Volcanology A volcano is a vent or opening in the surface of the Earth through which magma and other associated gasses and ash erupt. Combining text, artwork and animation, this eighth grade project explains the powerful and destructive force of volcanoes.
Volcanoes explode periodically and let out magma, ash, and gases.
They are formed by the build up of lava and ash. Most of the volcanoes are located around the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is on the Pacific Ocean. One very famous eruption was in 79 AD, when Mount Vesuvius destroyed the two Roman cities named Pompeii and Herculeum. The Polynesians believed that volcanoes were ruled by the fire goddess, Pele. One of the most spectacular volcanic eruptions in recorded history occurred in 1883 with the explosion of Krakatoa, on an island in the Sunda Strait near Java.