The Earth and It’s Resources: A Resources Review of Three Urban Cities Earth and Ocean Sciences—The University of British Columbia Anitra Paris
THE EARTH AND IT’S RESOURCES
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Cover Page Index Intro Reykavik Iceland Arica, Chile Venice, Italy Glossary Annotated Bibliography
R E Y K JAV I K , I C E L A N D
ARICA, CHILE
V E N I C E , I TA LY
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Reykjavik, Iceland Population: 170,000 In the Northern Hemisphere Island nation in the North Atlantic
Reykjavik is Iceland’s capital located on the South West coast of this isolated island nation surrounded by the Northern Atlantic. The population of this city is around 170,000 inhabitants, which makes up about 60% of Iceland’s total population. There is extensive volcanic and geothermal activity in this region, which has shaped Iceland’s
unique landscape. Iceland is technically a hotspot, it is the only body of land not moving with the continental drift. Due to it’s isolation from the continental drift phenomenon, in theory once the hotspot ceases to be active the island will disappear (“Comprehensive History”, n.d.).
Mid-Oceanic Ridge on Land! The mid-Atlantic rift is visible above land and has been used as a crucial tool to measure the plate’s separation because it is much easier to monitor and access. The spreading of these divergent plates began at different times from the South island and the North island, 90 million years ago 150 million years ago respectively (“Tectonic Plates”, n.d.). New crust is created as the North American and Eurasian Plates spread apart. These plates have been separating at an incredible speed with around 2.5cm of movement a year (Mustain, 2012). 4
Mid-Oceanic Ridge
Local Geology
The top soil of Iceland use to host an abundance of vegetation and trees when There is a long history of volcanic ac- the Vikings arrived but they have since detivity in Reykjavik. Due to the ongoing volpleted many of their resources. The topsoil canism, there are many igneous rocks preis either made up of bog or a combination of sent in the geological profile. The landscape bedrock or tephra (Norddahl, 2008). Around has many basalt columns and lava rocks 30% of Iceland’s soil contains tephra, espe(Mikkila, 2012). There has also been forcially found in the dominant dry soil of Icemation of palagonites, which are rocks that land. form when lava is poured into the water quickly causing rapid cooling.
Geologic History With an abundance of volcanic history and lava flows, the stratigraphic sections can get quiet intertwined. Ellidavogur is a region in Reykjavik that appears to be older than the Fossvogur sediment. It is known that the formation of the Fossvogur sediments occurred prior to the last glaciation period (Eriksson, 1991). Before the last glaciation period it is also note worthy to mention that the mega fauna of Reykjavik resembled that of the boreal forest. Tephra
Soil Erosion With almost a third of the country a dessert, there is a very high risk of soil erosion near Reykjavik. The natural forested area of Iceland has been wiped out. Iceland recognizes that
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erosion can pose many problems so the world’s first Soil Conservation Service was created in response. There are many replanting and fertilizing initiatives underway to promote soil erosion control however with the cold climate of Iceland the trees do not grow at a very fast rate (Maksimov, 2005). The high levels of erosion are exasperated through the geological processes stimulated by volcanic material, glacial river floods and katabatic winds (“Soil Erosion”, 2014).
Volcano Hazard Iceland is often referred to as the land of fire and ice. The fire being referred to is the large number of active volcanoes that can pose a threat to the community of Reykjavik. Iceland generates about a third of the total lava output globally. The molten lava can harm anyone who gets too near this superheated material, there is about 20%-30% of molten material on the top of hotspots with a depth that is around 5km-20km (“Tectonic Plates”, n.d.). A couple of prominent volcanic features near Reykjavik are volcanic fissures, rows or craters and central volcanoes that are often defined with a crater on top of a peak. There is a chance that volcanic eruptions can put citizens in danger and jeopardize the level of health and safety with respiratory issues from ash and poisonous gases. Negative health effects often stem from the inhalation of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid (Williams, 2012).
scenarios that could trigger a Tsunami that could effect Reykjavik. The situations that could trigger are tsunami are seismic activity, impulsive impact to coastline or lake due to rock fall or mass flows into sea or enclosed body of water. The vulnerable areas of Reykjavik can be seen to the left.
Resource: Hydroelectricity Iceland is often seen as a country with very little energy constraints, using both Geothermal and Hydropower. Hydroelectricity is a very crucial part of Iceland’s energy portfolio with around 75% of the countries electricity coming from this resource (“Hydro Tsunami Hazard Power”, n.d.). These hydropower stations There is a lot of tectonic and volcanic generate power from Iceland’s many glacial action off the coast of Reykjavik. There is a rivers (“Renewable Sources”, 2011). The first very low probability that a tsunami would hydropower plant was located outside of occur, over taking into consideration the Reykjavik in 1904, producing around 9kW of population density at low lying elevations power. A larger city station was built in 1921 the vulnerability is high making the risk high which overall quadrupled Iceland’s energy (Roberts, 2012). There are three different production at the time (“The Hydro”, 2011). 6
Resource: Geothermal
different ways in Reykjavik, heating for residents through pipes and also hot tap water Reykjavik is fortunate to be bestowed (“How Geothermal”, 2014). Geothermal also with geothermal which is useful for both heats the hot springs of the blue lagoon, electricity and tourism. Around 25% of the which is an ultimate tourist destination in country’s total electricity production comes Reykjavik. Tourism has been on the rise in from geothermal (“Geothermal”, n.d.). The Reykjavik and it continuously adding more power is limitless and and inexpensive, to their economy. Geothermal plays two imwhich also forms the other resource indus- portant roles in Reykjavik: keeping electricitries they take part in such as Aluminum ty costs cheap and increasing income Smelting. The discovery of geothermal is Ice- through tourism. land happened by accident in 1907 (Aldred, 2008). Geothermal power is used in a few
Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik– geothermal hot spring
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Resource: Aluminum Smelting Iceland quickly realized that it needed to be player on the global economy. In order to bring in foreign currency, aluminum smelting became one of the main industries in Iceland (“Aluminium Smelting”, 2012). Aluminum smelting is a very energy intensive process and with Iceland’s seemingly endless supply of cheap electricity it seemed liked a perfect fit. The aluminum smelting industry started off in Iceland around the 1960’s. It wasn’t until 1998 that a plat was built close to Reykjavik, with a capacity of 60,000 tons (“Foreign Investment”,2011). In present time, there are two Aluminum smelters in close proximity to Reykjavik both the Grundartangi Smelter and the Straumsvik Smelter.
Aluminum originally comes from bauxite. Bauxite is often refined in other countries, becoming the intermediate material of alumina, before it reaches Iceland. This means that Iceland does not have to manage the waste from refining the bauxite, there for not having to consider red mud, hydrogen fluoride or carbon dioxide. The process of smelting alumina to aluminum requires around 15.7kWh of electricity per 1kg of aluminum, in other words it is a very energy intensive process. It is a difficult decision to increase industry in this pristine land, on one hand the carbon footprint is negligible compared to China (another aluminum smelting country) who’s energy is primarily coming from coal but this process does jeopardize the water resources of Iceland which is a primary concern for it’s citizens (“Aluminum Smelting”,2012).
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Arica, Chile Population: 196,590 Northern part of Chile bordering Peru Coastal city
Arica is a coastal city in Chile with a population of 196,590. The warm temperatures all year round earns it the name of city of eternal spring. This coastal town is an attractive surf destination. It is located in the
Northern part of Chile, bordering Peru. In 1880 Chile took the city from Peru, only in 1929 did Peru recognize the city as Chilean. This coastal city has a long history of plate tectonic action.
Morro de Arica This large rock formation is iconic to the city of Arica. It is the end of the cordeillia, it stops very abruptly dropping off as a life. The cliff drops around 1000m off into the Pacific Ocean. There are interesting geological indicators in the Morro de Arica such as the pillow basalts which show that the magmatic arc in the Jurassic grew even in a marine basin (Seyfried, 1998).
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The Ring of Fire Arica is located on the coast of Chile facing the Pacific Ocean, making it a part of the ring of fire. In this particular area, the Nazca oceanic plate is subducting underneath of the South American plate. This tectonic action is what formed the Andes. In this area of subduction forms two major faults, the Belen thrust a west-vergent thrust system and the Chucal thrust system which is an east-vergent thrust system (Moreno, 2007). Between these thrust system is the Chapiquina-Belen ridge. These thrust faults create a lot of regional foliation surface, also leading to more metamorphosed rocks (McClay, 1992).
Volcanic Hazard Arica is apart of the central volcanic zone of South America. Chile has a chain of around 2,000 volcanoes, even though they are not all active they could become active again (Tilling, 2009). This chain of volcanoes is second biggest only after Indonesia. There are two active volcanoes close enough to Arica that they could pose a threat. Guallatiri is near Arica and is an active volcano. The only other active volcano in close proximity is right over the Bolivian boarder, Sacabaya.
Sacabaya
Guallatiri
Thrust behind Arica
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Earthquake Hazard- 1868 In 1868 there was a large earthquake near Arica, which was then apart of Peru. The earthquake is believed to have reached a magnitude range of 8.59.0 (Tilling, 2009). There were multiple tsunamis created by this event. The earthquake was also felt in Hawaii, Japan, Australia and New Zealand It is estimated that this natural disaster claimed around 250,000 lives. This is not the only account that a large earthquake has occurred, 1960 the Valdivia earthquake, 2010 Maule earthquake and the 1877 and 2014 Iquique earthquakes caused damage. It is evident that this earthquake was not an isolated event and it is possible for another earthquake to occur in this area.
RESOURCES OF ARICA Crude Oil
make the copper extraction more sustainable the water used for the process is salt water pumped up from the ocean (FAO, n.d.).
Although Chile does not produce a lot of oil, Arica does export for Bolivia. Chile has 6,435.0 km of coastline, with Bolivia being a landlocked country. Exporting for Bolivia adds money to Chile’s economy but it also adds to the environmental risk of spills. These pipes transport crude oil. Bolivia is very rich in hydrocarbon potential with around 535,000 km2 of potential oil reserves (Souders, 2000).
Geothermal
Copper The formation of copper in this area is due to the intrusive-extrusive magmatism and plate tectonic subduction. There are deposits of copper, 90 km south of Arica. This extraction project produces 8,400 metric tons of copper a year (Martinez, 2014). This site is the first of it’s size being developed in the Arica-Parinacota Region. Fresh water is a precious resource in this area, in order to 11
The Andean Central Volcanic Zone in Northern Chile includes 44 active or potentially active volcanic systems, which have a great effect on the geothermal systems (Tassi et al, 2010). A large push for geothermal energy took place in the late 1960’s because of Chile increase in energy demand. The potential of this geothermal field is estimated to be approximately 100-400MW.
Salt Water Hydro Fresh water is a very precious resource in Arica which is located in a very dry area of Chile. This area is the driest non-polar desert in the world. The Lao river is the longest river in Chile and it is the main water source for the Atacama Desert (“Lao River”, 2016). In order to produce more electricity without jeopardizing the current fresh water resources, there is a proposal to pump salt water up the mountain with solar power to produce hydroelectricity (Griffiths, 2015).
Venice, Italy Population: 260,000 Coastal city located on a lagoon North Eastern coast of Italy , Adriatic sea
Venice is an extremely popular tourist city is home to around 260,000 permeant destination located on the North Eastern residents but many more tourists flood the coast of Italy. This architecturally famous streets of Venice everyday (United Nations
Venice is Sinking Many times walking through the city of Venice, it is necessary to lay down boards to walk on due to alta aqua. There is a geological explanation as to why the city is sinking. The Adriatic plate that Venice is located on is actually subducting beneath the Apennines Mountains (Life Science, 2012). This process of subduction is causing the elevation of the plate to drop slightly, causing subsidence through plate tectonic movement. There are two other factors that are likely contributing to the sinking of Venice, more likely caused by humans. Around 6-7 thousand years ago during the Holocene, the marine transgression that following the Ice Age flooded the upper Adriatic coastal plain creating the lagoon that Venice is located in (Brambati et al, 2003). This environment consists of a lot of sediments which 12
have become compacted throughout the years beneath Venice. The other factor effecting the subsidence of Venice is the rising of sea levels. This can be closely linked to anthropogenic climate change.
The effects of liquefaction
Human Vs. Nature
plate is likely (Carminati et al, 2007). There is also a chance that an earthquake from the There is natural subsidence occurring forelands of the Po plain between Venice due to the movement of the plate tectonics and the alps would have an effect on Venice. and through the flow of water. Humans The other less likely result that could occur have been fighting this natural process for from an earthquake in the northern Adriatic years, trying to control how the marine and is a tsunami. estuaries usually balance their sediment deposits. A lot of resources have been dedicated to engineering systems that blocking waterways overall trying to control the water Stratification of Venice entering from the Adriatic Sea. The Venetian Lagoon is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean basin. These mudflats have many layers consisting of esEarthquake Hazards tuarine silts, clays and marine animal organic Although subsidence is already a con- material. According to a study done by cern for this small archipelago, the effects of Brambati et al. the Pleistocene and Holoan earthquake could be devastating by trig- cene helped form the stratification of the lithosphere when the Adriatic plate began gering a catastrophic level of subsidence. The vibrations of an earthquake could cause to converge with the European plate, movliquefaction, this area is very susceptible to ing towards the alps. This study was conliquefaction due to all of the sandy and silt ducted and analyzed through the collection layers. The likely hood of an earthquake hap- of thousands of core samples in the Venepening from the subduction of the Adriatic tian Lagoon area. Plate tectonic action of Venice
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Stratification of Venice
RESOURCES THAT HELPED Artisan Resources Quartz THE VENETIAN EMPIRE Venice is famous for glass blowing, this good was used locally and as an export. RISE In order to make the clearest glass, the Venetians didn’t use sand as a glass material Salt Venice was a very powerful political force in Europe. Historically salt played a large role in the development of Venice. In 1771, Venice was one of the three biggest cities in Europe with a population of 66 000 (The World Economy, n.d.). This empire had a monopoly on this mineral, they controlled the white gold. The exporting of this resource to the mainland of Italy began by the end of the 9th century (Garrity, 2012). There were around 50 salt work ponds around the lagoon for collecting salt. In those times salt was almost considered as a currency, this is where the world salary comes from.
Timber Through Venice’s rise to power with the export of salt, they then had the power to control timber as a resource along the surrounding coastlines. They both exported this resource and used it to advance their naval technologies greatly helping them improve trading by ships (Garrity, 2012). In a classic lesson that humans still have not learned: As Venice depleted their timber resources, their success as an empire began to fall.
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they used quartz (Admin, 2015). The purer the quarts, the clearer the glass. Although the quartz was not sourced from Venice they were imported from near by Italian river beds, Adige River and Ticino River. The quartz used for this glass blowing technique are composed of silica (Zaikowaski, 2008). Quartz crystals form as magma cools, more spacious rock cavities and magma high in silica will create quartz. In uplifting of plates due to tectonic movement, when water fills the cavity it will likely create clear quartz (“Formation and Growth”, 2010). The process mentioned prior is most commonly found in alpine tectonic clefts.
Oil in the News There is a referendum being hosted April 17th 2016 in Italy, voting if there should be oil drilling in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Venice (Morosini, 2016). There are oil reserves in this basin due to the marine sediment history of the region. Regardless of if the referendum is passed or not, there is still oil in the Venice area with terminal and pipeline for refined oil products. Italy is currently Europe’s largest exported of refined oil products while also ranking high as one of Europe’s largest energy consumers (IEA, 2014).
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GLOSSARY Alta aqua- This is the term for high water, this often occurs in Venice when the Adriatic Sea floods the city. Archipelago- A term used for an area of water consists of many islands. Basalt- This is a rock form often associated with volcanic activity, dark and fine. Erosion- A geological process that breaks down a material, this can be chemical or physical. Geothermal electricity- Energy that is created from the core of the earth. Temperatures can be around 5000 degrees centigrade. Geysers- A geyser is a hot spring, heated from the earth’s core that often boils and will
blow a large spout of water into the air from. Glacial rivers- This water form may also be referred to as melt water, it is water coming off of glacier ice. Glaciation- Process of an area being covered by a glacier. Hot springs- These are naturally heated pools of water, very common near volcanic activity. Hotspot- Volcanic areas where the mantel is extremely hot, pushing lava out of the mantel. Potentially the most famous hotspot is the Hawaiian Islands. Hydroelectricity- The generation of electricity through the conversion of power from run-
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ning water, this process uses a turbine. Jurassic- The Jurassic period was the second period in the Mesozoic era. This period is sandwiched between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods. Katabatic winds- This is a term for winds that flow down slope from high to low elevations. Lagoon- This is a body of salt water that is slightly separated from the sea. Lava- This is a molten material that is expelled from volcanic activity and then cooled. Liquefaction- This occurs when there is an earthquake, the soil strength and structure is shaken up and liquefies. Marshy- Marsh like characters include, areas that are flooded with water and are usually waterlogged. Mid-ocean riff- This is a spot where the n underwater mountain system has formed and the plates and splitting, the only place this is seen above water is Iceland. Rhyolitic tephra- This is a material often produced from volcanic eruption but not hot enough to become pyroclastic or tuff. Smelting- This is the act of taking a metal out of an ore. Subduction- The movement of one plate underneath the plate of another into the mantel. Subsidence- The gradual falling or sinking of a land. Volcanic fissure- A linear volcanic vent, often a few meters wide and can be much longer. 17
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Admin. (2015, December 16). A History of Murano Glass- II. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http:// www.lifeinitaly.com/murano/murano-history-2.asp Technique that Venetians used to create clear glass. Brambati, A., Carbognin, L., Quaia, T., Teatini, P., & Tosi, L. (2003). The Lagoon of Venice: Geological setting, evolution and land subsidence. 264-268. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from http:// www.episodes.org/index.php/epi/article/viewFile/62475/48741 A brief background history of Venice as a city. Di Bucci, D. (2003). The October–November 2002 Molise seismic sequence (southern Italy): An expression of Adria intraplate deformation. Journal of the Geological Society, 160, 503-506. doi:10.1144/0016 -764902-152 Map of the tectonic plates surrounding Venice. Carminati, E., Enzi, S., & Camuffo, D. (2007). A study on the effects of seismicity on subsidence in foreland basins: An application to the Venice area. Global and Planetary Change, 55(4), 237-250. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.03.003 Earthquake risk and earthquake triggered subsidence from the Adriatic plate seduction, concerning Venice. FAO. (n.d.). Northern Chile: Copper and Water Supply. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http:// www.fao.org/forestry/11714-0e7af1df9445b97b15c0aad5ddc751c3f.pdf Mining process using pumped salt water instead of fresh water in Chile. Foreign Investment. (2011). Retrieved March 07, 2016, from https://askjaenergy.com/icelandinvesting/foreign-investment/ History of smelting and foreign investment in Iceland. Formation and Growth. (2010, October 23). Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http:// www.quartzpage.de/gen_form.html Further information on what factors makes a quartz crystal form and grow clear. In relation to quartz as a resource for glass blowing in Venice Italy. Griffiths, S. (2015, December 11). Chile to build a hydropower plant in the world's driest DESERT: Pumping seawater to mountain reservoirs could power three provinces. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3356414/Chile-build-hydropower-plant-world-s-driestDESERT-Pumping-seawater-mountain-reservoirs-power-three-provinces.html 18
Proposal for a hydro power plant that runs on salt water pumped by solar near Arica.
Hodzic, F. (2007). Atlantida - STEĆAKS - SILENT WITNESSES OF ATLANTIS DESTRUCTION. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from http://en.atlantida.spletnestrani.com/atlantida/ Image of the Adriatic plain before it was covered with the sea, causing Venice to be in a lagoon. Hydro Power Plants | National Energy Authority of Iceland. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from http://www.nea.is/hydro-power/electric-power/hydro-power-plants/ Overview of hydroelectricity in Iceland. IEA. (2014). Energy Supply Security 2014. 513-526. Retrieved April 4, 2016, from https:// www.iea.org/media/freepublications/security/EnergySupplySecurity2014_Chile.pdf. Map of existing oil lines that cut through Chile from Bolivia. Iceland Increases Water Export Significantly. (2011, November 11). Retrieved March 08, 2016, from http://icelandreview.com/news/2011/11/11/iceland-increases-water-export-significantly Information on the exporting of bottled water from Reykjavik Iceland to foreign markets. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2014). Energy Supply Security 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from https://www.iea.org/media/freepublications/security/EnergySupplySecurity2014_Italy.pdf Map of the current oil pipelines running through Italy. Life Science. (2012, March 21). Venice Menace: Famed City is Sinking & Tilting. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/19195-venice-sinking-slowly.html Explanation of plate tectonics for why Venice is subsiding. Loa River. (2016). In EncyclopÌdia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/place/ Loa-River A description of the longest river in Chile that flows through Arica Martinez, O. (2014). Copper Mining Arrives in Arica. Engineering and Mining Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://www.e-mj.com/features/4261-copper-mining-arrives-in-arica.html#.Vws-j_krK01 Information of a copper project to be developed in the Arica-Parinacota region. McClay, K. R. (1992). Glossary of thrust tectonics terms. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from https:// www.depts.ttu.edu/gesc/Fac_pages/Yoshinobu/structure-readings/McKlay, 1992 glossary.pdf Glossary and definition of thrust faults.
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Morosini, M. (2016, April 5). Defending Italian Beaches From Oil Drilling Is Not Enough. Retrieved April 5, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/marco-morosini/italian-oil-drillingreferendum_b_9603706.html News story about the referendum to be held in Italy about off shore oil drilling near Venice. Patil, R. (2016, March 1). Formation of the Andes Mountain Range. Retrieved April 4, 2016, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/formation-of-the-andes-mountain-range.html Diagram illustrating the plate tectonics of Arica, Chile. Seyfried, H. et al (1998, June 11). Introduccion a la Geolgia y Morfologia de los Andes en el Norte de Chile. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S071773561998000100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Information about El Morro de Arica and the geological composition Sinking sand, sand boils, LIQUEFACTION. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2016, from http:// www.showme.net/~fkeller/quake/liquefaction.htm Diagram illustrating liquefaction from an earthquake, the likely effects an earthquake would have on Venice. The Hydro and Geothermal History. (2011). Retrieved March 06, 2016, from https://askjaenergy.com/ iceland-renewable-energy-sources/hydro-and-geothermal-history/ History of Hydroelectricity in Iceland. The World Economy. (n.d.). The Venetian Republic. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http:// www.theworldeconomy.org/impact/The_Venetian_Republic.html Historic population data for Venice. Tilling, R. I. (2009). Volcanism and associated hazards: The Andean perspective. Adv. Geosci. Advances in Geosciences, 22, 125-137. doi:10.5194/adgeo-22-125-2009 Information on the central volcanic zone of South America. United Nations Statistics Division. (2016, January 22). UN Data- A World of Information. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode:240 Census data for the population of Venice. Zaikowski, L. (2008, January 22). Quartz. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://www.eoearth.org/ view/article/155629/ How quartz crystals are formed and their composition. 20
The movement of tectonic plates have a massive effect on the resources and hazards of a city, think about this next time you travel! You would be surprised about what you might find out.
Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a good day!
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