Volcanoes
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A volcano is an opening in the Earths crust which allows magma, ash, and gases. Volcanoes are caused by mantle plumes also known as hot-spots. This is were the Earths' crust stretches and thins. Most people view volcanoes as mountains spewing lava and gases, but this is only one type of volcanoe. Another type of volcano is include cryovolcanoes or ice volcanoes. A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface. The word volcano was made from the name of Vulcano island off Sicily which in turn, was named after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. A volcano is active if it is erupting lava, generating seismic activity or releasing gas. A volcano is dormant if it has not erupted for a very long time but could erupt again in the future. If a volcano has been dormant for more than 10,000 years, it is termed extinct. Volcanoes can be different in appearance with some having perfect cone shapes while others are deep depressions filled with water. The form of a volcano points to the type and size of its eruption, which is controlled by the characteristics, and composition of magma. The size, style and frequency of eruptions can differ greatly but all these elements contribute to the shape of a volcano. Most volcanoes occur where two plates meet. When two plates move apart causing a gap, hot molten rock - called lava - rises up between them. This type of volcano occurs on the ocean floor and is mostly invisible. If the amount of magma is large enough, it rises above the surface of the ocean and an island is created.If two plates collide and one plate is forced beneath the other plate, the friction makes the first melt and magma rises up. Only a few volcanoes on earth are formed like this, but their eruptions are the most violent and dangerous ones. Sometimes volcanoes also form in the middle of the plates which are called hotspots. These are places that are connected by channels to the hot mantle of the earth.
There are three types of volcanoes; Shield volcano, Composite volcano, and the Caldera volcano.
There are three types of volcanoes; Shield volcano, Composite volcano, and the Caldera volcano.
