Scribd
Upload
65 views1 page

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Volcanoes form from the accumulation of magma and other materials erupted through openings in the Earth's surface called volcanic vents. Magma forms deep underground from melted rock under high temperatures and pressures. It rises towards the surface by being less dense than the surrounding solid rock. Along the way, magma can collect in underground reservoirs before erupting. Repeated eruptions pile volcanic materials around the vent, eventually creating the landform features known as volcanoes above and below sea level. Most volcanoes exist undetected under the oceans.

Uploaded by

Julieta Inte
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
65 views1 page

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Volcanoes form from the accumulation of magma and other materials erupted through openings in the Earth's surface called volcanic vents. Magma forms deep underground from melted rock under high temperatures and pressures. It rises towards the surface by being less dense than the surrounding solid rock. Along the way, magma can collect in underground reservoirs before erupting. Repeated eruptions pile volcanic materials around the vent, eventually creating the landform features known as volcanoes above and below sea level. Most volcanoes exist undetected under the oceans.

Uploaded by

Julieta Inte
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Volcano, mountain or hill formed by the accumulation of materials erupted through one or more openings

(called volcanic vents) in the earth's surface. The term volcano can also refer to the vents themselves. Most
volcanoes have steep sides, but some can be gently sloping mountains or even flat tablelands, plateaus, or
plains. The volcanoes above sea level are the best known, but the vast majority of the world's volcanoes lie
beneath the sea, formed along the global oceanic ridge systems that crisscross the deep ocean floor

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

All volcanoes are formed by the accumulation of magma (molten rock that forms below the earth's surface).
Magma can erupt through one or more volcanic vents, which can be a single opening, a cluster of openings, or a
long crack, called a fissure vent. It forms deep within the earth, generally within the upper part of the mantle
(one of the layers of the earth’s crust), or less commonly, within the base of the earth's crust. High temperatures
and pressures are needed to form magma. The solid mantle or crustal rock must be melted under conditions
typically reached at depths of 80 to 100 km (50 to 60 mi) below the earth’s surface. See also Earth; Magma.

Once tiny droplets of magma are formed, they begin to rise because the magma is less dense than the solid rock
surrounding it. The processes that cause the magma to rise are poorly understood, but it generally moves
upward toward lower pressure regions, squeezing into spaces between minerals within the solid rock. As the
individual magma droplets rise, they join to form ever-larger blobs and move toward the surface. The larger the
rising blob of magma, the easier it moves. Rising magma does not reach the surface in a steady manner but
tends to accumulate in one or more underground storage regions, called magma reservoirs, before it erupts onto
the surface. With each eruption, whether explosive or nonexplosive, the material erupted adds another layer to
the growing volcano. After many eruptions, the volcanic materials pile up around the vent or vents. These piles
form a topographic feature, such as a hill, mountain, plateau, or crater, that we recognize as a volcano. Most of
the earth's volcanoes are formed beneath the oceans, and their locations have been documented in recent
decades by mapping of the ocean floor. See also Ocean and Oceanography.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

You might also like