What Is a Volcano?

Answer:

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface. The word volcano is derived from Vulcano, the name of an island off Sicily which in turn was named after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

Thousands of volcanoes have been recognized on Earth, found on every continent and scattered across the ocean floor. Among the most famous are Mount Etna in Sicily, Mount Vesuvius in Italy, Mount Merapi in Indonesia, Sakurajima in Japan, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Mount Rainier in Washington, USA, and Mount Erebus in Antarctica. Volcanic activity is how the world's islands get formed. Measured from the ocean floor, Mauna Loa in Hawaii is actually a taller mountain that Mt. Everest in Nepal.

Types of volcanoes:

• Shield volcano
• Composite or strato volcano
• Lava dome
• Cinder cone
• Rhyolite caldera complex