Blog Entry #1

So in Geography 1202 for the last couple of weeks, we have been studying plate tectonics as well as minerals and rocks that make up land formations that create major geographical landmarks.  Of course, while attending lectures I couldn't help but try and connect my learn knowledge to the city that I am in love with, Venice. Venice is known for the water that surrounds the city.  It is located in the northwestern part of Italy and is surrounded by lagoons.  These lagoons were formed around six to seven thousand years ago with the melting of the Ice Age.  With the melting of all this water, it left sediments such as sand to wash up around shore and trap water in.  This action forms what we know as today as a lagoon.

 Learning in Geography that mafic minerals which are darker and denser are the minerals that make up the ocean's crust, I can easily deduce ( since I have never had the opportunity to actually go to Venice) that the type of minerals one can find in abundance would be magnesium and iron.  I believe that since those minerals are typically denser, it makes it much harder for the water in the lagoons to escape.  Although these lagoons make it possible for the city to be surrounded by water, many scientists are exploring the fact that Venice might actually be sinking.  More tests and experiments must be done to have a solid conclusion, but many speculate that at the rate that humans are using the land surrounding Venice, it might speed up the process of it sinking.