VOLCANOES

Portals into the heart of the earth(1), they burned, bottomless cauldrons fueled by
an ancient wrath, bubbling and boiling thousands of miles beneath the surface(2)
and just waiting to burst through.

Volcanoes are scattered across the planet(3), about 1,500 active volcanoes can be
found across the world. Though, countless others are on the ocean floor.

Most volcanoes whether on land or underwater(4) are located where tectonic

plates(5) meet. In fact, the Ring of Fire, a path that traces the boundaries between
several tectonic plates around the pacific ocean(6) contains about 75% of the
planet’s volcanoes.

There are several types of volcanoes primarily classified by shape and size, major
types include, stratavolcanoes(7) which often appear as tall steep(8) mountains.
Shield volcanoes which are flatter(9), and dome shaped.calderas(10) which are large
depressions in the ground, and mid ocean ridge(11) which are underwater chains of
volcanic mountains.

No matter their shape or size, all volcanoes emit gas(12) and molten rock(13). The
journey of these emissions begins deep underground in the Earth's core(14). The
core which can burn as hot as the surface of the sun(15) transfers its heat to the
surrounding rocky mantle. In doing so, the heat melts some of the rock, this molten
rock or magma is lighter(16) than the surrounding solid rock layer(17), so it rises
through the mantle(18). The magma then escapes through vents in the Earth's crust
causing volcanic eruption(19).

Now above-ground, this magma is referred to as lava and it can reach temperatures
of over 2000(20) degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to lava, volcanoes may erupt with
searing hot gas formed in the mantle, in a phenomenon called pyroclastic(21) flow,
this gas combined with hot ash can race down the sides of a volcano as fast as 100
miles per hour, burning everything in its path.

To measure and classify eruption(22), scientists developed the volcanic

explosivity(23) index or VEI, it considers various factors such as the volume of lava,
gas and other emissions from the volcano, along with the height of the eruption
cloud above the volcano's summit. The VEI scale begins at zero, each successive
measurement increases logarithmically, meaning that each magnitude is 10 times
more powerful than the one before it. The VEI scale does not have an upper limit,
but the most catastrophic(24) eruptions measured thus far are categorized as VEI 8,
these eruptions occurred thousands and millions of years ago.

The most destructive volcanic eruption ever witnessed occurred in Indonesia in

1815. Mount tambora(25), a large stratovolcano erupted with a VEI measurement of
7. The blast caused earthquakes, tsunami(26) and pyroclastic flows that decimated
the land and took tens of thousands of Indonesian lives. The eruption even
destroyed the top of Mount Tambora itself, turning the 13,000 foot tall mountain,
into a three thousand six hundred and forty foot deep caldera(27).

While volcanoes are some of the most destructive(28) forces of nature, they have
also helped make life on Earth possible. Volcanic ash provides nutrients(29) to
nearby soil, making the land fertile. And lava, when it cools hardens into rock and
creates new landforms. With heat from the heart of the Earth, volcanoes have
helped paraform the planet, making it the rich, dynamic(30) landscape, we see
today.