Volcanoes

By Kurt Goodman

Introduction

• A volcano is a mountain where lava (very hot, molten rock) comes from a magma chamber under the ground. Most volcanoes have a crater at the top. Materials which pour out from it usually include lava, steam, gaseous compounds of sulphur, ash and broken rock fragments. Lava is called magma before it has come out the volcano.

• Most volcanoes are made where giant slabs of rock that make up the world, called plates, crash into each other. These plates move over each other, causing magma to rise to the top through weak places in the crust.

Well-Known Volcanoes

• Hekla (Iceland) • Kilauea (Hawaii, USA) • Krakatoa (Rakata, Indonesia) • Mauna Loa (Hawaii, USA) • Mauna Kea (Hawaii, USA) • Mount Baker (Washington, USA) • Mount Edziza (British Columbia, Canada) • Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy) • Mount Erebus (Ross Island, Antarctica) • Mount Hood (Oregon, USA) • Mount Fuji (Honshu, Japan) • Mount Rainier (Washington, USA) • Mount Ruapehu (Nth Island, New Zealand) • Mount Shasta (California, USA) • Mount St. Helens (Washington, USA) • Novarupta (Alaska, USA) • Olympus Mons (Mars (planet)) • Popocatépetl (Mexico-Puebla state line, Mexico) • Surtsey (Surtsey island, Iceland) • Santorini (Santorini island, Greece) • Tambora (Sumbawa, Indonesia) • Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) • Vesuvius (Bay of Naples, Italy) • Yellowstone (Wyoming, USA)

Bibliography

• WikiPedia• General Knowledge.