Sometimes the earth’s crust erupts and a combination of gases, molten rock, and pyroclastic debris begins to swirl. This is the way of a volcano, which takes place in various locations about the Earth’s surface and also occurs on any other surface associated with the other planets and the moon. In this article, we will take a look at the ins and outs of a volcano, as well as talk about some of the different types scattered about the world.
The word ‘volcano’ originates from Vulcan , the Roman god of fire. He is believed that Vulcan possessed a hideaway where he melted and shaped iron. This place was called Vulcano , an active volcano located in Italy, on the Lipari Islands. To this day, we pay attention to the activity of volcanoes because of the loss of life, destroyed property, and great damage that they are known to cause.
While everyone imagines the mountain of fiery lava when someone mentions a volcano, there are actually varying appearances in their structure. Some display cracks in the earth’s crust where lava emerges. Others showcase shields, domes, or possess a crater located at the summit of a mountain.
One of the most important parts of a volcano is the magma, which is molten rock found within the Earth’s crust. Magma isn’t considered lava until it erupts through the surface of the earth. Contrary to popular belief, lava doesn’t always have to be thin and quick in speed, as it can also become rather thick and moves slow out of the volcano.
Lava isn’t the only thing that a volcano produces, as it additionally creates various kinds of rock. This includes ash , finely powdered rock that looks like dark smoke emerging from the volcano. When lava turns into fragmented pieces, this is called cinders. Pumice is a lightweight rock with air bubbles) also produced by volcanoes during eruptions characterized as explosive. Interestingly, this rock has the ability to float in water.
Top Volcanoes
The largest volcano on Earth is called Mauna Loa and is located in Hawaii. When measuring this beast, it tallies up to six miles from the sea floor to its summit, rising about four kilometers above sea level. Another feature of the volcano is that it possesses the greatest volume of any volcano in the world with 10,200 cubic miles (or 42,500 cubic kilometers). However, it is not the most active. This title goes to Mt. St. Helens, which is located in the western part of Washington.
If you are looking to find the largest volcano in all of the Solar System, then it is Mars that is the keeper of this flame with Olympus Mons, which measures 17 miles (or 27 kilometers) tall and takes up a space that measures more than 320 miles across.