Volcano facts

Volcano Facts

What is a volcano?

A volcano is a mountain/hill or a opening in the Earth's crust, where the very hot liquid from deep in the Earth erupts to the surface.

Magma and Lava

When rock is between or beneath the Earth’s surface gets very hot, and it turns into molten or liquid. While it is still between or beneath the surface it’s called “magma”, and once the magma erupts to the surface through the volcano it’s called “lava”. The hotter the lava is, the further it will flow. Lava can be really hot, sometimes as hot as 1000 degrees C. Lava on the surface will stop flowing and will cool and harden up into rocks. Rocks that are formed from lava cooling are called “igneous rocks”. Some examples of igneous rocks include basalt and granite.

Activity

A volcano can be active, dormant, or even extinct. An active volcano is one that has recently erupted or is currently erupting. A dormant volcano is one that hasn’t erupted for a very long time. But is possible to still erupt. An extinct volcano is one that the scientist think will never ever erupt again.

Explosive Volcanism

Some kinds of volcanoes just sort of ooze out lava. This is generally when the lava gets thin. Other volcanoes have thicker lava then other volcanoes that can plug up the vent of the volcano. When this happens pressure which can build up over a long time. When the pressure gets too high the volcano can erupt a huge explosion. Huge amounts of the lava and ash can come out of the volcano.

Types of Volcanos

Some people usually think of volcanoes as tall mountains that are shaped as a cone, but however there are different types of volcanoes.

Cinder Volcanoes

These volcanoes are formed from particles and big blobs of lava which are thrown from a single vent at the very top. They generally don’t get taller than around 1,000 feet.

Composite Volcanoes

These volcanoes are also shaped as a cone, but are formed from big layers of lava over many years. They can grow into huge mountains over 8,000 feet tall.

Shield Volcanoes

They form from wide thin layers of lava that eventually are shaped as a shield.

Lava Domes

These are formed from thick lava which hardens right around the vent. They can sometimes form inside other volcanoes.

Interesting Facts about volcanoes

• The tallest volcano we know of in the Solar System is on Mars. It is called Olympus Mons and is 17 miles tall.
• A large volcano eruption can destroy an entire big forest
• The largest volcano on earth is Mauna Loa on the Hawaii Island. The tallest is Mauna Kea which is right next to it.
• The ash cloud from volcanoes can be dangerous. It can be harmful for people to breath and difficult for planes to fly through. A large ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull, a volcano in Iceland, shut down most of the airports in Europe for several whole days
• There are generally around 20 volcanoes erupting in the world at any given time.

Destruction caused by Volcanoes

It can cause earthquakes, fast floods, mud slides, and rock falls. Lava can travel really far which can burn, bury or damage anything in its way. Including people houses and trees, the large amount of dust and ash may cause roofs to fall down, which makes it very hard to breath and is very smelly. The ground is not secure and can cause big earthquakes.

Here are some of the active volcanoes:

Mount Fuji In Japan (last erupted in January 1 1708)

Mount Tambora In Indonesia (last erupted in April 10 1815)

Mount Pinatubo In Philippines (last erupted in  June 1991)

Mount St. Helens In United States (last erupted in July 22 1980)