Volcano Facts For Kids – Amazing Facts About Volcano

Volcano Facts For Kids

• Do you know the force at which a volcano goes off is like exploding 1,000,000 nuclear bombing?
• The temperature of a volcanic emission (lava) is very hot and is about 2,200^oF.
• There is a coast in Hawaii that has green sand which was made as a result of collision with a volcanic rock (named as Olivine) with it.
• In 1707, a volcano went off (named as Mount Fuji) in Tokyo and resulted in the loss of almost 30 thousand persons. Not only this, the rice grasslands were also destroyed and became sterile for a century afterwards.
• As the molten rock cools rapidly, it forms a polished glass that has pointed edges and is called Obsidian.
• The wind currents that follow from lava are so sizzling that they passes through with a speed of nearly 185 miles/hour and a temperature of 1,470^oF.
• At the bottom of the America’s Yellowstone Park lies a great volcano which was estimated to have exploded way back 640,000 years before. However the eruption of this lava if happens today, it will definitely alter the environment of our planet and the dust (ash) will cloud America as a whole. It is also possible that the whole mankind will fade away after this event.
• The lava from Mount Fuji typically blows up one time in about 100 years. But this has not happened yet though it is behind schedule.
• In 1883, there was among the biggest of volcanic emissions that occurred in the Krakatau islet, Indonesia. The magnitude of this eruption was enough to hide the entire islet under the sea waters.
• The volcanic eruption in Indonesia of 1883 produced the biggest noise ever generated, even the sound went at almost 100 miles.
• There is always a recycling process undergoing beneath the sea water in which the slow movement of rocks once recycled then hides within the Earth’s surface in order to thaw out. After this, these rocks in liquid form float up by means of a volcano.
• The strength of the volcanic eruption is so huge that at times it annihilates the entire island, if it occurs there.
• Within the Sumatra Island (Indonesia), there is another island named as Samosir. There was a volcanic eruption (Toba) that went off nearly 70,000 years back and as a result, this lake was constructed. Besides, there is another volcano mounting from the core of this lake.
• According to some scientists, there was a super volcano named as Toba which occurred way back 75,000 years before and created so much destruction that only one thousand duos (couples) could survive to produce offspring.

More Volcano Facts for Kids

• There are three kinds of volcanoes: Shield volcanoes travel 40 to 50 kilometers and it flows with low viscosity; Stratovolcanoes are largely known for their gigantic eruptions of rock and ash and reaching enormous heights; and Cinder cone volcanoes are relatively smaller and are of short duration reaching heights of just 400 meters.
• The tallest volcano in the solar system is on Mars and its name is Olympus Mons which rises to a height of 27 km, and measures 550 km across.
• The tallest volcano on planet earth reaches a height of 4,207 meters and it is found in Mauna Loa.
• The eruption of Novarupta volcano was the largest volcanic blast ever heard in the 20^th century and it took place in Alaska Peninsula in 1912.
• While some volcanoes are dormant, others are active and they continue to erupt for many years. Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is one of the most active volcanoes and as is continued to erupt for 29 years, the eruption began in 1983.
• The deadliest eruption ever took place was of Kilauea which erupted 200 years ago leaving 400 people dead. It is in the United States.
• Around 65 volcanoes in the U.S. are considered to be active.
• The worst eruption ever took place in the US history was of Mount St. Helens which occurred in 1980.
• Around 1,900 volcanoes are deemed to be active and are likely to explode sometime in future.
• Japan claims 10% of the world’s most active volcanoes.
• Hasan Dag volcano in Turkey is the earliest known as is almost 8,000-years-old.
• Venus was believed to have most volcanoes than any other planet in our solar system but now they have gone extinct.
• In Italy around 300 million people are living in the shade of active volcanoes.
• While volcanic eruption is dangerous, it can be effective too in that in some countries such as in Iceland, the heat energy from magma is used for running power plants. This type of energy is known as geothermal energy.
• Nearly 20% of the volcanoes of the earth are under water.