Volcanoes

When a volcano erupts hot gases and liquid rock come up to the surface from inside the earth. The material sometimes slides down mountains as lava or ishurled into the air as ash or small rocks. Volcanoes often destroy the land around them completely. Gases from eruptions can keep sunlight from reaching the earth and darken the sky for years. Volcanoes also build up new islands and mountains and make the soil a good place for crops to grow.

Where are volcanoes located?

The earth’s crust is made up of sections or plates. They always move and at places where they get together they collide or slide on top of each other.

90% of all volcanoes are located around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific coasts of Asia, North America and South America form a big circle, which is called the Ring of Fire.

Sometimes volcanoes are found in places where plates move away from each other. In the Atlantic Ocean, for example, a long range of underwater mountains forms the border between two plates. Iceland is a gigantic volcanic island that has come up to the surface from this mountain range.

Other volcanoes form in the centre of plates, where magma comes up from deep inside the earth and breaks through the crust. Such areas, like the Hawaiian Islands , are called hot spots.

Ring of Fire

How volcanoes are formed

Hot liquid rock, called magma, makes up the inner part of the earth. When it risesto the surface it cools down and sometimes the flow of magma stops in the inner part. In other places, magma unites with gas and creates chambers below thesurface of the earth. When the gas pressure gets higher, magma becomes lighter and it spews out of openings, cracks or vents at the surface.

Volcanic eruptions

When a volcano erupts three types of material come to the surface: lava, small pieces of rock or ash, and gas.

Magma that spreads out of a volcano slowly is called lava. It can reach temperatures of up to 1,200° C and glows red to white when itflows. In most cases, lava mixes with steam and gas. All types of lava contain silicon and oxygen. As lava moves down a volcano’sslope it cools down and becomes harder, creating very rough blocks or rock.

Small pieces of rock erupt from a volcano when magma is trapped inside and cannot get out. Gas pressure in the magma chambersgets high and suddenly material is blown out and thrown high into the sky.

Often, the pieces of rock are so tiny that they form ash or dust. Strong winds can blow volcanic dust hundreds or thousands of kilometers away from the place of eruption.

Types of volcanoes

The two most common types of volcanoes are stratovolcanoes and shield volcanoes.

Stratovolcanoes are formed like a cone. The base is rather flat and they become steeper towards the peak. A crater usually forms at the top of the volcano. Such volcanoes develop when lava and ash come up from the inner part of the earth and build up layers. First, lava spreads over the surface of the volcano , cools down and becomes hard. Then pressure builds up underneath the layers of lava and ash and other materials are blown out. One of the most famous stratovolcanoes is Mount Fuji in Japan.

Stratovolcano 

Shield volcanoes are dome shaped mountains which are flatter than stratovolcanoes and built of lava flows. They may start on the sea floor and become so large that islands can rise far above sea level. The Hawaiian mountains were formed this way. The islands, which rise about 10,000 meters above the ocean floor, are the world’s most massive volcanoes .

Volcanoes also create holes, called craters and calderas. Calderas are larger than craters and are formed when parts of the volcanocollapse. Sometimes these holes are filled with water and form a lake.

Shield Volcano

Volcanic activity

Some volcanoes are active. They erupt very often, like Italy’s Mount Etna, whicherupts every few years. Inactive volcanoes have not erupted for a long time, butscientists warn that they may become active some day. Extinct volcanoes, like Mount Kenya in Africa, will probably never erupt any more.

Volcano experts do their best to warn the population when a volcano may erupt. Sometimes smaller earthquakes or clouds of gas from vents tell observers that a volcano could erupt soon. Most of the time, however, there are no signs at all.

Effects and benefits of volcanoes

Although volcanoes may cause a lot of damage and big eruptions can kill many people, there are also advantages of volcanic activity.

Volcanic lava and ash spreads over the slopes of mountains and creates good farmland. Volcanic rock is used to build roads, make special tools and ornaments.

The heat that is formed underneath a volcano is called geothermal energy. Hot water that lies below the surface is used to heat homes and greenhouses. Countries with many volcanoes like Japan, Iceland or Italy use this kind of energy to produce electric power.

Active volcanoes around the world

Words

• A.D. = after the birth of Christ
• base = the lowest part, the bottom
• blow out = explode , erupt
• border = the line that separates two objects
• chamber = a closed space or room
• collapse = to fall down very quickly
• collide = to crash
• cone = a shape that is round at one end and pointed at the other
• covers = has an area of
• crack = a very small or narrow opening in an object
• crater = a round hole in the ground formed by an explosion
• create = make
• crops = a plant like wheat or rice that farmers grow and use as food
• crust = the hard outer layer of the Earth
• cylinder cone =shape that is round on one side and pointed at the end
• develop = grow
• dome-shaped = formed like the round roof of a building
• drowned = to be killed by water
• dust = a powder that has very small bits of dirt
• earthquake = when the Earth’s surface suddenly shakes and creates a lot of damage
• edge = border
• erupt = to explode and send smoke, rock and fire into the sky
• eruption = when a volcano explodes
• extinct = something that does not exist any more
• flow = the slow movement
• gigantic = very, very big
• hurl = throw
• lava = hot liquid rock that flows from a volcano
• layer =cover
• liquid =fluid, like water
• located = are found
• magma = the melted rock that is below the surface of the Earth
• massive = very, very big
• mountain range = a group of mountains that form one line
• mudflow =when it rains and the earth gets very soft and full of water the sides of hills can move down and destroy roads or houses
• oxygen = a gas that is in the air and that we need to breathe
• plate = one of the many sheets of rock that form the surface of the Earth
• pressure =force, weight
• release = to set free
• Ring of Fire = the land around the Pacific Ocean where plates get together— many volcanoes can be found here
• rise = to come up
• rough blocks = hard blocks with an uneven surface
• scientist =a person who is trained in science
• sea level =the normal height of the sea; it is used for measuring other heights , like the height of a mountain
• shield =here: the form of the volcano that is very flat
• sign = a signal that says that something will happen
• silicon =chemical material that is used to make glass, bricks and parts for computers
• slide = to move smoothly over something
• slope =mountain side
• soil =earth, dirt
• spew = to flow out very quickly
• spread = to move out of
• steam = the gas that water produces when you make it very hot
• steep =sharp, not flat
• suddenly =unexpectedly, all of a sudden, quickly
• surface =the top layer of the Earth
• tiny = very, very small
• trap = if something cannot get out
• underneath = below
• unite = to get or join together
• vent = a round hole through which gases, magma or lava can get to the surface