Written and Illustrated by: Fernando Zavala Noa Block Riley Humphrey

page 1 -intro page 2 -What is a volcano? page 3 -Cinder Cone Volcanos page 5 -Composite/Strato volcanos page 6 -Shield Volcanoes page 7 -Dome Volcanoes page 8 -How do volcanoes erupt? page 9 -How do volcanoes erupt? page 10 -Types of Eruptions page 11 -Hot spots page 12- Conclusion

A Volcano is a mountain that opens downwards to a layer of molten-rock below the Earths surface, also known as the mantle. Volcanoes can form two different ways. One of those ways is when a crack develops in one of Earths plates. The magma will slowly flow out onto Earths surface and turn into lava. The lava will spread out. After a long amount of time, the layer of lava will harden and build up to become a volcano! The other way a volcano is formed is by a hot spot. A hot spot is a pool of lava under the Earths crust that forms a volcano.

Cinder-cone volcanoes are one of the most common types of volcanoes. Cinder-cone volcanoes are very unique because they can change their center pipe.

The center pipe will move when the power of the eruption changes. This means the crater may change shape or position.

Fun fact: You can usally find cinder-cone volcanoes on shield volcanoes.

Composite/Strato volcano Composite volcanoes can get very, very tall. Their snow capped peaks can reach heights taller than 8,202 feet!

Composite volcanoes have huge eruptions. These massive eruptions are caused by viscous magma. When viscous magma rises, it clogs the crater pipe. The gas and magmas pressure builds until the clog in the crater pipe gives way, and the volcano erupts with great power!

Shield volcanoes are shaped like a broad hill. When a shield volcano erupts, the lava flows like a river down the sides of the volcano. The lava that shoots up isnt as sticky as the lava of a dome volcano, so it builds up at its base instead of the top. That is what makes the shape of a shield. Fun Fact: Hawaii has two of the worlds most active shield volcanoes.

A dome volcano is shaped like a steep mountain. It is made of sticky lava. The lava from a dome volcano has a high silica content that prevents the lava from flowing very far from its vent. Composite volcanoes can become dome volcanoes when the top is blown away, like Mt. St. Helens. Fun Fact: Lava from a dome volcano doesnt flow very far due to its stickiness.

A volcano erupts when magma, which is melted rock, is pushed by pressure from the rock around it, up to the surface through the main vent. It then erupts lava, gas, or ash. This can be a scary sight and also super dangerous for people who live nearby. So be careful if you are close to a volcano! Fun Fact: The magma becomes lava when it comes out of the volcano.
steam, gas and ash cloud
crater

Secondary cone

lava flow

layers of ash

vent

magma chamber

Hot Spots Hot spots are places where magma Volcano melts through one of Earths tectonic plates. That causes a big pool of lava plume mantel plume right under the surface. The hot spot mantle may melt through the surface, forming a mantle mantel mantel volcano.

Where do hot spots form? Hot spots usually form in the middle of a tectonic plate, far away from tectonic plate boundaries. Hot spots are fixed places within the mantle and oceanic lithosphere. The magma from the hot spot will then turn into lava and spread out and harden. After the layer hardens many times it will form into a volcano. A good example is Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is on a hot spot. That is why there are geysers there. The water drips into a hole on a hot spot, the water heats up and the geyser erupts with boiling hot water.

The picture above shows how a mantle plume forms a volcano.

Although volcanoes can be dangerous, they are important to this world because they provide important nutrients to grow good crops. Many farmers plant crops near volcanoes, which have very good soil.

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Drohan, Michele Ingber. Volcanos. New York: PowerKids Press, 1999. Print. "Hot Spots." Volcanos Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/english.html>. "Lava Dome." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_volcano>. "Shield Volcano." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_volcano>. Vogt, Gregory L. Earth's Core and Mantle. Minneapolis: Twenty First Century Books, 2007. Print. "Volcano Facts." Kids-Fun-Science.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://www.kids-fun-science.com/volcanofacts.html>.

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