Where and how is the volcano formed? How is the volcanic eruption formed?

One of the most amazing and mysterious geological formations on Earth is the volcanoes. However, many of us have only a superficial view of them. What is the nature of volcanism? Where and how is the volcano formed?

What is a volcano?

Before considering the question of how a volcano is formed, it is necessary to go deeper into the etymology and meaning of this term. In ancient Roman myths, the god of blacksmith's work named Vulcan, whose house was underground, is mentioned. If he was angry, the earth began to shudder, and smoke and flames erupted from the bowels. It was from here that the name of such mountains took place.

The word "volcano" comes from the Latin "vulcanus", which literally means fire. Volcanoes are geological formations that occur directly above cracks in the earth's crust. It is through these cracks that lava, ash, a mixture of gases with water vapor and rocks form erupts to the surface of the earth. Geomorphology and volcanology are engaged in studying this mysterious phenomenon.

Classification and structure

All volcanoes are active, sleeping and extinct in character. And by location - by land, underwater and subglacial.

To understand how a volcano is formed, it is first necessary to consider its structure in detail. Each volcano consists of the following elements:

1. Mouth (the main channel for the center of geological education).
2. Dyke (canal with erupting lava).
3. The crater (a large hole from above in the form of a bowl).
4. The volcanic bomb (solidified pieces of erupting magma).
5. Volcanic chamber (a section under the surface of the earth where magma is concentrated).
6. The cone (the so-called "mountain", formed by erupting lava, ash).

Despite the fact that the volcano looks like a huge mountain, its underground part is much larger than the one that is on the surface. Craters are often filled with water.

Why are volcanoes formed?

The process of formation of a volcano begins with the formation of a magma chamber under the ground. Gradually, it incandescences liquid red-hot magma, which exerts pressure on the earth's crust from below. It is for this reason that the earth begins to crack. Through cracks and faults, magma erupts, and during its movement it melts rocks and significantly expands the cracks. Thus a volcanic vent is formed. How is the volcano formed? During the eruption, various rocks emerge to the surface, which subsequently settle on the slope, resulting in the formation of a cone.

Where are the volcanoes?

Where do volcanoes form? These geological formations are distributed on the Earth extremely unevenly. If we talk about the regularity of their distribution, then a large number of them are near the equator. In the southern hemisphere, they are much smaller than in the northern hemisphere. In the European part of Russia, Scandinavia, Australia and Brazil, they are completely absent.

But if we talk about Kamchatka, Iceland, the Mediterranean, the west coast of North and South America, the Indian and Pacific Ocean, Central Asia and Central Africa, there are plenty of them. Basically, they are located near the islands, archipelagoes, coastal zones of the continents. The dependence of their activity and processes associated with the motion of the earth's crust is generally recognized.

How is the volcanic eruption formed?

How and why do volcanos erupt? The causes of the process lie in the bowels of the Earth. During the accumulation of magma, a large amount of thermal energy is produced. The temperature of the magma is high enough, but it is not capable of melting the earth's core, since the crust is pressed on top of it. If the layers of the earth's crust are weaker on the magma weaker, the incandescent magma becomes liquid. It gradually saturates with gases, melts on its way rocks and thus extends its path to the surface of the earth.

If the volcanic muzzle is already filled with solidified and hardened lava, then the eruption will not occur until the magnitude of the magma pressure is sufficient to push out this plug. The eruption of the volcano is always accompanied by an earthquake. Ashes can be thrown out to a height of several tens of kilometers.

Volcanoes are formations reminiscent of the shape of the mountains, from which erupts the hot magma. How is the volcano formed? In the presence of cracks in the earth's crust, hot magma erupts to its surface under pressure. Slopes of the volcano are formed as a result of subsidence of rocks, lava, ash near the mouth.