Volcanoes

By Eliot

What are volcanoes ?A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur. Gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava fragments. Eruptions can cause lateral blasts, lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods. Volcano eruptions have been known to knock down entire forests. An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls.

Amazing Facts

The word volcano originally comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

Hot liquid rock under the Earth’s surface is known as magma, it is called lava after it comes out of a volcano.

There are also volcanoes found on the ocean floor and even under icecaps, such as those found in Iceland.

More Amazing FactsWhile we certainly have some big volcanoes here on Earth, the biggest known volcano in our solar system is actually on Mars. Its name is Olympus Mons and it measures a whooping 600km (373 miles) wide and 21km (13 miles) high.The object with the most volcanic activity in our solar system is Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. Covered in volcanoes, its surface is constantly changing due to the large amount of volcanic activity.

How volcanoes affect peoples lives.

Volcanoes cause ashfall which if falling heavily can mean people can't breathe. Lava flows are to slow to run people over but certainly run over houses, roads and other structures. Pyroclastic flows, a mixture of hot gas and ash, travel very quickly down the side of volcanoes. They are so hot and choking that if you got caught in one it will almost certainly kill you. They travel between 100-200 km/h that you cannot outrun them.

Volcanic ash is dangerous for people to breathe, as it is hot and filled with toxic chemicals. As ash piles up on houses and other structures, the weight of it can cause those buildings to collapse. Because lava moves slowly, it generally does not pose immediate danger to people but is often extremely destructive to buildings and fields. A pyroclastic flow is a rush of hot air and ash that sometimes sweeps down from an erupting volcano to engulf anything in its path; people in the way of a pyroclastic flow will be killed.

Where do volcanoes occur the most ?

Volcanoes are usually located where tectonic plates meet. This is especially true for the Pacifi c Ring of Fire, an area around the Pacifi c Ocean where over 75% of the volcanoes on Earth are.

There are three stages of a volcano like acti ve, dormant and exti nct

Can you guess what time it is?

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questions How many stages are there to a volcano?

By El iot