What's inside a volcano? Volcanoes of the world: active and extinct volcanoes

Despite their deadly nature, various volcanoes have long attracted people. Previously, people were attracted by fertile soils, enriched with minerals and trace elements due to the activity of volcanoes, now tourists are attracted by the beauty and majesty of these natural sites.

Where are the largest volcanoes on the world map?

Most of the modern active volcanoes are located in Pacific volcanic ring- the area in which the largest number of eruptions and 90% of earthquakes on our planet occur.

The second most powerful seismic zone is the Mediterranean fold belt, which stretches from the Indonesian islands to.

The strongest eruption in history

The most destructive eruption in terms of its consequences is considered to be the catastrophe that occurred in 1883 during the explosion Krakatoa volcano located in . During this cataclysm, more than 36 thousand people died, more than 165 cities and villages were completely destroyed, and ash was released to a height of 70 kilometers.

The force of the explosion during the eruption exceeded the force of a nuclear bomb over Hiroshima by 10 thousand times. Most deaths are a consequence of huge tsunami caused by the eruption. The island on which Krakatoa was located was almost completely destroyed during the disaster. The sound of the explosion spread over a distance of 5 thousand kilometers from the epicenter of the disaster.

Earth's Greatest Active Volcanic Mountains

The largest active volcanoes in the world by volume:

  • Mauna Loa, Hawaii, with a volume of 80 thousand cubic kilometers;
  • Kilimanjaro(Tanzania), which is considered dormant but could potentially become active, has a volume of 4,800 cubic kilometers;
  • Volcano Sierra Negra, located in the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) has a volume of 580 cubic kilometers.

Which country has the largest source of lava?

In terms of size, there is no equal to the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Loa, which has a volume of 80 thousand cubic kilometers. The title of the highest is disputed by 2 volcanoes from South America:

  1. Llullaillaco, located on the border of Argentina and Chile with an altitude of more than 6 thousand meters;
  2. Cotopaxi, located in Ecuador with an altitude of 5897 meters.

Description with names

There are between 1000 and 1500 active volcanoes on our planet. Many of them are located near densely populated areas and pose a threat to human life. The most dangerous volcanoes, which are under special surveillance, are included in UN Decade Volcanoes list.

Merapi

Merapi, which means in Indonesian "mountain of fire", recognized as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Asia. It is located in the south of the island of Java in Indonesia, and its peak rises to a height of 3 thousand meters.

Significant eruptions of Merapi occur at intervals of approximately 7 years; throughout its history, Merapi has repeatedly caused the death of many people. In 1930, the eruption killed 1,400 people, and in 2010 more than 350 thousand people had to be evacuated, killing 353 island residents.

Located near Merapi Yogyakarta city, in the agglomeration of which more than 2 million people live. Due to its activity and danger to human life, Merapi is included in the list of Volcanoes of the Decade.

Sakurajima

Sakurazdima Volcano (Japan) is located on Kyushu island, its peak rises to a height of 1110 meters. The first eruption recorded by chronicles occurred in 963, and the most powerful one dates back to 1914, but thanks to the tremors that preceded it, most of the local residents managed to evacuate, and “only” 35 people died.

Since the mid-20th century, the volcano has been constantly active. Happen every year thousands of small explosions and ash emissions.

In 2013, there was a large ash emission reaching a height of 4000 meters.

Sakurajima is also on the list of Volcanoes of the Decade.

Aso

Volcano Aso is also located on Kyushu island in Japan. The highest point of Aso is at an altitude of 1592 meters. During the period of observation of the volcano, about 165 large and medium eruptions occurred, many of which resulted in human casualties.

The last time people died as a result of a volcanic eruption was in 1979, when 3 people died and 11 were injured. But Aso is dangerous not only for its eruptions, poisonous volcanic gas fumes They regularly poison tourists who try to conquer Aso. The last such incident occurred in 1997, when two climbers died.

The last eruption of Aso was noted in 2011, ash emission occurred to a height of up to 2 kilometers.

Nyiragongo

Nyiragongo is located in the territory DR Congo in the Virunga mountain system (Africa). In the crater of the volcano there is the world's largest lava lake, the depth of which can reach 3 kilometers. In 1977, the crater wall ruptured, causing a large flow of lava into the surrounding area, ultimately killing 70 people.

During observations of Nyiragongo since 1882, it was recorded 34 major volcanic eruptions. A feature of the Nyiragongo eruptions is the extremely rapid flow of lava, reaching speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. During a major eruption in 2002, 400 thousand residents of the city of Goma, located near the volcano, were evacuated. Nevertheless, 147 of them died as a result of this cataclysm, and the city itself suffered significant damage.

All these factors make Nyiragongo one of the the most dangerous volcanoes on the planet, for which he was rightly included in the list of Volcanoes of the Decade.

Galeras

The Galeras volcano is located in Colombia near the city of Pasto, whose population is more than 400 thousand people. Its height exceeds 4200 meters. Due to its danger, Galeras was included in the list of Volcanoes of the Decade that pose the greatest threat in the foreseeable future.

It is believed that over the past 7,000 years, Galeras has experienced at least 6 major eruptions, the last of which was recorded in 1993.

Mauna Loa

The Mauna Loa volcano is located on Hawaiian Islands belonging to the United States of America. This giant volcano occupies more than half the area of ​​Hawaii, the height of the peak above sea level is 4169 meters, but most of the volcano is located under water. Together with the underwater part, its height from base to top reaches 9170 meters, which exceeds the height of Everest.

Mauna Loa erupts according to what is called Hawaiian type with an outpouring of lava, but without explosions and large ash emissions. Observations of the volcano have been carried out only since 1832, but during this time 39 major eruptions of Mauna Loa have been recorded. This volcano was included in the list of Volcanoes of the Decade due to the huge lava flows accompanying the eruption and the densely populated area in its immediate vicinity.

The summit of the volcano and its slopes were included in the list UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Colima

The most active volcano in Central America is located in the state of Jalisco. Thanks to her activity, Colima received the nickname "little Vesuvius", its height exceeds 3800 meters.

Over the past 450 years, more than 40 large and medium-sized volcanic eruptions have been recorded, the last of which occurred on September 12, 2016. More than 400 thousand people live near Colima, making it America's most dangerous volcano. For this reason, the volcano was included in the list of Volcanoes of the Decade.

Vesuvius

The most famous volcano in the world is located on the Apennine Peninsula in. The lonely peak of Vesuvius, 1281 meters high, rises above the vast fields of the province of Campania and is part of the Apennine mountain system.

Located just 15 kilometers from Naples, Vesuvius has repeatedly gone down in history with its catastrophic eruptions; about 80 major ones alone were recorded. In 79 AD, the most destructive eruption of Vesuvius, during which famous cities perished:

  • Pompeii;
  • Oplontis;
  • Herculaneum;
  • Stabiae.

It is believed that at least 16 thousand people died during this disaster.

In 1944, the last eruption of Vesuvius occurred, during which cities were destroyed Weight And San Sebastiano, 27 people became victims. Since then, Vesuvius has not shown much activity, but the danger of a new eruption always remains. Vesuvius is one of the main attractions of the province of Campania and its visit is included in the excursion tour when traveling to Naples.

Etna

Another famous volcano in Italy is located in the east of the island of Sicily and is the highest volcano, rising to a height of 2329 meters. Etna erupts several times a year. History has recorded several major eruptions of this volcano that led to devastating consequences:

  1. Was destroyed in 122 AD Catania city;
  2. In 1169, during the large-scale eruption of Etna, they died 15 thousand people;
  3. In 1669, Catania suffered again, houses were destroyed 27 thousand people;
  4. In 1928, the ancient Maskali city.

Despite the danger of the volcano, the inhabitants of the island continue to settle on its slopes. The reason for this is fertile soil, enriched with minerals and trace elements contained in cooled lava flows and ash.

Etna is one of the main natural attractions of Sicily; tourists from all over the world come to see the volcano and climb to its top.

Popocatepetl

Volcano Popocatepetl, or El Popo, as locals affectionately call it, is located in Mexico, 70 kilometers from the capital of this country, Mexico City. The height of the volcano is almost 5500 meters. Popocatépetl has erupted more than 15 times over the past 500 years, with the most recent one occurring as recently as 2015. An extinct volcano is located near Popocatepetl. Iztaccihuatl.

A trip to these volcanoes is an integral part of the excursion program when visiting Mexico City.

Klyuchevskaya Sopka

The highest volcano in Eurasia is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula and is considered the most famous of the many volcanoes of Kamchatka. The highest point outside the Caucasus Mountains reaches an altitude of 4750 meters. It is the most active volcano in Eurasia, with an average of almost every year. The last significant eruption occurred in 2013, the height of the ash emission was 10-12 kilometers. The eruption was accompanied by mud flows and ashfall.

Cotopaxi

The active Cotopaxi volcano is located in South America on the territory of the state Ecuador part of the Andes mountain system. The height of the peak of Cotopaxi is 5897 meters. In the entire history of observations, 86 eruptions have been recorded, the largest of which led to the complete destruction of the city of Latacunga in 1786. The last activity of Cotopaxi was noticed in 1942, after which the volcano is still dormant.

Famous extinct giants

In addition to active volcanoes, there are many extinct volcanoes on our planet that do not exhibit volcanic activity.

Supreme

The tallest extinct volcano on the planet, Aconcagua, is located in Argentina and is part of the Andes mountain system. Aconcagua is not only the highest extinct volcano in the world, but also the highest peak in the Americas, Western and Southern Hemispheres. The height of Aconcagua exceeds 6950 meters.

Sleeping giants

Many extinct volcanoes are now considered simply mountains, although some of them could potentially “wake up” and begin to become active. Such volcanoes, which may become active in the future, are called "sleeping".

  • Famous Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (Africa) is a dormant volcano that is not active. Scientists believe that one day Kilimanjaro may wake up, then this potential volcano will become one of the highest in the world, because the height of Kilimanjaro is 5895 meters above sea level.
  • Colossal supervolcano Yellowstone was considered extinct, but scientists have found that there is little activity in it, so now Yellowstone is classified as a dormant volcano. The giant last erupted almost a million years ago.

    It is believed that if Yellowstone wakes up, a potential eruption will become one of the largest disasters in the history of the Earth, every third inhabitant of the planet will die, and several US states will be completely destroyed.

    Yellowstone eruption will provoke many earthquakes, giant tsunami waves and other volcanic eruptions, which will affect almost every inhabitant of the planet. The ash ejected by the volcano will cover the surface of the earth from the sun for a year and a half, and a volcanic winter will occur throughout the planet.

    However, not all scientists believe that the consequences of this cataclysm will be so serious. In any case, the eruption of this volcano remains one of the main potential threats to humans.

  • The largest extinct volcano in Russia is 5642 meters. It is located on the border of the republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Refers to the list of the highest peaks in six parts of the world. Scientists consider the activity of the volcano not so much completed as fading.
  • The largest volcano of our time cannot be visited and is very difficult to see, since it is under water. Array Tamu located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and is located approximately 1,600 kilometers east of the Japanese Islands. Its dimensions are 650 by 450 kilometers; in scale, the array is one of the largest not only on Earth, but in the entire solar system. The last volcanic eruption occurred 140 million years ago.
  • Dormant volcanoes Big and Small Ararat are now located on the territory and belong to the category of volcanoes that do not exhibit volcanic activity. The peak of Mount Ararat, reaching 5165 meters, is the highest point in Turkey.
  • One of the highest peaks of the Caucasus, Mount Kazbek is also an extinct volcano. Kazbek is located on the border with Russia, the top point of the mountain is located at an altitude of more than 5 kilometers. During research, volcanic ash from an eruption that allegedly occurred 40 thousand years ago was found in one of the Kazbek caves.

Watch a video about these and other volcanoes in the world:

10 largest and most dangerous volcanoes on Earth.

A volcano is a geological formation that arose due to the movement of tectonic plates, their collision and the formation of faults. As a result of collisions between tectonic plates, faults form and magma comes to the surface of the Earth. As a rule, volcanoes are a mountain at the end of which there is a crater, which is where lava comes out.


Volcanoes are divided into:


- active;
- sleeping;
- extinct;

Active volcanoes are those that erupted in the near future (approximately 12,000 years)
Dormant volcanoes are volcanoes that have not erupted in the near future, but their eruption is practically possible.
Extinct volcanoes include those that have not erupted in the near historical future, but the top has the shape of a crater, but such volcanoes are unlikely to erupt.

List of the 10 most dangerous volcanoes on the planet:

1. (Hawaii Islands, USA)



Located in the islands of Hawaii, it is one of the five volcanoes that make up the islands of Hawaii. It is the largest volcano in the world in terms of volume. It contains more than 32 cubic kilometers of magma.
The volcano was formed about 700,000 years ago.
The volcano's last eruption occurred in March 1984, and it lasted for more than 24 days, causing enormous damage to people and the surrounding area.

2. Taal Volcano (Philippines)




The volcano is located on the island of Luzon, part of the Philippine Islands. The crater of the volcano rises 350 meters above the surface of Lake Taal and is located almost in the center of the lake.

The peculiarity of this volcano is that it is located in the crater of a very old extinct mega volcano, now this crater is filled with lake water.
In 1911, the most powerful eruption of this volcano occurred - then 1335 people died, within 10 minutes all life around the volcano died at a distance of 10 km.
The last eruption of this volcano was observed in 1965, which resulted in 200 casualties.

3. Volcano Merapi (Java Island)




The name of the volcano is literally Mountain of Fire. The volcano has been erupting systematically for the last 10,000 years. The volcano is located near the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the city's population is several thousand people.
It was the most active volcano among the 130 volcanoes in Indonesia. The eruption of this volcano was believed to have led to the decline of the Hindu Kingdom of Matarama. The peculiarity and horror of this volcano is the speed of spread of magma, which is more than 150 km/hour. The volcano's last eruption occurred in 2006 and claimed 130 lives and made more than 300,000 people homeless.

4. Volcano Santa Maria (Guatemala)


This is one of the most active volcanoes of the 20th century.
It is located at a distance of 130 kilometers from the city of Guatemala, and is located in the so-called Pacific. Ring of Fire. The Santa Maria crater was formed after its eruption in 1902. About 6,000 people died then. The last eruption occurred in March 2011.

5. Ulawun Volcano (Papua New Guinea)


The Ulawun volcano, located in the New Guinea region, began erupting at the beginning of the 18th century. Since then, eruptions have been recorded 22 times.
In 1980, the largest volcanic eruption occurred. The ejected ash covered an area of ​​more than 20 square kilometers.
Now this volcano is the highest peak in the region.
The last volcanic eruption occurred in 2010.

6. Galeras Volcano (Colombia)




The Galeras Volcano is located near the border of Ecuador in Colombia. One of the most active volcanoes in Colombia, it has erupted systematically over the past 1000 years.
The first documented volcanic eruption occurred in 1580. This volcano is considered the most dangerous because of its sudden eruptions. Along the eastern slope of the volcano is the city of Paphos (Pasto). Paphos is home to 450,000 people.
In 1993, six seismologists and three tourists died during a volcanic eruption.
Since then, the volcano has erupted every year, claiming thousands of lives and making many people homeless. The last volcanic eruption occurred in January 2010.

7. Sakurajima Volcano (Japan)




Until 1914, this volcanic mountain was located on a separate island in close proximity to Kyushu. After the volcano erupted in 1914, a lava flow connected the mountain to the Ozumi Peninsula (Japan). The volcano was named Vesuvius of the East.
He serves as a threat to the 700,000 people of Kagoshima City.
Since 1955, eruptions have occurred every year.
The government even built a refugee camp for the people of Kagoshima so they could find shelter during the volcanic eruption.
The last eruption of the volcano occurred on August 18, 2013.


8. Nyiragongo (DR Congo)




It is one of the most active, active volcanoes in the African region. The volcano is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The volcano has been monitored since 1882. Since the start of observations, 34 eruptions have been recorded.
A crater in the mountain serves as a holder for magma fluid. In 1977, a major eruption occurred, neighboring villages were burned by streams of hot lava. The average speed of the lava flow was 60 kilometers per hour. Hundreds of people died. The most recent eruption occurred in 2002, leaving 120,000 people homeless.




This volcano is a caldera, a formation of a pronounced round shape with a flat bottom.
The volcano is located in Yellow National Park in the United States.
This volcano has not erupted for 640,000 years.
The question arises: How can it be an active volcano?
There are claims that 640,000 years ago, this super volcano erupted.
This eruption changed the terrain and covered half of the United States in ash.
According to various estimates, the volcanic eruption cycle is 700,000 - 600,000 years. Scientists expect this volcano to erupt at any time.
This volcano could destroy life on Earth.

In this lesson we will learn what volcanoes are, how they are formed, we will get acquainted with the types of volcanoes and their internal structure.

Topic: Earth

Volcanism- a set of phenomena caused by the penetration of magma from the depths of the Earth to its surface.

The word "volcano" comes from the name of one of the ancient Roman gods - the god of fire and blacksmithing - Vulcan. The ancient Romans believed that this god had a forge underground. As Vulcan begins to work in his forge, smoke and flames erupt from the crater. In honor of this god, the Romans named the island and the mountain on the island in the Tyrrhenian Sea - Vulcano. And later all fire-breathing mountains began to be called volcanoes.

The globe is structured in such a way that under the solid crust there is a layer of molten rocks (magma), and under great pressure. When cracks appear in the Earth's crust (and hills form on the earth's surface in this place), the magma under pressure in them rushes and comes to the surface of the earth, breaking up into hot lava (500-1200 ° C), caustic volcanic gases and ash. The spreading lava hardens, and the volcanic mountain increases in size.

The resulting volcano becomes a vulnerable place in the earth’s crust; even after the end of the eruption, inside it (in the crater) gases constantly escape from the bowels of the earth to the surface (the volcano “smokes”), and with any slightest shifts or shocks in the earth’s crust, such a “dormant” volcano can wake up any time. Sometimes a volcano awakens without obvious reasons. Such volcanoes are called active.

Rice. 2. The structure of the volcano ()

Volcano crater- a cup-shaped or funnel-shaped depression on the top or slope of a volcanic cone. The diameter of the crater can be from tens of meters to several kilometers and the depth from several meters to hundreds of meters. At the bottom of the crater there are one or more vents through which lava and other volcanic products rise from the magma chamber through the outlet channel to the surface. Sometimes the crater floor is covered by a lava lake or a small newly formed volcanic cone.

Volcano mouth- a vertical or almost vertical channel connecting the center of a volcano with the surface of the earth, where the vent ends in a crater. The shape of the vents of lava volcanoes is close to cylindrical.

Magma hotspot- a place under the earth's crust where magma collects.

Lava- erupted magma.

Types of volcanoes (according to the degree of their activity).

Active - which erupt, and information about this in the memory of mankind. There are 800 of them.

Extinct - no information about the eruption has been preserved.

Those who have fallen asleep are those who have gone out and suddenly begin to act.

According to their shape, volcanoes are divided into conical and panel.

The slopes of the conical volcano are steep, the lava is thick, viscous, and cools quite quickly. The mountain has the shape of a cone.

Rice. 3. Conical volcano ()

The slopes of a shield volcano are gentle, very hot and liquid lava spreads quickly over considerable distances and cools slowly.

Rice. 4. Shield volcano ()

A geyser is a source that periodically releases a fountain of hot water and steam. Geysers are one of the manifestations of the later stages of volcanism and are common in areas of modern volcanic activity.

A mud volcano is a geological formation that is a hole or depression on the surface of the earth, or a cone-shaped elevation with a crater, from which mud masses and gases, often accompanied by water and oil, constantly or periodically erupt onto the surface of the Earth.

Rice. 6. Mud volcano ()

- a lump or piece of lava thrown out during a volcanic eruption in a liquid or plastic state from a vent and obtained a specific shape when squeezed out, during flight and solidification in air.

Rice. 7. Volcanic bomb ()

An underwater volcano is a type of volcano. These volcanoes are located on the ocean floor.

Most modern volcanoes are located within three main volcanic belts: Pacific, Mediterranean-Indonesian and Atlantic. As evidenced by the results of studying the geological past of our planet, underwater volcanoes are significantly larger than volcanoes on land in terms of their scale and volume of ejection products coming from the bowels of the Earth. Scientists believe that this is the main source of tsunamis on Earth.

Rice. 8. Underwater volcano ()

Klyuchevskaya Sopka (Klyuchevskoy volcano) is an active stratovolcano in the east of Kamchatka. With a height of 4850 m, it is the highest active volcano on the Eurasian continent. The age of the volcano is approximately 7000 years.

Rice. 9. Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka ()

1. Melchakov L.F., Skatnik M.N. Natural history: textbook. for 3.5 grades avg. school - 8th ed. - M.: Education, 1992. - 240 pp.: ill.

2. Bakhchieva O.A., Klyuchnikova N.M., Pyatunina S.K. and others. Natural history 5. - M.: Educational literature.

3. Eskov K.Yu. and others. Natural history 5 / Ed. Vakhrusheva A.A. - M.: Balass.

3. The most famous volcanoes on Earth ().

1. Tell us about the structure of the volcano.

2. How are volcanoes formed?

3. How is lava different from magma?

4. * Prepare a short report about one of the volcanoes of our country.

Many times on television and in films we have seen terrible pictures of volcanic eruptions: the sky covered with huge clouds of ash, hot lava flows, deadly stone bombs flying from the sky, rivers overflowing their banks, rockfalls - all this amazes the imagination.


Let's figure out why all this end of the world is happening.

What is a volcano?

“It’s a no brainer what it is,” someone will say. Maybe some hedgehogs advanced in volcanology don’t need any explanation, but we’ll try to figure it out.

The first thing that comes to mind is that a volcano is a mountain. But not a simple mountain, but one spitting out all sorts of magmas, lavas, ashes, slags and the like. The name immediately comes to mind, firmly etched into it - Eyjafjallajökull, the bearer of which caused the whole world to go “dark” in 2010.

So, a volcano is a geological formation on the surface of the Earth (or another planet), where magma comes to the surface and, turning into lava, creates all sorts of disgrace. This terrible and, at the same time, beautiful process in its titanic grandeur is called an eruption.

Why do eruptions occur?

Let's try to answer this question clearly. The fact is that the Earth is a young planet (what, really, four and a half billion years is zilch), a teenager, one might say. What is the main problem teenagers have? That's right - acne. Here is the answer to your question.

And if we speak seriously and with a scientific expression on our face, then all eruptions occur for one reason - magma breaks through a layer of the earth’s crust. This can happen due to a break in the crust, or it can be caused by the approach of one or another to the Earth, with their attraction forcing the magma to put more pressure on the earth’s crust. There may be some other reasons, hitherto hidden from the inquiring minds of volcanologists.


One of the mysteries that men in white coats puzzle over to this day is the source of heat sufficient to melt the huge masses of basalt that make up the crust. Three hypotheses claim to provide a rational explanation for the appearance of heat sources of such power.

Some of the above-mentioned men believe that radioactive elements gathered together are to blame. Others object: “Well, where can they get them in such volumes?! No, tectonic shifts and faults are to blame!” Still others glance slyly at one and the other, and, pinching the ends of their thin mustache or beard, quietly but forcefully object: “Eh, no, colleagues. If only everything were so simple... We have reason to believe that the culprit is the so-called phase transition, which occurs due to the fact that the mantle, which is usually in a solid state under high pressure conditions, due to a fault and the naturally subsequent decrease in pressure transforms into a liquid state, releasing a colossal amount of thermal energy during this transition. Definitely!"

Why is a volcanic eruption dangerous?

This is something that any hedgehog can understand, even those without a volcanological background. To not understand this, you need to reach the level of stupidity of the opossum brothers Crash and Eddie from Ice Age. In the fourth part of the cartoon, they reveal to the mole Louis that the secret of their carelessness in the conditions of a terrible cataclysm lies precisely in this...

Well, if anyone doesn’t understand, we’ll explain... It’s not difficult for us...

When a volcano erupts, lava flows out of it. It's very beautiful, but you can't take it in your hands - you'll get burned. It's better not to approach her at all. And there are also large hot pebbles flying from the volcano far, far away. It will be very painful and hot if they get hit.


If it's on the head, that's it. And volcanoes smoke very strongly - you can suffocate. And sometimes they smoke for so long that you can even freeze, because the smoke does not allow the sun to warm us.

Classification of volcanoes

There are three main criteria by which volcanoes are classified - shape, activity and location.

According to their shape, volcanoes are divided into shield, dome, stratovolcanoes and cinder cones; according to activity - active, dormant and extinct; by location - underground, underwater and subglacial.

We will not analyze the features of each of these types, since this will go beyond the scope of an educational article and will amount to a short scientific work.

What to do if a volcano erupts?

Lava has a movement speed of about 40 km/h. If you have a car and you are sure that you will not get caught in a traffic jam, burn rubber before it’s too late, taking with you something to drink and something to eat. Don't let the ash get under the hood - the engine will stall.

If there is a traffic jam, and you are running with a backpack, push as hard as you can, first putting on thick clothes and taking gauze bandages to protect against gases. You need to take grub and other necessities with you for approximately 5 days.


Do not go down into the lowlands - flooding is possible during an eruption. When there are rockfalls, sit with your back to them, covering your head with your hands. If possible, protect your back with something like boards or plywood. Place the children in front of you.

If you don’t have a level in running, you’re at home, but you don’t want to go outside, close all the windows, doors and ventilation holes, climb to the very top and wait for it to blow by. We are waiting for what will blow by, standing - there are gases near the floor that will knock you out.

The volcano in the picture below is called a compound volcano because it is made up of alternating layers of lava and ash. Over long periods of time they formed a cone with steep slopes.

1. The place under the earth's crust where magma collects is called a magma chamber or volcanic chamber

2. Vent - the main channel in the middle of the volcano;

3. Dyke - a magma-filled channel running from the vent to the surface;

4. Layers of ash and lava;

5. The hole at the very top of the volcano is called a crater;

6. Dust, ash and gases;

7. Pieces of lava called volcanic bombs.

The majestic cone on the surface of the Earth is only the tip of the volcano. No matter how large a volcano may seem, its above-ground part is very small compared to the underground part where the magma comes from. The volcanic cone is composed of products of its eruption. At the top there is a crater - a bowl-shaped depression, sometimes filled with water.

The volcano feeds through an opening called the main channel, or vent. Gases emerge through the vent, as well as rock fragments and melts that rise from the depths, which gradually form a relief on the surface of the volcano. The vent is associated with a whole system of volcanic cracks, side channels and magma chambers located from one to tens of kilometers from the Earth’s surface. The primary magma chamber is located at a depth of 60-100 km, and the secondary magma chamber, which directly feeds the volcano, is at a depth of 20-30 km. As magma moves toward the surface, significant changes occur.

There are small volcanoes, the cone of which rises from the surface of the Earth several hundred meters. There are huge ones, reaching 3000-5000 m in height. The largest volcano on the planet, Mauna Loa, is located on the island of Hawaii. It rises 4170 m above sea level, and its base rests at a depth of 5000 m. As a result, its height is more than 9 km.

Causes of eruptions. The causes of volcanic eruptions may include numerous chemical, physical, and geological factors. Therefore, eruptions are not always easy to predict.

If you shake a bottle of a carbonated drink before opening it, the gas dissolved in the drink tends to escape when the bottle is uncorked, forming foam. So in the crater of a volcano, foaming magma is thrown out by gases released from it. Under pressure, it rises through cracks in the earth's crust and rushes into the mouth of the volcano to erupt from the crater. Having lost a significant amount of gas, magma pours out of the crater and flows like lava along the slopes of the volcano.

Why do volcanic eruptions occur? The heat accumulated in the depths of the Earth heats up the material of the earth's core. Its temperature is so high that this substance should have melted, but under the pressure of the upper layers of the earth's crust it is kept in a solid state. In those places where the pressure of the upper layers weakens due to the movement of the earth's crust and the formation of cracks, the hot masses turn into a liquid state. A mass of molten rock (magma), saturated with gases, under strong pressure, melting the surrounding rocks, makes its way to the top. It happens that the vent is already clogged with solidified lava like a plug, which creates conditions for pressure to increase until it is high enough to push this plug out. The penetration of surface water, as well as the physical and chemical processes occurring within the magma itself, also create the conditions under which a volcanic eruption can occur.