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Tectonic Plates
Volcanoes
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Fun Facts!
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Home
Tectonic Plates
Volcanoes
Case study
Fun Facts!
Bibliography
Proper Wowza Facts
The largest volcano in our solar system is
Olympus Mons
on the planet Mars!
The volcano is 17 miles (27 km) tall and over 320 miles (520 km) across.
The name "volcano" has its origin from the name of
Vulcan
, a god of fire in Roman mythology.
There are around
1,510 active
volcanoes
in the world.
We currently know of 80 or more which are under the oceans.
Volcanoes are like giant safety valves that release the pressure that builds up inside the Earth.
When magma erupts through the earth's surface it is called
lava.
Over half of the world’s volcanoes arise in a belt around the Pacific Ocean called the Ring of Fire.
One in 10 people in the world live within 'danger range' of an active volcano.
People set up homes on the slopes of volcanoes because of the rich, fertile soil produced.
Scientists have estimated that at least 200,000 persons have lost their lives as a result of volcanic eruptions during the last 500 years.