U.S.

VOLCANOES AND CURRENT ACTIVITY

ALERTS
HOW DO VOLCANOES FORM
VERY DEEP INSIDE THE EARTHS CRUST, BETWEEN THE MOLTEN IRON
CORE AND THE THIN CRUST AT THE SURFACE, THE MANTLE, A LARGE LAYER
OF ROCK THAT IS LARGELY SOLID, BUT FLOWS LIKE PLASTIC.
FOR VARIOUS REASONS, ROCK IN THE MANTLE MELTS, IT MOVES TO THE
EARTH'S SURFACE THROUGH SPOTS IN THE CRUST, RELEASING HEAT,
GASSES, AND ROCK CAUSING A VOLCANIC ERUPTION.
FROM MAGMA TO LAVA
EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURE CAN CAUSE THE LOWER
MANTLE TO MELT AND BECOME LIQUID ROCK, OR MAGMA.
A BODY OF MAGMA RISES THROUGH THE DENSER ROCK LAYERS TOWARD
EARTH'S SURFACE, SOME OF IT REMAINS LIQUID.
MAGMA THAT HAS REACHED THE SURFACE IS CALLED LAVA.
LAVA TYPES
MAGMA HAS DIFFERENT COMPOSITIONS. EACH OF THESE WILL PRODUCE A DIFFERENT
LAVA, FROM FLUID, FAST-MOVING BASALT TO SLOWER, MORE VISCOUS ANDESITE.
SINCE ROCKS ARE MADE UP OF COLLECTIONS OF MINERALS THAT MELT AT DIFFERENT
TEMPERATURES, THE MAKEUP OF THE ROCK BEINGS TO MELTED AT THE AFFECTED
MAGMA THAT RESULTS.
VOLCANIC ERUPTION
HTTP://YOUTU.BE/NWB0TRRJTAU
VOLCANO ERUPTIONS VIDEO
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THE WORD VOLCANO COMES FROM THE ROMAN GOD OF FIRE, VULCAN.
VULCAN WAS SAID TO HAVE HAD A FORGE (A PLACE TO MELT AND SHAPE
IRON) ON VULCANO, AN ACTIVE VOLCANO ON THE LIPARI ISLANDS IN ITALY.
MAGMA AND PLATE TECTONICS
DIRECTLY UNDER THE OUTER CRUST IS THE MANTLE, THE LARGEST LAYER OF THE EARTH. THE MANTLE IS
EXTREMELY HOT, BUT IS IN SOLID FORM
THIS IS BECAUSE SINCE THE PRESSURE DEEP INSIDE THE PLANET IS SO GREAT THE MATERIAL CAN'T MELT.
IN SOME OCCASIONS , THE MANTLE DOESNT MELT, FORMING MAGMA THAT
MAKES ITS WAY THROUGH THE OUTER CRUST.
VOLCANIC FORMATION
MAGMA PUSHES UP FROM UNDER THE MIDDLE OF A LITHOSPHERE PLATE, THOUGH
THIS IS MUCH LESS COMMON THAN MAGMA PRODUCTION AROUND PLATE
BOUNDARIES. THIS INTERPLATEVOLCANIC ACTIVITY IS CAUSED BY UNUSUALLY
HOT MANTLE MATERIAL FORMING IN THE LOWER MANTLE AND PUSHING UP INTO
THE UPPER MANTLE.
THE MANTLE MATERIAL, FORMS A PLUME SHAPE THAT IS FROM 500 TO 1000 KM
WIDE, WELLS UP TO CREATE A HOT SPOT UNDER A PARTICULAR POINT ON THE
EARTH.
MAGMA ERUPTIONS
VOLCANOES VARY A GREAT DEAL IN THEIR DESTRUCTIVE POWER. SOME VOLCANOES
EXPLODE VIOLENTLY, DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN A MILE RADIUS WITHIN MINUTES,
WHILE OTHER VOLCANOES SEEP OUT LAVA SO SLOWLY THAT YOU CAN SAFELY WALK ALL
AROUND THEM.
FACTS
Cinder cones
Composite volcanoes
or stratovolcanoes
Lava dome
Shield volcanoes
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
HTTP://WWW.LEARNER.ORG/INTERACTIVES/VOLCANOES
/ENTRY.HTML
HTTP://WWW.ENCHANTEDLEARNING.COM/SUBJECTS/VO
LCANO/
HTTP://SCIENCE.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM/NATURE/NATU
RAL-DISASTERS/VOLCANO3.HTM