This page provides the answers to frequently asked questions about volcanoes. It is created by the United States Geological Survey. Topics addressed include: What Is A Volcano? Why Do Volcanoes Occur? How Do Volcanoes Erupt? Where Do Volcanoes Occur? When Will A Volcano Erupt? How Hot Is A Volcano? Can Lava Be Diverted? Do Volcanoes Affect Weather? What Types of Volcanoes are There? Which Eruptions ... Full description.

This resource provides general information about volcanoes. It illustrates the growth of a volcano, using Paricutin and Mt. St. Helens as examples of an active volcano and a lava dome. The terms extinct and dormant are also discussed. This site provides an explanation of why and how volcanoes form, zones of subduction, mid-ocean ridges, and hot spots. Deadly dangers associated with eruptions are discussed ... Full description.

This volcanoes site provides information about volcanoes as well as a classroom activity. There are video clips which show some of the features discussed, such as types of lava and eruptive styles. Topics covered by the text include how rocks melt, where and why volcanoes occur (plate tectonics), hot spots, volcanic hazards, forecasting eruptions and coping with risk. The classroom exercise involves ... Full description.

This article, entitled Mountains of Fire, describes the relationship between the types of volcanic activity and plate movement and the connection between types of volcanoes and how they erupt. The article is supported by a video of an erupting volcano, a photograph of an eruption and an animation depicting pyroclastic flow and the formation of a composite volcano. It is also supported by three sidebars, ... Full description.

This is the Teacher Page of an activity that teaches students how and why magma moves inside volcanoes by injecting colored water into a clear gelatin cast. Activity preparation instructions are on the Student Page, while the Teacher Page has background, preparation, and in-class information. An extension activity has the students repeat the experiment using a square bread pan to simulate the original ... Full description.

This is the Student Page of an activity that teaches students how and why magma moves inside volcanoes by injecting colored water into a clear gelatin cast. The Student Page contains the activity preparation instructions and materials list, key words, and a photograph of the experimental setup. There is also an extension activity question that has students predict what will happen when the experiment ... Full description.

This Why Files article explores volcanoes and volcanic eruptions. Topics covered include: Alaska's Pavlof and its threat to jet engines; Mexico City's restless neighbor, Popocatepetl (El Popo); underground volcanic processes; modern forecasting of eruptions; various volcanic phenomena and features; large flood basalt areas around the world; California's volcanically active area, Long Valley Caldera ... Full description.

This site presents a summary of current volcanic eruptions and images and videos of volcanoes on Earth. Discussions of the characteristics of volcanism on other worlds in our solar system are also presented and are accompanied by maps and imagery. Links to volcano observatories, parks, and monuments around the world are also included. Full description.

This site is part of GeoNet Internet Geography, a resource for pre-collegiate British geography students and their instructors. This page focuses on various aspects of volcanoes, including the main features of a volcano, types of volcanoes, the Ring of Fire, locations of volcanoes, volcanic flows, and case studies about specific volcanoes. Full description.

Until recently, people living in a volcano's shadow had little help in predicting eruptions. In the past 300 years, volcanic eruptions, most of them unexpected, have killed more than 250,000 people. In 2000, experts estimated that 500 million people were living in areas at risk from catastrophic volcanic eruptions. This illustrated essay describes the strides scientists have made in eruption forecasting ... Full description.