How are volcanoes shaped?

How are volcanoes shaped?

Volcanoes erupt in different ways, producing different landforms. Steep, cone-shaped volcanoes form when plates collide. This more gentle flow creates new crust on the seafloor and wide, rounded volcanoes on the surface called shield volcanoes. Hawaii’s Kilauea is a shield volcano.

Where are volcanoes located?

Sixty percent of all active volcanoes occur at the boundaries between tectonic plates. Most volcanoes are found along a belt, called the “Ring of Fire” that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Some volcanoes, like those that form the Hawaiian Islands, occur in the interior of plates at areas called “hot spots.”

How do volcanoes most commonly form?

Most volcanoes are formed when two plates meet. When they cause a gap in the earths crust, molten lava rises up between the cracks. This kind of volcanoe is on the oceans floor and is most likely visible.

How does water help to form a volcano?

When the two plates drift apart, cracks or rifts are formed which are filled by molten magma that rises and finds its way into the rift. This molten magma, due to the presence of water, solidifies very quickly, thus forming underwater volcanoes or volcanic islands.

How can a volcano form at a hot spot?

A volcanic “hotspot” is an area in the mantle from which heat rises as a thermal plume from deep in the Earth. High heat and lower pressure at the base of the lithosphere (tectonic plate) facilitates melting of the rock. This melt, called magma, rises through cracks and erupts to form volcanoes.

How can a volcano be formed?

Volcanoes form out of molten magma, which is created from the melted mantle. Melting of the mantle is mostly the result of movement or friction between tectonic plates. This magma then rises with bubbles of gas trapped inside it. The runny magma spills out through openings or cracks in the Earth’s crust before flowing out as lava.