Volcano

geology · fire and rock · Earth science

Doorway for lava. A volcano is a vent or crack in a planet's crust that lets hot lava, ash, and gases escape from a magma chamber below.

Mostly hidden underwater. Most of Earth's plate boundaries are under the ocean, so most volcanoes are actually found beneath the sea where we can't see them.

The Ring of Fire. Where tectonic plates crash together, like around the Pacific Ring of Fire, volcanoes can erupt violently.

Hawaii's hot spot. Some volcanoes form far from plate edges over a 'mantle plume' rising deep inside Earth, building island chains like Hawaii.

Gentler kind too. Volcanoes at spreading boundaries, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, usually erupt calmly instead of exploding.