Volcanic landforms
This is a bowl-shaped depression forms when a volcano’s summit collapses after an eruption.
Caldera
Fast-moving avalanches of hot gas, ash, and rock that destroy everything in their path.
Pyroclastic flow.
Molten rock beneath Earth’s surface.
Magma.
This Italian volcano buried Pompeii in 79 CE.
Mount Vesuvius.
The “Ring of Fire” circles this ocean, where most volcanoes are found.
Pacific Ocean.
Steep, cone-shaped volcanoes like Mount Fuji are this type, built from layers of lava and ash.
Stratovolcano
Mudflows created when volcanic ash mixes with heavy rain or melted snow.
Lahars.
The underground chamber where magma collects before an eruption.
Magma chamber
The 1991 eruption of this Philippine volcano was the 20th century’s largest.
Mount Pinatubo.
Islands like Hawaii form over these hot upwellings of magma in Earth’s mantle.
Hotspots.
Broad, gently sloping volcanoes formed by runny lava flows (e.g., Hawaii).
Shield volcano.
Glass-like particles in the air from eruptions that can damage airplane engines.
Volcanic ash.
When magma rises and pushes the ground upward, signaling a possible eruption.
Inflation
This Washington state volcano erupted explosively in 1980.
Mount St. Helens.
A chain of volcanoes formed where two tectonic plates collide (e.g., the andes ).
Volcanic arc.
A smaller vent on a volcano’s side that erupts ash or lava.
Parasitic cone
Giant waves caused by volcanic eruptions collapsing into the ocean.
Tsunami.
Cracks in the Earth’s crust where lava erupts, like in Iceland.
Fissures
Tanzania’s dormant volcano, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.
Mount Kilimanjaro.
The line of volcanoes along mid-ocean ridges, like in Iceland.
Volcanic rift zone.
A hardened “plug” of cooled magma inside an extinct volcano’s vent.
Volcanic neck.
Poisonous gas released by volcanoes that can suffocate nearby life.
Carbon dioxide (or sulfur dioxide).
This geometric rock formation is created when thick lava flows cool slowly and crack into hexagonal columns.
Columnar jointing (or basalt columns).
Iceland’s 2010 eruption that disrupted European air travel.
Eyjafjallajökull
A flat lava plateau formed by massive fissure eruptions (e.g., Deccan Traps).
Flood basalt