HOW VOLCANOES ARE FORMED.

A volcano is formed when plates hit each other. One of the plates goes under
the other. This is where the earth heats and melts the rock into magma and
gases. This can happen as deep as 100 miles below the earth. Magma settles in
pools or chambers near the surface. This is where eruptions take place.

Volcanoes can also be formed when the plates go away from each other. The
magma pushes up and lava forms. These types of volcanoes are found on the
ocean floor.

The volcanoes around Hawaii are not created by a tectonic plate, but hot
spots. Hot spots are places that have fierce heat in the mantle. This heat
causes magma to bubble and move to the surface. The scientists believe that
these volcanoes were formed by a column called a mantle plume. These
columns measure about 100 miles in diameter and can rise 5 to 10 inches
yearly.

WHAT IS A VOLCANOE.

A volcano is an opening in the Earth's crust where magma from the

mantle reaches the surface, sometimes in a slow, dribbling fashion,
called an effusive eruption, and sometimes in a violent event called an
explosive volcanic eruption. Volcanoes usually occur in divergent
boundaries between tectonic plates, places where the crust is weak
and magma can rise to the surface due to the immense pressure of
the mantle below. When magma from beneath a volcano reaches the
surface, it is called lava.