Volcanoes Inquiry

By: Rishi, Samir, Arnav, Eric

How Are Volcanoes Formed?

Volcanoes are formed when magma from within the Earth's upper mantle works its way to the surface. At the
surface, it erupts to form lava flows and ash deposits. Over time as the volcano continues to erupt, it will get
bigger and bigger.

How Do Volcanoes Erupt?

Deep inside Earth, between the molten iron core and the thin crust at the surface, there is a solid body of rock called the
mantle. When rock from the mantle melts, moves to the surface through the crust, and releases pent-up gases,
volcanoes erupt.
Extremely high temperature and pressure cause the rock to melt and become liquid rock or magma. When a large body
of magma has formed, it rises through the denser rock layers toward Earth's surface. Magma that has reached the
surface is called lava.

The different types of volcanoes are composite/strato, shield and

dome.
Composite/Strato
A stratovolcano is a tall, cone like volcano consisting of one layer of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash.
These volcanoes are known by a steep profile and explosive eruptions. The lava that flows from them is highly
viscous, and cools and hardens before spreading very far. Mount Vesuvius is a composite volcano that is
famous for burying the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 20 feet of volcanic ash in 79 AD. The explosiveness of
their eruptions is due to the thick, highly viscous lava that is produced by composite cone volcanoes.

The other types of volcanoes are shield

and dome.
Shield
A shield volcano is a type of volcano
usually built almost entirely of fluid
magma flows. They are named for
their large size resembling a
warrior's shield lying on the ground.
This happens because of the fluid lava
they erupt, which travels farther than
lava erupted from stratovolcanoes.

Dome
A dome volcano is a round shaped
mountain made of dangerous lava.
The lava has a high silica content that
prevents the lava from flowing very
far from its the volcano. Most domes
are formed by dacite and rhyolite
lavas.

Composite volcanoes, sometimes known as stratovolcanoes, are steep sided cones. They
are built up by many layers of hardened lava. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes
normally cools and hardens before spreading too far. Stratovolcanoes are not yet proven
to exist on other planets.

Shield Volcanoes are volcanoes that have gently sloping sides. Shield volcanoes are
usually formed entirely from fluid magma flows. They are named Shield Volcanoes
for their large size and low profile, they resemble a warriors shield lying flat on the
ground. This is caused by the highly fluid lava they erupt, the fluid lava from these
volcanoes travel farther than lava that has erupted from stratovolcanoes.

A dome volcano, also known as a lava dome or a volcanic dome is a rough circular mound, they are like this
because of the slow release of the viscous lava from the volcano. Mountains like Mt Tarawera and Mt
Maunganui are dome volcanoes, they were formed in a similar way to this.

Different Volcano Types In New Zealand

Mount Ruapehu :
Stratovolcano

Mount Tarawera :
Dome Volcano

Mount Taranaki :
Stratovolcano

Mount Ngauruhoe :
Stratovolcano

Mount Tongariro :
Stratovolcano

Mount Maunganui :
Dome Volcano

48 Volcanoes in New Zealand