Introduction to volcanoes

The earth's mountains, plains, plateaus, soils, rocks, etc. as we see it today is
believed to have gone through many phases, with about 80% of it being carved
out by the action of volcanoes.

A volcano is simply a rapture (opening or vent) on the earth's surface

(crust) through which molten magma (extremely hot mixture of gases, lava,
ash and other burning substances) escape on to the earth's surface.
How do Volcanoes look like?
A volcano looks like a mountain, although
they are two different things.A mountain is a
large natural rise of the earth's surface, more
like a giant heap of sand. A volcano is also
like a big heap of earth just that this heap is
a mixture of lava, ash, dust, and other
substances that have piled up over many
years. It pours out of an opening in the earth
after an eruption. This means volcanic
eruptions or explosions can create elevations
that we can call mountains.

In May 1980, the Mountain St. Helens, in

Washington USA , in May 1980, erupted or
exploded and it was an awesome natural
occurrence because it destroyed some parts of the landscape around it but at the
same time it was a beautiful sight.

Volcanoes occur at weak zones or points in the earth’s crust

(including constructive and destructive boundaries). They do not occur
at conservative boundaries. (Bolded words explained here)

For history lovers…

In A.D. 79 (really long ago) two Roman cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum, were
completely buried in ash and dust in a matter of hours after a volcanic eruption.
Their remains were not uncovered until modern archaeology made that
discovery 1700 years after. (you can do your own research into this event)

The word, ‘volcano’ was made out of the name of a Roman god of a small island
in the Mediterranean sea of Sicily called ‘Volcan’.

Did you know?

The biggest volcano in the world is Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Its whole volume is about 80,000
cubic kilometres.

Now we shall see in a bit more detail how volcanoes come about. Click next.

Why do volcanoes erupt?

Let us start with what the earth is made of:

 The earth is made up of three layer parts. The outer crust is the layer on which we
live. It is estimated to be about 1800 miles deep. Then there is the mantle; and then
the core (inner and outer core)

The mantle is made up of molten material and gases. Molten materials are solids
(like rock) that have turned into liquid because of extreme heat. The name for molten
rock and other gases in the earth’s mantle is Magma. Magma is liquid made up of many
crystals, fragments and gases including oxygen, silicon, iron, aluminium, magnesium
and manganese. When they cool off on the earth’s surface, they turn into magmatic or
igneous rocks.

Whenever extreme pressure builds in the mantle, along fault lines (openings or
cracks in weak spots in the earth’s crust) an eruption is likely to happen next. During
an eruption, molten materials (soon to become lava) gush out through spaces in the
crust to the surface.

NOTE: Molten rock is called magma when it is inside the crust but once it gets to the
surface of the earth it is called lava.

Eruptions can be in the form of lava fragments shooting into the atmosphere and
forming thick clouds of lava. Some also flow slowly (non-violent) from the vent,
flooding the area around it. Very fine particles of ash may also be discharged high into
the stratosphere and further carried away by wind action.

Fresh lava is believed to be about 2,200°F. It can be red hot as it shoots from the vent
and turn into gray or black as it cools. Lava rich in silicon is like honey, and flows a lot
more slowly from the vent. In other types, lava also comes in thick, pasty form.

Did you know?

There are around 1510 'active' volcanoes in the world. Volcanologists disagree on what comes under
the term 'active', but 1510 volcanoes have erupted in the last 10,000 years, which means they are
active in the world of volcanoes. There are thought to be many more volcanoes on the sea bed. —
Source: CBBC
Common types of volcanoes

Now, let us see the four common types of volcanoes: Shield volcano and lava domes,
cinder cones and composite volcanoes.

Shield Volcanoes
This is very fluid lava, usually from multiple vents or fractures, spreading over very
large areas. The fluid-like nature (viscous – say veez-kos) of the lava, it does not allow
it to pile up like a cone. The result is usually an elevation with a shape like a warrior’s
shield. Mount Kilauea and Maunaloa in Hawaii are good examples of shield volcanoes.
They are usually found at constructive or tensional boundaries.

Lava Domes
They are produced from eruptions with less viscous lava. Because it is less viscous,
they do not spread far and cool off (hardens) sooner. This means they pile around the
vent and the dome grows only because of the expansion of the vent area within. Lava
domes tend to have steep walls and rock types such as andesites, dacites or rhyolites
(say rai-o-lites)

Cinder Cones
These are the most common in the study of volcanoes. When lava is ejected into the air
above, the fragments and fine particles fall as cinders (ash) around the vent, forming a
cone. The height of cinder cones usually depend on how long the eruption takes and
how much lava comes out. The cone has a depression (crater) in the middle where the
vent is. Cinder cones can rise as high as 1200ft. A good example of a cinder cone is the
Paricutin Volcano in Mexico.
 Composite Volcanoes
These are usually awesome in nature, rising up to about 8000ft. They are also known
as stratovolcanoes and they include Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador and Mount Fuji in
Japan. They are seen as massive mountains. They are formed by alternating layers of
ash, rock, dust and lava, (pyroclastic) and hence the name ‘composite’.  They have
steep slopes with a peak.