volcano web / my ebay store / back / next

Introduction

Volumes of Some Well-Known Volcanic Eruptions

Note that volcanic eruptions that occurred before historic times were several orders of magnitude larger (more than 1000 km³ in erupted volume) than ones observed by humans.

A volcano is a location where magma, or hot melted rock from within a planet, reaches the surface. It may happen violently, in a massive supersonic explosion, or more quietly, as a sticky, slow lava flow

Volcanoes have been a part of earth's history long before humans. Compare the history of human beings, a few million years in the making, to that of the Earth, over fourbillion years in the making.

Volcanoes were important contributors to the early earth atmosphere by releasing gases such as nitrogen (N₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and ammonia (NH₄).