Devils Postpile National Monument

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/devils-postpile-national-monument

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Devils Postpile National Monument?798 acres (323 hectares)
2. What is the location?Eastern Sierra Nevada, near Mammoth Lakes, California
3. What is the primary geological feature?Devils Postpile formation (columnar basalt)
4. How do the rock columns at Devils Postpile form?When lava from a volcano cools very slowly, the rock contracts and cracks into tall, hexagonal columns.
5. Where can you see a rainbow at Devils Postpile?Rainbow Falls on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River creates rainbows when sunlight hits the mist.

Igneous Rock: Rock formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock (magma or lava).
Columnar Jointing: A geological process where lava contracts and fractures into polygonal columns as it cools.
Confluence: The junction where two or more rivers or streams meet, or where trails merge.