All About Volcanoes

Volcanoes can be quite scary, especially if they erupt when you least expect it! But what actually causes a volcano to form? Although they look like a mountain from a distance, they're more than that. A volcano is a vent where melted lava erupts through the surface of the planet from deep inside the Earth. There are several layers to the Earth: the crust, the mantle and the core. The crust is the outermost layer that we stand on and where everything exists. It's the mantle that that produces all the lava that erupts out of volcanoes. So why does this happen?

Melted rock can be very hot, and heat can cause pressure to build up from the gases that are inside. Due to the crust containing the mantle underneath, sometimes this pressure needs to vent itself, and that's when a volcano forms or erupts. Think of a hotdog when you put it in the oven. If you don't poke holes into it first, then sometimes there will be holes created where the hot gas within the hotdog tries to escape. This is similar to how a volcano is formed.

There are some volcanoes that are more active than others; while others have been asleep for a long time. What makes one volcano different from another is where they are located. The crust of the Earth is made up of tectonic plates that seemingly "float" on the sea of molten rock that the mantle consists of. Along the edges of these plates are where it is weakest, making it easier for molten rock to make its way to the surface.

The closer or farther away from the edges determines the location of volcanoes and the frequency of eruptions. There's even a phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean called the Ring of Fire. This area of the ocean alone has 452 volcanoes, which means a lot of them are actually underwater.

There are certain terms that are connected to the formation of a volcano, namely the words "lava" and "magma." Some people use them interchangeably, but there is a difference between the two. Magma is the liquid rock that can be found inside a volcano and in the mantle of the Earth. Lava, on the other hand, is liquid rock that has flowed out of a volcano. It can be very hot, ranging from 1,300 to 2,200 Fahrenheit.

Although a volcano can erupt quite violently, lava flows quite slowly most times. It moves so slowly that you can easily walk out of the path of incoming lava. Once the lava flows out of a volcano, it will start to harden and turn black. This is what volcanic rock is made out of. Over time, with each eruption, more and more volcanic rock will be formed. Pumice is a type of volcanic rock.

Fun Facts About Volcanoes The word “volcano” comes from the Roman god of fire “Vulcan.” The biggest know volcano in our Solar System is on the planet Mars. It is called Olympic Mons and is 373 miles wide and over 12 miles high! Volcanoes can be found on the ocean floor. Erupting volcanoes can send ash into the air up to 17 miles high!

Talk About It What subjects would you need to study to become a volcanologist, a scientist who studies volcanoes? An active volcano is one that has erupted within the past 10,000 years. Active volcanoes can be either dormant or erupting. What does dormant mean? What was the lava called inside the Earth?

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