Welcome to the volcano facts page, here you can read many facts about volcanoes, and what are melting rocks. Enjoy!

Can we predict eruptions?

As the world's population grows. more and more people are living in dangerous volcanic areas. This could make ever greater threats to life and property.

How do volcanoes form?

Deep inside Earth between the molten iron core and the thin crust at the surface, there is a mantle which is a big layer of rock that is largely solid, but flows like plastic. When for different reasons, rock from the mantle melts, and it sometimes moves to the Earth's surface through weak spots in the crust releasing heat.

Magma that reaches Earth's surface comes in three compositions that produce the three common volcanic rock types which are the following:

Basaltic magma

Is the most common from the magma. The partial melting of the rock in the zone of earths mantle called the asthenosphere.It generally has the lowest slica content of the three common volcanic rocks.

Andestie

Can arise in a variety ways, but most is produced by the partial melting of wet basalt, This often occurs at subducting plate margins where oceanic crust dives beneath another plate.

Rhyolitic lava

Is rich in silica and therefore quite viscous. It can arise from the partial melting of continental crust. Because of its viscosity, which results in the magma solidifying before it can reach the surface, rhyolitic lava generally is less common than other forms.