Volcanoes

A volcano is a an opening in the planet's surface or crust which allows hot molten rock and ashes to espace the earth's surface. Over time these openings slowly turn into mountains.

Volcanoes are usually caused when tectonic plates are pulled apart or come together. An example of plates pulling apart is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is found on the ocean floor of the Atlantic.

There are 3 types of volcanoes. Extinct, dormant and active.

An example of active volcanoes would be Mount Vesuvius in Italy. It erupted first in 79 A.D, destroying the town of Pompeii. Its last known eruption was in 1944, and there has been no further activity to date.

The eruption of Mount St. Helens, thought to be a dormant volcano, in 1980 was one of the worst volcanic disasters in the history of the U.S.A. However, it offered scientists an opportunity to examine and study a large volcanic eruption, which has therefore made them more aware of these kind of natural disasters.

The thing about volcanoes is that they can happen anytime without warning. We can only hope in time that scientists will be able to tell when they will erupt, preventing the loss of many lifes.