The Volcano formation Is linked to a wide variety of geological phenomena that have taken place over millions of years on planet Earth.
In general terms, when the material inside a volcano finds a way out, volcanic eruptions occur.
That is why this material called magma travels through the conduit that communicates the volcano with the outside, known as volcanic chimney, until finding its exit in the form of lava. Rashes can occur in different ways, varying in intensity and frequency.
In general, knowledge about how volcanoes are formed refers to the theory of tectonic plates, which constitute the base or surface of the earth. In this link you can consult the 30 most important active volcanoes in the world .
How a volcano originates
According to the so-called plate tectonics theory, developed by scientists and geologists in the 1960s, the origin of volcanoes is intimately related to the movement of the Earth's surface.
The tectonic plates refer to the fragments that form part of the earth's crust which is formed by the different plates that usually move, separate or collide with each other, giving rise to mountains and volcanoes.
It is on the borders of the tectonic plates where the volcanoes are formed, doing so in the divergent as in the convergence frontiers.
The divergent boundaries of the tectonic plates refer to the area of the crust where there is a stretching and separation of the plates as they appear to move away from each other. This creates an area suitable for the magma to emerge towards the earth's surface, giving rise to volcanoes.
On the other hand, the converging boundaries are those spaces where the tectonic plates appear to be one underneath the other. In this case, it is the lower plate that becomes melted giving origin to the production of magma, which finds passage to the surface through fissures of the plate. This way the eruptions are produced.
However, outside the points of convergence or divergence of tectonic plates, there are so-called hot spots that also give rise to volcanoes. The hot spots take place thanks to the rise of what is called magma feathers.
These correspond to remnants of material present in the mantle of the earth's crust. When this pen of magma reaches the surface, the volcanoes, known as hot spots, also originate.
In turn, the volcanoes can also originate in the submarine bottoms, conformed by the explosion of a bag of magma that previously originated in the interior of the Earth. The lava, as a product of this explosion as it ascends to the surface, solidifies.
This occurs because of the difference in temperature between the interior or core of the earth and the different layers present in it that separate it from the surface.
How is the structure of a volcano?
It is important to keep in mind that no volcano is the same as another since the phenomenon that produced them has left unique traces in each of them.
However, there are general parts of the volcanoes that can be found in all of them. From top to bottom are located:
The crater. It is the cone-shaped hole or hole, through which the magma emerges towards the earth's surface.
Fireplace. It is the duct, channel or channel through which the magma travels its way from the bottom of the Earth to the surface. Connecting the innermost part of the Earth with the outside of it.
The chimney of a volcano is the channel through which gases, lava, smoke, and ashes from the depths of the Earth are expelled.
The volcanic cone. It is the structure formed with volcanic remains, from different eruptions produced over the years and is located around the crater.
The magma chamber. It refers to the place where the magma accumulates, sometimes in the form of a bag. When generating a high level of pressure, these allow the expulsion of the magma outwards. Magmatic chambers respond to the most well-known structure of volcanoes.
What are the types of volcanoes that exist?
Volcanoes can be classified according to the activity present in them. In this way you can find:
Active volcanoes: They refer to volcanoes that have eruptions, being the eruptive activity present in them that determines them as active.
These volcanoes can present constant or occasional eruptions, remaining at rest the rest of the time.
Sleeping volcanoes: are those that remain most of the time without activity, as asleep but awaken suddenly causing sporadic eruptions over time.
They are characterized mainly because they do not present volcanic activity, appearing this of abrupt and sudden form, very sporadically.
The extinct volcanoes: they refer to volcanoes that have presented periods of activity in the past, without seeming to be reactivated in the future.
On the other hand the volcanos can be classified according to its structure, between which they are:
The stratovolcanoes are those that have a conical shape, the crater located in the center of the structure.
To the sides they present different layers conformed by volcanic rest like ash, lava and sand. These elements are the result of various eruptions.
The boilers: They are the volcanoes that due to the power of their eruptions, are able to demolish the structure that conforms them. Producing as a consequence of them a large crater, called caldera.
The shields: These volcanoes are formed by overlapping lava rivers that have formed mountains of steep slopes.
The lava domes: They are of smaller structure with respect to the previous volcanos, but of marked slopes and they find their origin from the accumulation of ashes.
The ash cones: They present large, cone-shaped volcanoes that have been generated by the remains of ash and slag.
References
- Alvin Silverstein, V.B. (2009). Volcanoes: The Science Behind Fiery Eruptions. Enslow Publishers.
- Dobeck, M. (2010). Volcanoes: Nature's Awesome Power. Benchmark Education Company.
- Edgardo Canon-Tapia, A. S. (2010). What is a Volcano? Geological Society of America.
- Haraldur Sigurdsson, B.H. (2015). The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes.
- Keedle, J. (2008). Gareth Stevens.
- Ordinaire, C. N. (1801). The Natural History of Volcanoes: Including Submarine Volcanoes, and Other Analogous Phenomena. Baldwin and son.
- Rubin, K. (2007). Volcanoes & Earthquakes. Simon and Schuster.
- The Origin of Volcanoes. (N.d.). Retrieved from Aoi: aoi.com.