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Volcanoes
By: Olivia X. plode R.
Table of Contents
About Volcanoes………………………………………………….
1
What is a Volcano?.................................................
2
How do Volcanoes Work?......................................
3
What are the Dangers of Volcanos?.......................
4
Volcano Studies…………………………………………………..
5
Glossary……………………………………………………………….
6
About Volcanoes
Volcanoes are wonderful and
terrible things. They are windows to
the center of the earth and help
scientists learn more about the inside
of the earth. But they have many
downsides too. If you want to know
more about volcanoes, read on!
A volcano erupting
Exploding Facts
Once, during a
volcanic eruption,
lightning struck into
a volcano!
A flowing lava river; the results of an eruption.
1
What is a Volcano?
Volcanoes are basically mountains with lava, rocks
and ashes in them. As the pressure grows, the magma
pushes against the top. Something has to give.
The sign that people should flee: a pyroclastic cloud.
Boom! Soon the top does give
and pyroclasts, magma and
poisonous gasses throw themselves
for miles around. Some little kids
think that all that comes out of a
volcano is lava. They are so wrong
about that. All sorts of things come
out of volcanoes.
Some volcanoes are deceivers and everyone assumes they are
just mountains because they haven’t erupted in such a long
time. Then the volcano does something really sneaky and catches
the people completely unawares and erupts. Then the people
are too late and they die. Now you know a bit more about
volcanoes.
An ash cloud rising; the
sign of an eruption.
Exploding Facts
Big eruptions can
lower earth’s
temperature by 1
degree
2
How Do Volcanoes Work?
All the magma is held in the magma chamber. The pressure
grows and soon the magma chamber bursts open and zips up the
central vent, taking
some buddies with it.
It picks up
A diagram of a land volcano.
some ash from the
ash deposit layer and some loose rocks from the
hardened lava layer. They do not melt because they
are hardened and they are used to the heat.
It bursts out the crater, becomes lava, and builds
on the volcano. The ashes fly into the air and some
lava goes down the sides. That’s how a volcano works.
A diagram of an underwater volcano.
Exploding Facts
The word
“volcano” comes
from the roman
god of fire’s name.
;asdkfa’s;dlfka;
VVVVVVCCCCCCCC
C
3
What Are The Dangers Of Volcanoes?
The lava melts and covers everything in its path. Poisonous gasses
suffocate humans and animals because the poisonous gasses and ashes
seep into their lungs and they
can’t get enough oxygen to
breath.
A lava flow fresh out of the volcano.
Exploding Facts
Sometimes, after
an eruption,
poison can seep
into water and
create acid lakes!
Pyroclastic flows and
surges can travel along the
ground a meter a second and
humans can’t run that fast, can
they? Plus, the ashes can get up
to 1’100 degrees Fahrenheit! If they
touched you, they could boil your
skin!
If the lava is too runny, it creates
a lava flow beginning to harden.
lahars, giant mud flows. They are heavy with
debris and harden like cement. Trust me, an active volcano is something to stay away from.
4
Volcano Studies
Exploding Facts
Pyroclasts are used
in spas to rub off
dead skin.
The study of
volcanoes is called
volcanology.
Volcanoes help
scientists learn
more about the inside
of the earth.
They take
2 scientists scanning hardened lava flows.
samples of lava and watch
volcanoes erupt. Volcanoes help volcanologists and
regular scientists a whole lot on
information about the inside of the
earth.
A very runny lava flow
Volcanoes also do a lot of other
things. They turn up hardened bones
and fossils. They turn up fragments of
asteroids. They help us a whole lot.
A scientist checking the temperature of a lava
flow.
5
Glossary
Magma- The molten rock material under the earth's crust, from which igneous rock is formed by
cooling
Pyroclastic- Composed chiefly of rock fragments of volcanic origin
Poisonous- Capable of harming or killing by or as if by poison; toxic or venomous
Magma chamber- a reservoir of magma in the earth's crust where the magma may reside
temporarily on its way from the upper mantle to the earth's surface
6