GEOGRAPHY PROJECT:

VOLCANOES
CONTENTS:

WHAT IS A VOLCANO ?
WHAT CAUSES VOLCANOS
TO FORM ? CASE STUDY: MOUNT ST. HELENS

HOW A VOLCANIC ERUPTION IMPACTS OF THE ERUPTION

VOLCANIC HAZARDS
OCCURS INTERSESTING FACTS ABOUT VOLCANOES

LIFE CYCLE OF A VOLCANO PHOTOGRAPH

MID-OCEAN RIDGE
WHAT IS A VOLCANO ?
A volcano is a vent or a hole in the earths crust which
transfers molten rock known as magma from depth to the
Earth's surface.
Molten magma erupting from a volcano is called lava and is
the material which builds up the cone surrounding the vent.
There are many well known volcanoes such as Mount
Vesuvius, Mount Etna, Mount St. Helens, Mount Kilimanjaro
and Mount Fuji.
WHAT CAUSES VOLCANOES TO FORM ?
Volcanic activity frequently occurs at the boundaries of the
Earth's tectonic plates which are pulled apart or are in
collision.
The movement of these plates plays a significant role in the
type of volcano formed, which influences its shape.
A volcano forms when magma pushes up through the Earth's
crust from below, depositing lava on the surface. This lava
cools, creating volcanic rock. Over time, repeated eruptions
of lava build a cone-shaped mountainous structure,
producing a volcano.
HOW A VOLCANIC ERUPTION OCCURS

Volcanic eruptions occur when magma builds up beneath the

Earth's crust and forces its way to the surface. Natural vents
in the crust allow magma passage to the surface, and
eruptions occur when the magma that forms is less dense
than the material above it, causing it to flow upward.
When magma reaches the surface, it is known as lava. Lava
pours out of the crater and flows down the side of the cone. It
cools and hardens.
Other materials may also come out during the eruption.
Layers of these materials build up to form a cone-shaped
LIFE CYCLE OF A VOLCANO
Volcanoes can be grouped as follows:
Active: A volcano is said to be active if it is regularly erupting lava,
releasing gas or generating seismic activity. E.g. Mount Vesuvius,
Italy.
Dormant: A volcano is said to be dormant if it has not erupted for a
long time but could erupt again in the future. E.g. Mount Kilimanjaro,
Tanzania, Africa.
Extinct: A volcano is said to be extinct once it has been dormant for
more than 10000 years. E.g. Mount Kulal, Kenya.
MID-OCEAN RIDGE
Volcanic activity can also result in mid-ocean ridges:
A mid-ocean ridge is an underwater mountain range. It is formed where
to plates separate.
As the plates separate, molten magma rises from the mantle and fills
the gap between the plates.
When the magma meets the cold seawater, it cools and solidifies to
form a new ocean floor. As the eruptions continue in an endless cycle,
the ocean floor is built up to form a long ridge of mountains.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs north to south and is the full 16,000 km
length of the Atlantic Ocean. It is exposes in place where the ridge is
extremely high. An ewample of such a place is Iceland.
CASE STUDY: MOUNT ST. HELENS
Mount St. Helens is a mountain peak in the Rocky Mountains, USA,
formed by a series of volcanic eruptions over thousands of years.
It had remained dormant up until 1980 after a series of earthquakes
early that year suggested that the mountain was beginning to rumble
again.
Soon steam and lava began to appear from the crater. One side of the
mountain began to bulge from the pressure and swelled outwards over
100 metres before a massive eruption occurred. Clouds of steam, gas
and ash escaped in a tremendous volcanic eruption.
IMPACTS OF THE ERUPTION
The eruptions force reduced the mountains height by 400 metres. A
new crater, which was almost 3km wide, was created.
Forests with trees up to 2 metres in diameter were demolished up to
25km from the volcano.
The eruption melted glacial ice and snow at the summit, which
combined with ash to form mudflows that clogged shipping channels
in nearby rivers.
60 people were killed by the force of the blast and poisonous gas
produced by the eruption.
VOLCANIC HAZARDS
Volcanic hazards include explosions, lava flows, bombs or ballistics, ash
or tephra, pyroclastic surges, pyroclastic flows, mudflows or lahars,
landslides, earthquakes, ground deformation, tsunami, air shocks,
lightning, poisonous gas and glacial outburst flooding known as
jkulhlaups.
The severity of volcanic eruptions are measured using a simple
descriptive index known as the Volcano Explosivity Index which ranges
from zero to eight. The index combines the volume of material ejected
with the height of an eruption column and the duration of the eruption.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT VOLCANOES
The Antrim-Derry Plateau is the result of volcanic activity. The Giants
Causeway is the best known section of the plateau. It is composed of
abot 40,000 six-sided columns of basalt.
Stromboli, located off Italys Mediterranean coast, is a volcano that
erupts so frequently that sailors have named it the Lighthouse of the
Mediterranean.
Pumice is a volcanic rock which is so light that it can float in water. It is
used as an abrasive.
When volcanic ash is weathered it makes fertile soil.
PHOTOGRAPH