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Fun Facts About Volcanoes

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Curious about volcanoes?

Check out these fun facts about volcanoes!

Fun Facts About Volcanoes

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What Is a Volcano?

What is a volcano? 

Well, a volcano is a mountain with a hole that goes deep down into the earth. 

This hole lets things like gases, magma, and ash escape from the earth, and when there’s too much pressure, an eruption happens! 

Cool, right? 

What else do we know about volcanoes? 

Check out these fun facts and build your own DIY volcano this week!

Interesting Facts About Volcanoes

There are 4 main types of volcanoes.

Volcanoes can be cinder cones, composite volcanoes, shield volcanoes, or lava domes. 

Cinder cone volcanoes are the most common and the smallest type of volcano. 

Composite volcanoes are tall with steep slopes. 

Shield volcanoes are wide with gentle slopes and are the largest type of volcano. 

A lava dome is a round mound formed by the lava from the eruption of another volcano.  

Volcanoes are grouped based on activity. 

Volcanoes are considered to be active, dormant, or extinct. 

An active volcano means there is regular activity going on inside of it. 

A volcano that is dormant has had activity recently but is not active at the moment. 

An extinct volcano means that it has erupted so long ago that it’s unlikely to erupt again.  

Fun Facts About Volcanoes

Volcanoes are full of magma.

Magma is a super hot fluid that moves inside of a volcano. 

It is found either below the earth or within the earth’s crust. 

Once magma is ejected from the volcano in an eruption, we call it lava.  

Volcanoes can be found in the water.

Volcanoes aren’t just found on land, but in the water too. 

These are called submarine volcanoes. 

Submarine volcanoes exist on the ocean floor, as well as, under ice caps. 

Neat!

Volcanoes are also found in outer space.

There are actually volcanoes on other planets and moons in our solar system. 

Volcanic activity has been recorded on the moons of Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn. 

Mars even has a volcano that has been named Olympus Mons.  

Fun Facts About Volcanoes

The largest active volcano on earth is found in Hawaii. 

Named Mauna Loa, this record breaking volcano stands over 13,600 feet tall and is 64 miles wide. 

Wow! 

Mauna Loa is a shield volcano that has erupted about 33 times since 1843. 

Its last eruption was in 1984. 

Cool & Fun Facts About Volcanoes

Did you know that there are over 1,500 active volcanoes on earth? 

That’s a bunch! 

Do you live near a volcano? 

These fun facts show that volcanoes are pretty neat! 

Wouldn’t you agree?

Books About Volcanoes

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