INTRODUCTION
WHat types of volcanoes are there?
There are THREE types of Volcano to be found around the world:
1. EXTINCT
(Not active)
EDINBURGH Castle mound (Scotland) |
|
3. activeThese are volcanoes which have erupted recently and are likely to erupt again.
There are over 700 active volcanoes in the world today.
|
|
Volcanoes occur in certain areas.
As you can see in the maps they often occur in CLUSTERS or CHAINS. If you look at where the earths plates are you can see that the majority of volcanoes occur at the PLATE BOUNDARY. These are edges of the earths tectonic plates where volcanic activity is most intense. One area which is particularly volcanic is around the PACIFIC OCEAN. This has become known as the RING OF FIRE as it has a ring of volcanic activity containing over half of the worlds volcanoes. Countries and continents affected are:
|
plate boundariesvolcanic areas |
WHAT'S INSIDE A VOLCANO?
A volcano is made up of long VENTS which link it up to a MAGMA CHAMBER deep in the earth. Inside the MAGMA can be as hot as 1,200 degrees Centigrade!!!
The magma rises up through the vents and comes out as MOLTEN (Red hot) LAVA. Lava can come out of several types of vents.
|
|
|