Here are some sample questions to get your discussion underway

What are all mountains made of?
Rocks

How do mountains differ?
Show them pictures of the Himalayas, the Rockies, and the Appalachians. Explain that some mountains are very steep with jagged cliffs and high peaks, while others look more like low, tree covered hills.

What's the difference between a mountain and a mountain range?
Explain that sometimes a mountain, such as a large volcano, may stand alone. But most mountains form clusters, with many grouped very close together. These mountains form a mountain range.

Do mountain ranges exist underwater?
Yes, some of the longest mountain ranges in the world are beneath the oceans. Some of the peaks in these ranges, which are usually volcanic peaks, stick up through the surface, forming islands.

What is the highest continental mountain in the world?
Mt. Everest, in Tibet and Nepal. It is 29,028 feet high.

What is the tallest oceanic mountain in the world?
Mauna Kea, on the island of Hawaii. It rises 33,476 feet off the ocean floor.

How does the temperature change when you climb a mountain?
It gets colder as you get higher. That is one of the reasons different kinds of plants and animals live in different places on a mountain.

How does the temperature affect the types of plants that grow on a mountain?
Near the bottom of a mountain where the air is warmer, there are many plants and some of them are very tall. As you get higher and the temperature gets colder, there are fewer plants and most are short and stubby. At the very top of a high mountain, it is too cold for most plants, including trees, to grow. On the tops of high mountains, you'll find either bare rock or rock covered with ice and snow.

Can you name some animals that live on mountains?
Mountain sheep, mountain goats, giant pandas, pikas, mountain quail, snow leopards, etc. Explain that some of these animals have special adaptations for mountain life.

Where do mountains exist today?
Point out major mountain ranges on a map of the world.

HOT GEOLOGIC HISTORY

Almost all geology in north west Oregon is pretty recent  - less than 50 million years old. These stories are based on information gleaned from the Roadside Geology of Oregon, Alt & Hyndman. A valuable resource.

MASSIVE FLOOD HELPS AREA FARMERS

In recent geologic times (some 10-15 thousand years ago) as the Ice Age was ending, a huge tongue of a glacier created a dam and formed  Lake Missoula covering much of present-day Montana.
As the glacier receded, the ice dam broke, sending the the entire lake crashing down into the Columbia valley. It carried earth, trees, even huge boulders - the size of large buildings - along with it.
As the flood reached the Portland area, the debris jammed up the outlet between the West Hills and the hills near Long View. The onrushing flood was diverted west to the coast range and south as far as Eugene.
One of the huge boulders can be seen at Erratic Rock State Park, just off Pacific Highway between McMinnville and Sheridan. Geologists tell us that this Rock - the size of a house - was carried by the flood from near the Idaho Montana border.
The silt from this and similar floods gives the Willamette Valley its fertile soil. Contrast this with the valley between Long View and Olympia, that has much poorer soil.
 
 

HOT HUMID SPELL ENDS Some 15 - 25 million years ago, Oregon had a hot, wet, tropical climate. Tropical vegetation causes the soil to retain iron oxides, giving it a distinctive red color.
During this era, aluminum rich bauxite laterite soil was being laid down throughout our region. The iron oxide impurities make it unsuitable for present day aluminum production.
The red soil can be seen along Rte. 26 near Buxton, and forms soil of the famous Redlands near Newberg and Dundee.

VOLCANIC ISLAND CRASHES INTO COAST

Cape Lookout, just north of Adventure Cove, was once a volcanic island. Its origin is similar to that of Hawaii. Webelos going to camp there should look for the basalt lava flows that formed the cape. You may see examples of pillow lava that formed under water if you look carefully at the base of the cliffs.
Actually, the North American tectonic plate crashed into the islands as it drifted westward rather than the other way ‘round.
These volcanic capes along the coast are the source of the agates found along the Oregon beaches. Agates are formed by ground water seeping through the porous volcanic rock. The water deposits quartz that gradually fills the cavities in the basalt. As the pounding waves erode the basalt, the agates and zeolites are carried away and storms wash them up on shore as pebbles. ( Flint is formed in a similar manner as water seeps though limestone or chalk deposits. )
Cape Kiwanda, just south of Camp Clark, is not volcanic but is comprised of sandstone and mudstone formed on the ocean floor.
 
 

TRIMET BORES THROUGH LOCAL VOLCANO The extinct volcano that forms Mount Sylvan is best seen from the inside. Webelos should take the Max train to the Zoo station and examine the drill core on display there.
This is a rather recent volcano, about 3 - 5 million years old active during the Pliocene. Its lava flows cover the silts and bauxites that developed during Miocene time.
There's a good display of the tunnel at OMSI.

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