Volcano, Volcanoes Worksheets

Volcano Worksheets

Volcanoes are fasinating to kids and adults alike. This worksheet set has plenty of great printables for you. We help students discovery the anatomy of a volcano and how they are formed.

Volcano Bulletin Boards

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What are Volcanoes?

A volcano is a mountain with an opening at the top. When volcanoes erupt, they release lava, ash, and gas. Have you ever seen a soda bottle foam? Volcanoes erupt just like that. Except lava can burn everything in its path. Did you know that a volcano destroyed the entire city of Pompeii?

How are Volcanoes formed?

The earth is made up of four different layers, and the topmost layer is called the crust. The crust is made up of plates that are always shifting. Volcanoes are formed in the space between these plates. When the edges of two plates collide, an eruption happens. Molten rock comes out of them. As it cools down, it becomes solid in the shape of a volcanic mountain. Active volcanoes are always bubbling with lava. If they erupt, the lava flows down.

Types of Volcanoes

Not every volcano is dangerous. Active and dormant volcanoes have different types of eruptions.

Active

They are more likely to erupt and show a lot of activity. They are also considered active if they recently erupted. Active volcanoes are constantly bubbling and shooting little fires.

Dormant

These volcanoes are the opposite. A long time has passed since its last eruption. Volcanoes can also be extinct if they haven't erupted in ages. But it's hard to tell the difference between these two types of volcanoes.

Dormant volcanoes can go a long time before erupting again. Even after a volcano is called 'extinct,' it still risks erupting.

A volcano in Alaska was categorized as extinct but it erupted in 2006. Almost 10,000 years had passed since its last eruption. That's how long dormant volcanoes can go without showing any activity!

Extinct

A volcano is extinct if it doesn't have magma flowing through it.

Major Volcanoes

1. Vesuvius

This volcano is the most well-known in Italy. It is responsible for destroying Pompeii. Its last eruption was recorded in the 1900s.

2. Olympus
This volcano is actually in space! It's on Mars, and scientists say it is the largest known volcano.

3. Mount St. Helens

This volcano caused a lot of damage when it erupted in Washington. Thankfully, only a few people died, but the explosion was very loud.

4. Krakatoa

This was the volcano that erupted in Indonesia and caused a lot of damage. It erupted in two waves, each causing more devastation than the last.

What is the 'Ring of Fire'?

The Pacific Ocean has a lot of volcanoes. The area with the most volcanic eruptions is called the 'Ring of Fire.' It's a huge area with almost 452 volcanoes in the region! It has both active and dormant volcanoes. The eruptions also lead to a lot of earthquakes in this area. The Ring of Fire houses 75% of the earth's active volcanoes.

Though the name suggests a circular formation, the string of volcanoes forms a horseshoe.

Volcanic Eruptions

Volcano eruptions are rare, but when they happen, they cause a lot of destruction - both to people and to property. The worst volcano eruptions happened in the 19th century. A volcano in Indonesia, Mount Tambora, first released a lot of ash blocking sunlight and then caused a tsunami that killed many people.

Another eruption on a Caribbean Island caused an entire city to be covered with lava, killing almost 30,000 people. The most recent one in Iceland in the early 2000s was so bad that planes couldn't fly due to ash in the air.

Pyroclastic Flow

When a volcano erupts, this type of gaseous fluid moves down the volcanic mountain. It is extremely dangerous because it has a lot of toxic gases in it. It also contains a lot of solid particles that can cause damage to whatever they hit. It moves fast, which makes it harder to evacuate in time.

Lava and Magma

Lava is different from magma. Magma is the hot bubbling liquid inside the volcano before it erupts. After the eruption, the hot liquid that flows down the mountain is called lava. Lava flows very slowly, but the temperature is so high that it can badly burn whatever it touches. It takes a long time to cool down, which is why it takes a long time for any area to recover from a volcanic explosion.

Lahar

This is a slow and thick cement-like liquid that flows with lava. Lahar flows down on the path of a river. It is also a type of pyroclastic because it contains both solid and liquid within it. It can do a lot of damage because it turns whatever it touches into a solid form after it cools off.

Interesting Facts about Volcanoes

- The Mauna Loa is the largest volcano in the world. It's in Hawaii.

- There are many volcanoes in Japan. It has almost 10% of the volcanoes in the world.

- The active volcanoes are mostly underwater.

- The rock found in volcanoes (pumice) can float on water.

- Volcanoes don't just erupt. Underwater volcanoes cause geysers to form, which makes the water extremely hot.

- After the lava of an eruption has cooled off, the soil becomes fertile.

- Sicily's Mount Etna is the biggest active volcano in Europe.

- The ash released by a volcano is also dangerous because it contains toxic gases that can cause suffocation.

- Most of the world's active volcanoes are in Indonesia.

Volcanoes are dangerous, but they are also really cool. The earth has a lot of volcanoes on it. Learning all about volcanoes helps understand how the earth's crust works. Now you know about the different types of volcanoes so that you won't be scared of dormant ones. You can even try making your own small volcano at home with a bottle and some baking soda.