Saturday, November 28, 2009

Volcanoes Review


What Comes Out of a Volcano When it Erupts?

Pyroclastic Flow: Fast moving flows of hot gas and rock which travel down the sides of the volcano at speeds up to 700mph and can reach temperatures of 1000 degrees. Anything that gets in the way will be decimated.

Tephra: The material produced by a volcanic eruption; it's very light and porous because it's lava that hardened very quickly.

Lava: Molten rock

Ash: Microscopic rock that gathers in a plume above the volcano until it gets so dense that it comes down as a pyroclastic flow or like snow falling over everything and breaking all machinery it gets in. If too much ash is inhaled, it can suffocate the person.

Lightning: This doesn't come out of the volcano, but it is sometimes created by the clouds of ash.

Lahars: Landslides that are created by the volcano erupting and the materials that the volcano erupts; usually happen along river valleys.

Gases: mainly water vapour, CO2, SO2, HCl and HF (hydrogen flouride). These gases contribute to acid rain.

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