What is a volcano?

Land Features

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by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

Most of us know a volcano as a landform that looks a lot like a mountain. However, unlike mountains, volcanoes have an opening that connects like a tunnel down into the Earth! It’s through this opening that a volcano will sometimes erupt.

The opening that makes up a volcano connects down into the Earth to a special layer of our planet where temperatures are really hot – so hot, in fact, that the rocks it’s made up of are melted by the heat to form a thick, liquid-like substance known as magma. A volcanic eruption usually occurs because magma and gases from inside the Earth build up and create pressure. When a volcano erupts, it can release rocks, ash, gases, and lava (erupted magma). Some eruptions are more powerful than others – while sometimes they are very explosive, other times the lava oozes out slowly.

A volcano can be dangerous for any people, buildings, or land that are in the path of an eruption. Luckily, there are usually enough warnings prior to an eruption that people can evacuate ahead of time. Additionally, volcanoes don’t necessarily erupt very often – many of them aren’t “active,” so it’s kind of like they’re sleeping!

- Only a volcano’s special opening into the ground can allow lava to bubble up, so you don’t have to worry about it ever unexpectedly showing up somewhere else!

- Remember that volcanoes aren’t threatening all of the time. Even if you ever happen to be near one, lots of them haven’t erupted in hundreds of years. When it comes to safety, the best thing to do is to listen to the instructions of the grown-ups you are with!

Explosively good!

Although they can cause a lot of damage, volcanoes aren’t only “bad”… there are some ways in which they’re good and helpful, too!

One good thing volcanoes do is help to create more land! Lots of islands, for example, are land made up of materials from volcanoes! (The entire state of Hawaii is actually composed entirely of volcanic substances.) After they’ve broken down, volcanic matter can also turn into healthy, useful soil for growing crops of food!

Have you learned about any other ways in which volcanoes can be helpful?

Posted by violotflower on 2010-03-23 15:22:25

You should really talk more about how it erupts and why! thanks for having so much info but never be afraid to add even more!!