What is a Volcano?

A volcano is a mountain  with a hole or crater on the top that needs to breathe and release super-hot melted rock, gas, and volcanic ash from under the Earth

there are  5  steps on what is going on when a volcano Occurs

 Step 1: The Melted Rock

Deep under the ground is a layer called the mantle, which is made of melted rock called magma, they are under the Earth where there is a lot of heat

Step 2: Pushing Upward

Magma is lighter than the solid rock around it, so it rises up . It gathers in big holes underground called magma chambers

Step 3: The Break Through

Pressure builds up from the ground until the magma breaks through a weak spot (conduit) in the Earth´s top layer called the crust

Step 4:  Eruption (Magma vs. Lava)

Once the magma breaks through or vents, magma shoots out of the ground, going onto the surface, now being called lava

Step 5: Building the Volcano

The lava cools and turns into solid rock. With many, many eruptions happening, many layeres of hard rock stack up, forming a mountain with a hole (crater) at the top.

There are many different types of volcanos that can form, but you are probably use to seeing stratovolcanos

Key theories and processes scientists know when a volcano natural disaster is occurring

The Plate Tectonic Theory

Plate Tectonic theory is the primary theory, where volcanoes are closely linked to the movement of tectonic plates (giant, puzzle pieces that make up Earth´s outer shell, floating slowly on a hot, liquid layer underneath the surface

Plate Tectonic Theory Continued

There are many types of plate boundaries (example: transform and divergent) in tectonic plates theory , but convergent boundaries are key to how scientists know volcanoes are made.

Convergent Boundary (subduction zones) are where one plate dives underneath the other, releasing water into the mantle. This lowers the melting point of the rock creating magma that ends up rising through the overriding plate.

Convergent Boundaries (Subduction Zones)