Volcanoes Facts for Kids
Explosive facts about volcanoes and geology
There are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes on Earth. Around 50 of them erupt every single year!
Lava can reach temperatures of up to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200Β°C). That's hot enough to melt many types of metal!
The word 'volcano' comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. Ancient Romans believed Vulcan lived inside a volcanic island and made weapons for the gods.
The Hawaiian Islands were entirely created by volcanoes! Hot molten rock bubbled up from deep inside the Earth and piled up until it rose above the ocean surface.
Pumice is a volcanic rock so full of tiny air bubbles that it can actually float on water. It forms when lava cools very quickly and traps gas bubbles inside.
Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia produces what looks like blue lava at night! It's actually blue flames from burning sulfur gas β not the lava itself that's blue.
Volcanoes are one of the ways our planet makes brand new land. When lava flows into the ocean and cools down, it hardens into solid rock and grows the shoreline.
When a volcano explodes with great force, it shoots a giant cloud of ash high into the sky. This ash can block sunlight and make the sky look dark even during the day!
Diamonds are brought to Earth's surface by a special type of volcanic eruption through pipes called kimberlites. Without these ancient volcanic blasts, we might never find diamonds at all!
The 'Ring of Fire' is a horseshoe-shaped zone around the Pacific Ocean where about 75% of the world's volcanoes are found. It also produces most of the world's earthquakes.