Why does a volcano erupt explained to children?

Why does a volcano erupt explained to children?

Sometimes the pressure releases and the magma rises up the volcano’s vent to the main crater. When the volcano erupts, magma rises and is thrown out over the crater. Now it’s called lava. During the eruption, not only lava, but also a lot of gases and ash fly through the air.

Why does a volcano erupt?

For example, cracks and fissures can form when the earth’s plates move. This allows the liquid magma to come up from the lower layer. When the magma comes to the surface it is called lava. This lava solidifies on the surface – creating a huge mound, the volcano.

Why does magma rise?

Because there is less pressure there than in the mantle, the magma releases more gas. The pressure inside the magma chamber increases again. In an explosive volcanic eruption, the magma is as viscous as cake batter and contains a lot of gas. Because the magma is so viscous, the gas cannot rise to the top.

Why is there magma?

Magma often collects in magma chambers that feed a volcano or form a pluton. Magma is capable of intruding into adjacent rocks at unimaginable pressures, escaping through volcanoes as lava, and explosive eruptions in the form of tephra, creating pyroclastic rocks.

Why does the volcano spew lava?

When the magma chamber is full and cannot hold any more material, the hot magma works its way out. It penetrates through channels and fissures to the surface and emerges as glowing hot lava – the volcano erupts.

How much lava does a volcano spew?

Supervolcanoes don’t erupt, they explode. According to a common definition, at least 1,000 cubic kilometers of material are ejected. That is around a thousand times more than the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines, which is one of the most severe eruptions of the 20th century.

How far can a volcano spew lava?

Philippines volcano spews lava 700 meters high.

What does a volcano spit out?

At the surface of the earth, the magma is called lava. This flows down the slope like porridge. This looks like a flaming river, igniting everything in its path. In addition to lava, a volcano spews ash and rocks.

What does a volcano look like?

A steep mountain, flames shooting up into the sky, above a dark cloud of ash: This is what a volcano looks like in a picture book. But there are also completely different volcanoes. The form they take depends mainly on the lava that comes out of the earth’s interior.

Why do volcanoes erupt differently?

Different processes can lead to even small amounts of melt making their way to the earth’s surface. On this way it meets other melts and its volume increases. On the way up, the pressure and temperature conditions change and the melt reacts to them.

Where are there volcanoes in the world?

A particularly large number of active volcanoes can be found around the Pacific Ocean, for example Mount St. Helens in the USA, Popocatepetl in Mexico and Bezymianny in Russia. They are all part of a roughly 40,000 km long chain of volcanoes, the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Where are the most volcanoes in the world?

Indonesia is the country with the most active volcanoes in the world. Most of Indonesia’s volcanoes belong to the Sunda volcanic arc, which stretches over 3000 km from the northwest to the Banda Sea.

Where are volcanoes most common?

All terrestrial volcanoes are found where the plates are moving toward each other—like the Pacific coasts of North and South America, for example. An exception are the so-called hot-spot volcanoes, which are far away from the edges of plates.

How many volcanoes are there in the whole world?

Today there are about 1,500 active volcanoes worldwide. The volcanologists (these are volcano researchers) count all volcanoes that have erupted in the last 10,000 years.

What is the most dangerous volcano in the world?

Mount Nyiragongo is considered the most dangerous volcano in the world.

How many underwater volcanoes are there in the world?

There are 1900 active volcanoes on land or above the water, the number of submarine volcanoes is estimated to be much higher. Since the deep sea is largely unexplored, the number here can only be estimated; some sources speak of more than 1,000,000 underwater volcanoes.