The ground holds many useful things,
from fuels like coal and oil, to drinking
water, and building materials. These
valuable items are known as resources
and we have dug, drilled, and
searched for them for many years.
Resources in the ground
In hot water
Water in the ground can get very
hot near volcanoes. In Iceland,
they use this naturally hot water to
heat houses or make steam to turn
electricity generators.
Which underground resource are plastics made from?
Finding fuels
Oil and gas are often found in pockets deep
underground. Sometimes, these are even
below the seabed. Coal develops closer
to the surface in layers called seams.
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Deep drilling
Oil rigs far out
at sea use huge
drills to extract
the liquid oil
from the ground.
Coal is solid and
is dug out in
mines or pits.
People drill
holes to
extract oil
and gas
from deep
under the
sea floor.
Rig
Sea level
Planet Earth
