oil
from the ground.
Coal is solid and
is dug out in
mines or pits.

People drill
holes to
extract oil
and gas
from deep
under the
sea floor.

Rig
Sea level

Planet Earth

Free download pdf