Volcanoes have long excited the consciousness of man. The name "volcano" itself comes from the name of the ancient Roman god of fire, Vulcan. The Romans believed that the ever-smoking fire-breathing peaks were the forges of the formidable deity, in which he forged his weapons. However, other peoples of that time adhered to a similar opinion. And what are volcanoes in modern terms?
To answer this question, it is necessary to briefly repeat the structure of our planet. If you remember the school course in physics, geography and geology, then under the solid crust of the Earth lies molten magma and a core that does not allow our planet to cool down. The tectonic plates that form the crust slowly drift across the ocean of molten rock, and as a result of their collisions, geological faults form at the junction boundary, forming new mountain ranges and … volcanoes. The places where magma comes to the surface and turn over time into majestic fire-breathing mountains, which is, for example, the volcano Erebus.
However, "with time" is not the right expression. The fact is that during the first eruption, lava flows form the outer cone of the volcano almost instantly. If you have thought about what volcanoes are, then you almost certainly have in mind exactly its outer part. This is exactly the mountain that has a specific and easily recognizable shape. However, it is more correct to call a “volcano” exactly that fault in the earth's crust, through which molten magma flows to the surface. Moreover, one should not assume that such a phenomenon can only be observed on the surface of the Earth. According to scientists, there are many more volcanoes on the ocean floor: this circumstance is connected with some features of its geological structure, besides, it accounts for the gigantic pressure of the water column.
It is generally accepted that if such mountains do not show “signs of life” for a long time, then they can be called “extinct volcanoes”. In most cases, this is true, but you should not assume that extinct=dead. As practice shows, it is these neighbors that pose the greatest threat to everyone who lives next to them.
In particular, almost 6 thousand years ago, most of the population of the Mediterranean of those years died or was forced to move. This happened after the volcano Etna, silent until then for many hundreds of years, suddenly woke up. The consequences were so devastating that archaeologists find traces of the tsunami alone, which arose after the eruption, thousands of kilometers from the source.
By the way, asking yourself a question aboutabout what volcanoes are, you should not be limited to the boundaries of the Earth. As recent studies show, active volcanic activity was noted on Mars in the old days. In particular, Olympus, located on the red planet, is equal to … 26 kilometers in height! This is due to the peculiarities of gravity. It allows lava to rise to breathtaking heights. In addition, volcanic activity is also observed on other planets in the solar system.
We hope that after reading our article you have no questions left about what volcanoes are!
