Volcano Research

What is a VOLCANO? How does it Form?




A volcano is a geological rupture in the Earth's crust triggered by natural forces, such as pressure and temperature in the interior of the Earth. These forces drive gases and hot liquid, known as magma, out through a volcano's orifice known as the vent. Once out of the vent, magma is now called lava, these erupted materials break down, harden or condense around a volcano's vent. Over thousands or millions of years, the accumulation of magma forms steep-sided cones known as volcanoes. Volcanoes have been erupting molten material, after the formation of the earth, due to the accumulated pressure in the interior of the planet. The formation of volcanoes has contributed to the shaping and configuration of the varied landscapes that make up the planet.

Basically, A volcano is a type of mountain that is created when some of that magma travels up through the plates to the earth's surface.

Volcanoes are most commonly formed at the convergence or divergence of tectonic plates.

Mount FUJI

When did Mount Fuji last erupt?

16 December 1707

Mount Fuji (Actually two volcanoes know as "Old Fuji" and "Young Fuji") has erupted for more than 100,000 years. It is the highest mountain in Japan, the 2nd highest peak of an island (volcano) in Asia, and 7th in the World. Mount Fuji is dormant stratovolcano - also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and ash.

Destruction

Mount Fuji's last eruption ejected tons of TEPHRA (all solid volcanic materials --not lava or gas) into the atmosphere. The 1707 eruption, called the Hoei eruption. The tephra was so thick that the people of the city of Edo (Tokyo) had to use candles in the middle of the day.

Many people lose their lives as a consequence of Mount Fuji's volcanic activity. Damage to nearby homes and the tephra fallout reduced agricultural productivity in the region, causing many people to starve. 

Facts and Trivia about VOLCANOES


A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur.

• In an eruption, gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava fragments. Eruptions can cause lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods.
• The danger area around a volcano covers about a 20-mile radius. Fresh volcanic ash, made of pulverized rock, can be harsh, acidic, gritty, glassy and smelly. The ash can cause damage to the lungs of older people, babies and people with respiratory problems.
• Volcanic lightning occurs mostly within the cloud of ash during an eruption and is created by the friction of the ash rushing to the surface. Roughly 200 accounts of this lightning have been witnessed live.
• An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls.
• More than 80% of the earth's surface is volcanic in origin. The sea floor and some mountains were formed by countless volcanic eruptions. Gaseous emissions from the volcano formed the earth's atmosphere.
• There are more than 500 active volcanoes in the world. More than half of these volcanoes are part of the "Ring of Fire," a region that encircles the Pacific Ocean
• Active volcanoes in the U.S. are found mainly in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington, but the greatest chance of eruptions near areas where many people live is in Hawaii and Alaska.
• The sound of an eruption volcano can be quiet and hissing or explosive and booming. The loud cracks travel hundreds of miles and do the most damage, including hearing loss and broken glass.
• The most deadly eruptions have occurred in Indonesia, with tens of thousands of lives lost to starvation, tsunami (as a result of the eruption), ash flows, and mudflows.