Volcanoes

Volcanoes

What makes volcanoes extreme??

Volcanoes are extreme because of the extreme heat and the dangerous gases. The highest temperature a volcano can reach is around 1,250 degrees celsius. Also, the average temperature is about 750 degrees celsius. The gases that you would find in most volcanoes are carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. Sulfur will burn your skin off. Some of these gases are making global warming worse. The worst gas out of these three is sulfur dioxide because it makes your breathing worse and it also increases your chance of a heart attack.

Are there different types of volcanoes?

• Yes, there are three main types of volcanoes: cindercone, shield, and stratovolcanoes.The cindercone and the stratovolcanoes both look like cones, and the shield volcano has big broad sides. There are more stratovolcanoes in the world than any other type. A minor type of volcano are the caldera volcanoes. They have a huge magma chamber which, when it erupts, makes one of the sides fall in.

What kind of technology do volcanologists use?

(Volcanologists are people who study volcanoes.)

Some volcanologists use tiltmeters to measure the volcano's size because when the volcano is about to erupt it grows a bump. Sometimes it's on the side, other times it's on the top. All the scientists have to do is put the tiltmeter on the volcano and it will tell them if it's growing or not.

Other volcanologists use seismomenters to measure if and how much the magma is flowing. This helps most scientists because if magma is flowing, then the volcano is probably about to explode. The magma flowing around is like the breathing of the volcano.

What Canadian connections are there with volcanoes?

George Kournounis is a Canadian stormchaser who looks at volcanoes. In January 2005, he was the first person to have ever filmed the inside of an active volcano after it erupted. ( Erta Ale in Ethiopia.) George was lowered 60 ft in the smoking volcano while wearing a protective heat suit. He's also filmed the inside of a tornado and the eye of a hurricane. George was born in Quebec, but now lives in Toronto.

Another Canadian connection is the volcano Mount Cayley in the Squamish/Lillooet area (southwestern BC). It's also a stratovolcano. Mount Cayley has at least 20 craters which each erupt from time to time. The last massive eruption though, was about 0.3 to 2.7 million years ago.

Also, Mount Edziza, (which is in Northwestern BC),is located in the second largest group of volcanoes in Canada. This volcano is 2,787 metres tall. And is dormant, which means that it "sleeping" or that it probably won't erupt for more than a thousand years. Volcanologists say that if the volcano has erupted within 10 thousand years, it's active. However if a dormant volcano erupts, like this one, then it is most likely that it will be a huge explosion because it hadn't erupted for a long time.

There are a lot of volcanoes in Canada, but pretty much all of them are dormant. I picked these two because they were the closest to Surrey with enough information on them.

DID YOU KNOW???

The largest active volcano in the world is Mauna Loa in Hawaii. It's 4,100 metres tall from sea level, but if you measure it from where it starts in the ocean, it's taller than Mount Everest by about 3/4 of a mile. The smallest active volcano in the world is Taal Volcano in the Philippines. This crater like volcano is only 406 metres tall!

What is worse: falling ash or flowing lava?

Falling ash is worse than lava because ash can suffocate plants, animals, and even humans. Lava isn't as bad because most of the time it doesn't travel very far. This is usually because the lava is so thick. Even though lava is slow, if it reaches you, you'll get burned very badly. Also, if ash falls heavily for 12 to 60 hours or more, some roofs of houses may cave in.

What have I learned about God while studying volcanoes?

I learned that God created volcanoes because they release the pressure in the earth's core. This is because volcanoes are formed by plates in the earth, so the pressure from the plates goes into the volcano. When the volcano erupts, it releases the pressure. So, instead of thinking of volcanoes as horrible diasters, think of them as vents on the earth.

Nahum 1:5

The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it.

This passage makes you realize how great and powerful God really is. That mountains quake before him, is really cool. So basically, I learned that God is so powerful that mountains shake before him.

This volcano is Erta Ale, in Ethopia. George Kourounis filmed the inside of this volcano after it erupted. George filmed this volcano in January 2005, while Erta Ale's last major eruption was September 2005.

Are magma and lava the same thing?

Kind of. It's called magma when it's inside the volcano, but after the volcano erupts, it's called lava. So magma is the stuff that's under or in a volcano, and lava is the stuff that comes out from a volcano.

What is the Ring of Fire?

The Ring of Fire is a series of volcanoes that's between Asia, Australia, and North and South America. With 452 volcanoes in it, it has 75% of the world's volanoes. This area is 40,000 kilometres in length. The Ring of Fire is horseshoe shaped.

Why are there mudslides when a volcano erupts?

There are mudslides because sometimes there is ice or streams on volcanoes. When the volcano erupts, the ice melts, then the water from the ice or stream mixes with the lava, making mudslides. Mudslides make the lava go further, which worsens the after effect of the eruption.

This is a diagram of a volcano. The dark and light gray areas are layers in the volcano from previous eruptions.

When Volcanoes Erupt...

When a volcano is erupting, it can throw rocks straight up in the air. How high do the rocks go? Well, it depends on how big the rock is. Basically, the smaller the rock, the higher it goes.

When volcanoes erupt, the gases, ash, and lava comes out from it. Most of the gases will just blow away, but heavy gases like hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide stay put, making bad air for people to breathe.

Ash can be really bad for people who have asthma or other lung problems because it goes into your lungs, making it harder to breathe. It can also scratch the front of your eye if it's very small.

Lava usually doesn't flow very far, so it's not a big worry. But when it does, and you live close to the volcano, you'll probably have to evacuate the area.

How do volcanoes grow bigger?

Volcanoes grow bigger from previous eruptions. When all of the ash and lava cools and settles, it creates a hard surface. This process makes the

volcano bigger, or made it a new layer.

How many active volcanoes are in the world?

There are over 700 active volcanoes in the world. About 75% of these volcanoes are in the Ring of Fire.

This is Mauna Loa, in Hawaii, erupting. It's the largest volcano in the world.

The End!

By Nathalie :)

This is Taal Volcano. It's the smallest active volcano in the world and it's also a caldera volcano. The arrow is pointing to the side of the volcano that fell.