Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Anatomy of a Volcano
Magma chambers fuel
volcanoes
When magma reaches Earths
surface it is called lava
Lava erupts through an
opening called a vent
Over time, lava can
accumulate to form a
mountain called a volcano
At the top of a volcano is a
bowl-shaped depression
called a crater
Larger craters are called
calderas can form when the
side of a volcano collapses
into the magma chamber
Types of Volcanoes
What factors affect
the appearance of
a volcano:
Type of material
that forms the
volcano
Type of eruptions
that occur
Volcanic Characteristics
SHIELD VOLCANOS
This type has a slope that is small
This type usually has flowing lava that does not shoot out in the air
The lava flow is very slow and you could outrun it
This type makes large chunks of basalt
Ex. Hawaiian Islands
CINDER CONES
This type has the steepest slope of the volcanoes
This type shoots lava in the air and has a faster lava flow
The lava hardens in the air
The hardened lava helps reform the volcano again
COMPOSITE VOLCANOS
This type is the worst of the volcanoes because it is very explosive
It usually has poisonous gases, ash and lava
The ash can blanket an area with over an inch of it
The ash can fly faster than 200 miles an hour
Kills more people than any type of volcano
Ex. Mount St. Helens
Volcanic Material
Volcanic Material
Pyroclastic flow
Fast moving clouds of
gas, ash, and other
tephra
Travel at speeds of
200 km/hr
Contains hot
poisonous gases
Lahar
Volcanic Material
Magma
Lava
Volcanic Effects
Lithosphere
Atmosphere
Volcano Occurrence
Most volcanoes form
at plate boundaries
80% of all volcanoes
are found along
convergent
boundaries
15% are found along
divergent boundaries
Only 5% occur far
from plate boundaries
Convergent Volcanism
Where slabs of oceanic
crust descend into mantle
and melt
The magma is forced
upward through the plate
and forms volcanoes
Volcanoes associated with
convergent plate
boundaries form two
major belts:
Circum-Pacific Belt (Pacific
Ring of Fire) larger
Mediterranean Belt
(includes Mt. Etna and Mt.
Vesuvius) - smaller
Divergent Volcanism
Magma is forced upward
into fractures and faults
(rift zones) that form as
plates separate
Most of the worlds rift
volcanism occurs under
water at ocean ridges
Results in the formation
of new ocean floor
One of the few places
where rift volcanism
occurs above sea level
is in Iceland
Hot Spots
Some volcanoes are located far
from plate boundaries
Hot spots unusually hot
regions of Earths mantle where
plumes of magma rise toward
the surface
Trail of progressively older
volcanoes form as the plate
moves over a hot spot