Volcanoes

What pops into your mind when someone says the word "volcano"?

 Most people think of a monstrous mountain that spews out fiery red lava. Well,  a volcano is a mountain that forms when molten rock, which is called magma, is forced to the Earth's surface.

What is the difference between magma and lava?

Lava is magma that flows onto the Earth's surface; while magma is a hot liquid that forms when rock partially or completely melts.

Do all volcanoes have explosive eruptions?

No, there are two different eruptions:  Explosive and Nonexplosive.

                                                 Explosive Eruptions

                               Drawn By: Haley Nickell             Colored By: Dianna Jimenez

     bDuring explosive eruptions, clouds of hot debris and gases spew out of the volcano at very fast speeds. Instead of producing lava flows like a nonexplosive eruption, molten rock is scattered into billions of pieces that solidify in the air. The large debris fall near the volcano, while the dust-sized particles can circulate the globe for years and years in the upper part of the atmosphere. Likewise, this eruption can discharge billions of tons of solidified rock from the volcano.  In a few seconds, an explosive eruption can annihilate rock formations that took millions of years to form. Because of this, volcanoes may actually decrease its size instead of growing from the continuous eruptions.

                                      Nonexplosive Eruptions

     During nonexplosive eruptions, lava flows (rivers of red-hot lava) are produced. Even calm outpourings of lava, can unleash gigantic amounts of molten rock. Some of the largest mountains on Earth formed from continuous lava flows over thousands and thousands of years.

  Are there different types of volcanoes?

  Yes, there are shield volcanoes, cinder cone volcanoes, and composite volcanoes.

                                               Shield Volcanoes

     Shield volcanoes are built from layers of lava from enduring nonexplosive eruptions. Since the lava is watery, it covers a wide area. Over a long period of time, a volcano with sloping sides is created by layers of lava. Even though this volcano is not very steep, it can still be colossal.

                                             Composite Volcanoes

Composite volcanoes are also known as stratovolcanoes and are the most common types of volcanoes. These volcanoes are formed from outpourings of lava and explosive eruptions of pyroclastic material. These volcanoes have broad, steep sides,  with broad bases.

                                             Cinder Cone Volcanoes

     Cinder cone volcanoes are small and made from pyroclastic eruptions. Because of the pyroclastic material, the volcano has a narrower base and steeper slopes than the shield volcano. These volcanoes erupt for a very short amount of time and happens in clusters, usually on the sides of shield and composite volcanoes. Since the pyroclastic material isn't cemented with the lava, they deteriorate faster.

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