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volcano
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Mount St. Helens volcano
How volcanoes work, explained by a volcanologist
Mount Fuji, Japan. volcanism and plate tectonics volcanoes and thermal fields
What it's like to visit an active volcano
seismic sensor pahoehoe Mount St. Helens eruption.
Classify volcanic eruptions according to the physical and chemical properties of their magma
For Students
volcano summary
Quizzes
Taj Mahal, Agra, India. UNESCO World Heritage Site (minarets; Muslim, architecture; Islamic architecture; marble; mausoleum)
Wonders of the World Quiz
Hawaiian volcanic crater, Hawaii
Volcanoes Quiz
Read Next
Arenal Volcano in northwestern Costa Rica in the province of Alajuela.
Are Volcanoes Dangerous When They’re Not Erupting?
Ash cloud rising from the Kilauea Volcano Pu`u `O `o as crater floor collapses due to magma withdrawal. Incandescent rubble can be seen crumbling and rolling down the scarp. East rim of Pu`u `O `o is in the foreground, Kilauea, Hawaii on March 6, 2011.
Watch Your Step: 6 Things You Can Fall Into
animated gif/infographic of the Mount Tambora eruption, April 1815. volcano. Indonesia.
Mount Tambora 200 Years Later
Mount Saint Helens (Cascade Range, southwestern Washington) spewing ash during the 1980 eruption.; Mount St. Helens
35th Anniversary of Mount Saint Helens Eruption
animated gif/infographic of the Mount Tambora eruption, April 1815. volcano. Indonesia.
How the 1815 Eruption of Mount Tambora Produced the “Year Without a Summer”
Discover
African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.
Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution
The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution
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7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers
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The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
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7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants
Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017
What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon?
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
Mount St. Helens volcano
Mount St. Helens volcano Mount St. Helens volcano, viewed from the south during its eruption on May 18, 1980.

volcano

geology
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Written by
Robert W. Decker
Professor Emeritus, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. Coauthor of Volcanoes.
Robert W. Decker,
Barbara B. Decker
Writer. Coauthor of Volcanoes.
Barbara B. Decker•All
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History

News •

Highest Alert for Volcano Unleashing Columns of Hot Clouds • Nov. 9, 2024, 3:52 AM ET (Newsweek)
Volcano erupts in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 10 people • Nov. 4, 2024, 11:15 PM ET (CNN)
Indonesia: Volcano eruption kills several • Nov. 4, 2024, 9:09 AM ET (Deutsche Welle)
Volcano erupts in eastern Indonesia, killing 6 • Nov. 3, 2024, 3:17 PM ET (South China Morning Post)
Living on a Volcano’s Edge, Italians Practice for Disaster • Oct. 27, 2024, 4:15 AM ET (New York Times)

volcano, vent in the crust of Earth or another planet or satellite, from which issue eruptions of molten rock, hot rock fragments, and hot gases. A volcanic eruption is an awesome display of Earth’s power. Yet, while eruptions are spectacular to watch, they can cause disastrous loss of life and property, especially in densely populated regions of the world. Sometimes beginning with an accumulation of gas-rich magma (molten underground rock) in reservoirs near Earth’s surface, they can be preceded by emissions of steam and gas from small vents in the ground. Swarms of small earthquakes, which may be caused by ...(100 of 12070 words)

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