~ All About VOLCANOES ~

• Volcanoes are like giant safety valves that release the pressure that builds up inside the Earth
• They are Earth's natural way of cooling off
• Over half of the world's volcanoes arise in a belt around the Pacific Ocean called the 'Ring of Fire'. Indonesia has the most volcanoes
• Mount Vesuvius Italy is said to be the world's most dangerous volcano because of the population of three million people living nearby
• The most famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius happened in AD 79 that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killed 10,000 to 25,000 people. Due to the volcanic ash, the bodies of the town residents were well preserved, found just as they fell
• According to the Smithsonian Institute, 1,415 volcanoes have erupted in the past 10,000 years, with the most active being Mount Etna and Mount Stromboli in Italy, and the volcanoes of Hawaii
• There are around 25 major volcanic eruptions on land every year and thousands of minor ones, many of which take place under the sea. Active volcanoes are those that may erupt at any time. Dormant(sleeping) volcanoes have not erupted for centuries but may still do so. Extinct volcanoes are no longer likely to erupt
• Entire ecosystems can be altered by a volcano eruption. In some cases, eruptions have been beneficial. In areas with imbalanced ecosystems, volcanoes have helped restore balance and give them a chance to start anew
• Without volcanoes, we would not have Hawaii! Volcanoes erupting from the bottom of the ocean are able to create new islands. In 1963, an undersea volcano created one of Earth's newest islands, Surtsey Island, off the coast of Iceland
• Volcanoes have been erupting since shortly after Earth was formed. They are still erupting today. Some eruptions are quiet. Others are violently explosive.
• Lava is extremey hot. Temperatures can reach between 650 and 1600 degrees Celsius (that is, between 1202 and 2912 degrees Fahrenheit).
• On the main island of Hawaii, an active volcano is taller than Mt. Everest if you measure from the ocean floor
• During volcanic eruptions, lightning storms are common. The name "volcano" has its origin from the name of Vulcan, a god of fire in Roman mythology
• In Africa, Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai erupts black lava, which turns white when it cools - an unusual phenomenon
• The 1883 eruption of Krakatau in Indonesia is thought to have released 200 megatons of energy, the equivalent of 15,000 nuclear bombs. Even though the island was uninhabited, the eruption killed 36,000 people from burning ash showers and huge tsunamis. It generated the loudest sound historically reported.