Volcano Facts

Volcano is named after the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. A volcano is a vent on the crust of the Earth, through which hot and molten rock (also known as lava or magma) comes out. Volcanoes are found in places where the tectonic plates are constantly moving i.e., they are shifting apart or meeting. The volcano is a small vent but as the lava cools down and solidifies, it forms a cone around the vent. Some volcanoes have perfectly formed cones while others are deep vents filled with water. Though the frequency of eruptions, size and shape differs in every volcano, they contribute to the shape of the volcano.

A volcanic eruption occurs when the pressure created by the currents of the movement of the tectonic plates, reaches a point where it needs to be released. This pressure erupts in the form of a volcano throwing up debris of hot molten rock, ash and thick smoke. Volcanoes can also be caused due to hotspots or mantle plumes. These types of volcanoes, also called hotspot volcanoes are also found on other planets of the solar system. The study of volcanoes is known as volcanology and the person who studies about the activities of volcanoes is called a volcanologist. Volcanoes are not only found on the Earth's surface but also occur underwater. There are also many underwater volcanoes. that are active and most of them are responsible for triggering tsunamis.

Interesting Facts about Volcanoes

A volcano is a mountain which has an opening through which lava pours out. Given below are some facts about volcanoes.

• There are three types of volcanoes, that are classified according to their period of eruptions - active, dormant and extinct.
• Active volcanoes are those volcanoes that have erupted recently and are likely to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes, have not erupted for a long period of time but they could possibly erupt again. Extinct volcanoes are those volcanoes that have not erupted for a long time and will not erupt in the future also. These volcanoes are also known as 'dead' volcanoes.
• More than 80 percent of the Earth's surface has been formed due to volcanic eruptions.
• Igneous rocks, one of the oldest and hardest rocks are formed when the hot magma from the volcano cools down.
• There are more than 1,500 active volcanoes in the world which have erupted in the past 10,000 years.
• Mauna Loa is the biggest volcano in the world and is situated in the Hawaii islands. It is situated at approximately 13,000 feet above sea level.
• Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in the continent of Europe is approximately 350,000 years old, making it the oldest volcano.
• The highest volcano in the world is Ojos del Salado, which is situated in Chile and stands at a height of 6.887 meters (approximately 22,589 feet) above sea level.
• Mount Vesuvius, which is located on the coast of the Bay of Naples in Europe is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. The eruption of this volcano in AD 79, destroyed two major cities in Europe - Herculaneum and Pompeii, causing the death of around 20,000 to 25,000 people.
• Mount Fujisan (Mt. Fuji), which is one of the world famous volcanoes, and Japan's highest and sacred mountain, is a dormant volcano which had last erupted in the year 1708. This mountain has a perfectly formed cone on top and is 3776 meters above sea level.
• The amount of ash produced by Tambora, a volcano in Indonesia, which erupted in 1815 created drastic climatic changes. The temperature all over the world dropped down and in 1816, New England in USA experienced severe frosts in August.
• When the volcano at Krakatoa, near the Java islands erupted in 1883, it produced such a loud sound which could be heard till Australia, which is situated approximately 5000 kilometers away from Krakatoa. This was the loudest sound to be heard in the history of mankind.
• Approximately around 500 million people in this world live close to the active volcanoes.

These were some amazing facts on volcanoes around the globe. And do you know something interesting? At the same time as you are reading this article, somewhere around the globe, a few active volcanoes are erupting.