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Whew!! Is it me or is it hot in here? I'm at the worlds hottest volcano. Volcanoes are very interesting but you have to keep your distance because they are very dangerous. That's why I'm here to tell you about them so that you don't have to go anywhere except for your computer chair!!
Causes
Under the earths surface there are rocks that are so hot that they slowly start to melt. This makes a thick flowing substance called magma. Since it is lighter than normal rock it rises up to magma chambers. Some of the magma eventually pushes through vents and cracks in the earth's surface. They occur because the crust is broken in plates like a jigsaw puzzle. There are 16 major plates. These plates float on a soft layer of the earth's mantle. As they move they either push together or pull apart.
Types or Categories
Volcanoes come in different shapes and sizes depending on the makeup of the magma, the style of the eruption, and how often they erupt. The major types of volcanoes are cinder cones, shield volcanoes, caldaria and plateaus. Calderas and plateaus are shaped differently than traditional volcanoes neither has a mountain like shape
Locations
Many volcanoes occur on the edges or boundaries of the plates. Plate boundaries are the most geologically active places. More than half of all volcanoes is located in the pacific "Ring of Fire". This area stretches along Alaska, Rocky Mountains of Canada and US, Andes Mountains of South America and loops back up though New Zealand, Indonesia and Japan.
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