There's no greater thrill than reaching the summit of a towering mountain, especially when it's the summit of Rakekniven, a polar mountain that no one had ever climbed, until recently. Now three mountaineers relive the drama of this ultimate vertical challenge. Bring your ice axe and a trusty rope to www.nationalgeographic.com/features/2000/exploration/maudland You'll be able to leaf through the diaries of these climbers, or you can check out their spectacular photographs. At the same time, you'll get a glimpse of mountaineering at its most exciting and dangerous.

Have you ever dreamed of flying around the world, exploring new terrain and observing the fascinating topography of Earth? At the Earth Moon Viewer, you can do exactly that, as you gain a bird's-eye view of the oceans and land formations from one hemisphere to the next. The Earth Moon Viewer generates these revealing images based on maps, composites and weather satellite imagery. Just jet out to www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/
vplanet.html and you'll be able to choose your destination anywhere on the planet by determining latitude, longitude, altitude and more. Check out views from the sun, moon or night side, and zoom into an African jungle or Arctic river. Once you've explored every nook and crannie on Earth, it'll be time to set your sights on the moon. Be a tourist in space!

As a new school year is ushered in, it's time for kids to find the best resources for learning and living. After all, between those pesky geography projects and history reports, we need a friend to give us a hand, right? That's where the World Fact Book comes into play. Surf out to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook and you'll find everything you need to know about the world around you. The Factbook contains the goods on continents, countries, oceans, land formations, and much, much more. You'll discover the peoples from around the world, governments and economies in far-off lands, and the climates of nations from the equator to the north and south poles. You'll even be able to compare flags from one country to the next. And if you're a real explorer, there are plenty of maps and charts to help you find your way around the world. How does a vacation in Monaco sound? Or an environmental expedition in the Antarctic?

The Understanding Earthquakes Web site has all kinds of information on these natural disasters waiting to happen. Rattle out to www.crustal.ucsb.edu/ics/understanding where you'll be confronted by harrowing earthquake accounts from the likes of Charles Darwin, Mark Twain and Jack London. For the traveling crowd, a rotating globe will reveal the "king quake" locations around the world. Java animations and cool graphics show the gradual buildup of stress that leads to these seismic events. Be sure to read the history of seismology, and take the earthquake quiz, too. Step into the quake zone and get ready to shake it up.

Join a tour of some of the most powerful volcanoes in the world. At Volcanoes Online, you'll get a close-up look at these amazing, unpredictable and dangerous natural forces. Pack some cool clothing and trek to http://library.thinkquest.org/17457 Your guide Galvin will show you the ropes, from understanding plate tectonics and continental drift, to discovering different types of volcanoes and their eruptions. The site has information on how to predict their behavior, from seismographics to tiltmeters to satellite surveillance. Check out the way-cool comic adventures of Galvin, or the strange Gnome Family of Volcano Village. And be sure to try the games and crosswords, where you'll get the chance to test your volcanic knowledge. Just remember: If the volcano starts to spew, run for the hills!