Homework #3: “Cooling the Lava” Exercise
Due at the beginning of class on Feb. 19, 2018 (email or hard copy is fine)
Exercise:
Read “Cooling the Lava” from John McPhee’s 1988 work The Control of Nature and write a
response to it. The goal of this assignment is to make connections between what we have
discussed in lecture (i.e., how magma is formed and how magmas with different chemical
compositions have different physical properties and form in different geological settings) and
some real-world examples. Your response should be approximately 1 page long (with 12 pt
font and 1-inch margins) and include the following:
● A summary of the volcanic activity John McPhee describes at Iceland and Hawaii and
the geologic processes driving them;
● A summary of the techniques McPhee describes that humans have developed to deal
with volcanic activity in Iceland and Hawaii;
● Reflections on aspects of the text you found particularly interesting;
● At least one question you have after reading this chapter.