What Gases Come Out of a Volcano

15 Amazing Facts About Volcanoes

CC BY 2.0/NASA Goddard Photo/Flickr

Volcanoes and earthquakes have filled human beings with fear and fascination since the beginning of time. Read on for many interesting facts about volcanoes, plus some related information about earthquakes.

Mauna Loa

Kicking off our fun facts about volcanoes is Mauna Loa in Hawaii. This is an effusive volcano, which means that lava flows or pours out rather than erupting violently. The lava can melt, burn and destroy houses, farms, roads and everything else in its path.

CC0 1.0 Universal/U.S. Geological Survey/Flickr

Mount St. Helens

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it created over 490 tons of ash that covered 22,000 square miles and affected cities up to 370 miles away.

Public Domain Mark 1.0/U.S. Geological Survey/Flickr

Tectonic Plates

About 80 percent of volcanoes and earthquakes occur near where two tectonic plates meet.

Yellowstone National Forest

A supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Forest drives the hot springs and other geological activity in the park. Yet Yellowstone's volcanic activity remains mysterious, as scientists are still exploring the pit of magma known as the Yellowstone Caldera.

CC BY 2.0/Daveynin/Flickr

How High Can Volcanoes Shoot?

Strong eruptions of volcanoes can shoot debris up to 20 miles into the sky.

Black Lava

The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania erupts black lava.

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius was the most dangerous volcano in Europe.

Volcanic Winter

A volcanic eruption in Peru in 1600 caused a volcanic winter.

Blue Lava

The Ijen Volcanic Complex in Indonesia oozes blue lava.

Cacophony on Krakatoa

The 1983 eruption on Krakatoa created the loudest sound ever measured.

Bonus Volcano Facts

Bonus round time! Now that you've learned some amazing facts, we've dug deeper into the earth's core to deliver another quick 25 facts about volcanoes. Ready, set, go! The Earth's surface is known as the crust. Plates are the giant cracked pieces of the crust. Magma flows underneath the crust, and is called lava when it is above the surface. The edges of the plates are breeding grounds for volcanoes. Volcanoes can also form on top of mantle plumes, which are extremely hot areas inside the Earth. Over 50 U.S. volcanoes have erupted at least once in the last 200 years. Volcanic ash can cause the engines of airplanes to fail. The root of a volcano can be buried 40 to 120 miles inside the Earth. The central vent is a channel inside the volcano where magma erupts. The lava can flow through a large crack called a fissure in the earth. Temperatures in the mantle can get as hot as 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Natrocarbonatite is a rare type of lava found only in northern Tanzania.

Bonus Facts, Continued

Even more bonus volcano facts ahead! Ancient Aztecs believed that beautiful people were to be thrown into volcanoes as a sacrifice to the gods. The word volcano comes from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. One in 20 people lives in a danger zone close to a volcano. People live there because the soil is rich and fertile. Maleo birds hatch their eggs using heat from volcanoes. Volcanoes can also be found on the ocean floor. We know of about 80 volcanoes in the ocean. Lava can reach a temperature of 2,282 degrees Fahrenheit. A horseshoe-shaped formation in the Pacific Ocean known as the Ring of Fire contains 90 percent of the world's volcanoes. Four types of volcanoes exist: cinder cones, shield volcanoes, composite volcanoes and lava volcanoes. There are 1,150 active volcanoes in the world.

Earthquakes

The 1960 earthquake in Chile was the most severe of the 10 largest earthquakes recorded.

San Andreas Fault

The San Andreas Fault in California moves about two inches per year.

Good Friday Earthquake

The largest recorded U.S. earthquake was on Good Friday, 1964, in Prince William Sound in Alaska.