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Volcanoes and Volcanic Eruptions


What is a Volcano?

A volcano is a vent in Earth's surface where magma, gas, and ash escape. The name is also used for cones of erupted material at the vent. Volcanoes are found on many planets and moons in our solar system.

Plate Tectonics and Mount Vesuvius

A cross-section and map that provide a generalized explanation of Mount Vesuvius and its underlying plate tectonics.

Largest Volcano
Largest Volcanoes
Largest Volcano - That title is shared by Tamu Massif, Mauna Kea and Ojos del Salado.
Stromboli Volcano
Stromboli Volcano
Stromboli Volcano Geology, history, maps, plate tectonics and more.
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius Geology, history, maps, facts and more about Vesuvius Volcano.
St. Helens - 30 Years
Mount St. Helens - 30 Years
Mount St. Helens - 30 Years Two USGS videos review the eruption and its impact.
Gifts That Rock
Gifts That Rock
Gifts That Rock - What are the most popular gift items in the Geology.com store?
Dangerous Volcano
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier A dangerous volcano with a history of deadly lahars and pyroclastic flows.
Eruption Photos
Eruption Photos
Spectacular Eruption Photos A collection of volcanic eruption photos by USGS, NASA, NOAA.
Pele's Hair
Pele's Hair
Pele's Hair and Pele's Tears are two unusual types of lava found at Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna The most active volcano in Europe, continues an eruption that started in 2001.
Hawaiian Hot Spot
Hawaiian Hot Spot
How did the Hawaiian Islands Form? The power of a moving plate over a stationary hot spot.
Yellowstone Caldera
Yellowstone Caldera
Yellowstone Supervolcano Three USGS videos explain the history and eruptive activity.
Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks Descriptions and photos of common igneous rocks.
Spatter Cones
spatter cone
Spatter Cones are small, steep, volcanic cones built of welded basaltic lava.
Blue Flames
blue flames
Blue Flames and the largest highly acidic lake in the world at Kawah Ijen Volcano.
Volcanic Explosivity
Volcanic Explosivity
Volcanic Explosivity Rating volcanic eruptions based upon the volume of tephra ejected.
Cinder Cones
cinder cone
Cinder Cones are the smallest, simplest, and most common type of volcano.
Calderas
Calderas
Calderas are large volcanic craters formed by some of Earth\'s largest eruptions.
Volcanoes
Solar System Volcanoes
Solar System Volcanoes occur on Earth and moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.
Santa Maria Volcano
Santa Maria Volcano
Santa Maria A volcano in Guatemala. Produced one of the largest eruptions of the 1900s.
Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The East Africa Rift System Volcanics and tectonics of this active rift system.
Helenite
Helenite
Helenite is a man-made glass produced by fusing ash from the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.
Volcanic Hazards
Volcanic Hazards
Volcanic Hazards Lava, pyroclastic density currents, lahars, gases and more.
Lo'ihi Seamount
Lö'ihi
The Next Hawaiian Island could be growing in the Pacific Ocean right now. Its name is Lo'ihi.
What is a Maar?
What is a Maar?
What is a Maar? The second most common volcanic landscape feature on Earth.
Teaching Tectonics
Teaching Tectonics
Teaching Plate Tectonics Students enjoy learning with easy-to-draw illustrations.
Mars Volcano
Olympus Mons
Olympus Mons The largest volcano in the solar system is on Mars.
Chaiten Volcano
Chaiten Volcano
Chaiten Volcano Geology, history and facts about this explosive volcano.
Types Of Eruptions
Types Of Eruptions
Types of Volcanic Eruptions A description of the most common eruption types.
Igneous and Volcanic
igneous and volcanic features
Igneous and Volcanic Features an introduction to how these rocks occur below and above ground.
Kick 'em Jenny
Kick em Jenny Volcano
Kick 'em Jenny is a submarine volcano and one of the most active on the Caribbean plate.
Lunar Rift System
lunar rift system
Lunar Rift System? Gravity maps revise the geologic history of the near side of the Moon.
Volcanic Lightning
Volcanic Lightning
Redoubt Volcano Lightning Photographs of lightning in the Redoubt Volcano ash cloud.
Volcanic Ash
Volcanic Ash
Volcanic Ash Learn about volcanic ash, volcanic dust and their impacts.
Volcanoes on Venus?
Volcanoes on Venus
Volcanoes on Venus? The surface of Venus is covered by lava flows and shield volcanoes.
Mount Cleveland
Mount Cleveland
Mount Cleveland is an active volcano in the Aleutian Islands and a threat to air traffic.
Dallol Volcano
Dallol Volcano
Dallol Volcano is one of the strangest landscapes on earth - at 269 feet below sea level.
Canary Islands
Canary Islands
Where Are the Canary Islands? Off the northwest coast of Africa, 60 miles west of Morocco.
Pavlof Volcano
Pavlof Volcano
Pavlof Volcano - an active North American volcano and a threat to air traffic.
Kilauea Eruption
Kilauea Eruption
Kilauea Eruption - photos of the 2018 eruption in the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano.
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano Geology, history, hazards, plate tectonics and more.
Novarupta
Novarupta
The most powerful eruption of the 20th century was initially blamed on the wrong volcano.
Mount Agung
Mount Agung Volcano
Mount Agung is an active and dangerous volcano on the island of Bali, Indonesia.
Galeras Volcano
Galeras Volcano
Galeras Volcano The most active volcano in Colombia. Article by Jessica Ball.
Redoubt Volcano
Redoubt Volcano
Redoubt Facts, history, geology, hazards and plate tectonics of this Alaskan volcano.
Geology Tools
Geology Tools
Geology Tools - Rock hammers, field bags, hand lenses, maps, hardness picks, gold pans.