VOLCANOES

VOCABULARY
REPORT

LAUREN CHUNG
PERIOD 4
DUE 12/8/10
1. volcano
a vent or fissure in Earth’s surface through which magma and
gases are expelled

2. magma
liquid rock produced under Earth’s surface; igneous rocks are made
of magma

3. lava
magma that flows onto Earth’s surface; the rock that forms when
lava cools and solidifies

4. mafic
describes magma or igneous rock that is rich in magnesium and
iron and that is generally dark in color

5. felsic
describes magma or igneous rock that is rich in feldspars and silica
and that is generally light in color

6. lahar
a mudflow that forms when volcanic ash and debris mix with water
during a volcanic eruption

7. Ring of Fire
plate boundaries with volcanoes near them

8. divergent boundary
the boundary between two tectonic plates that are pulling away
from one another

9. fissures
a set of deep vertical fractures that form when tectonic plates pull
away from one another

10. mid-ocean ridges

underwater mountain chains that form at divergent boundaries

11. convergent boundary

boundary where two tectonic plates collide

12. trench
denser plate slides under another plate when two plates collide- as
the denser plate bends, a deep depression forms
13. subduction
the process of which one plate moves beneath the other

14. hot spots

lie above mantle plumes

15. mantle plumes

columns of hot rock that rise through the Earth’s mantle

16. rift zones

a set of deep cracks that form when two plates pull away from
another

17. sea-floor spreading

the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma
rises to Earth’s surface and solidifies at a mid-ocean ridge

18. shield volcanoes

usually form at hot spots; form layers of lava left by many
nonexplosive eruptions

19. Magma chamber

a structure that feeds the eruptions deep underground

20. vents
where lava is released

21. lava tubes

often, the flow will cool and solidify on top while the interior
continues to travel through long, pipelike strutures

22. Pyroclastic
particles of lava that form when magma explodes from a volcano
and solidifies in the air

23. Cinder cone volcanoes

smallest type of volcano; most common type of volcano; made from
pyroclastic material; steep sides

24. Stratovolcanoes
made from pyroclastic material and lava; made from explosive
eruptions and quiet eruptions

25. Geothermal water

heated water; contains large amounts of heat and energy