Scientific Information
A long ways back the Romans
named the volcano a "Vulcano".They named it that because the Roman
name for god of fire is vulcan.
Volcanoes are basicily an opening at the top of the mountain where rock
fragments, hot gases, and lava blows out. When it erupts all it is
is rocks and magma from deep inside the earth's crust. About all volcanoes
are mountains that form right on top of a crack inbetween two different
plates. That is how the magma comes up, between the two plates. Then
it blows a top of the mountain.
If you ever see a volcano
erupt you are a very lucky person and I bet it is really cool. Lots
of eruptions have enourmous clouds of smoke come up over the top of the
volcano and streams of lava come pooring down the side of the mountain.
There is another kind of eruption with red hot ash and a bunch of cinders
blowing out the top of the mountain. This sort is usually seen in Hawaii.When
an eruption occurs it all starts with magma melting all the rocks that are
close enough to burn. After all of the rocks burn a whole bunch of
gases start to float around combinding themselves with the magma.
With all the presure from
the rocks that are everywhere the magma blows a channel or conduit through
the weakest part of rock that it can find. All the magma finds a
way to the face of earth burning any part that did not completely get blown
out. As soon as the magma touches the surface all the gas that the
magma absorbed is let free. When the gases and magma blow out channels
or conduits they allways blow one out named the central vent. A large
amount of the magma and rocks erupt through these vents. Just a little
bit of magma and rocks come through any other vents that were blown out.Quite
often after there has been an eruption there is probably a big crater at
the top of the mountain where most of the lava[magma]came spewing out.
The center vent is usually at the bottom of the big bowl-like crater.
The only way it would not be there is if a lot of rocks caved in right on
top of it.
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