U.S.

DEPARTMENTOFTHEINTERIOR
U.S.GEOLOGICALSURVEY

MakeYourOwnPaperModelofaVolcano
By
TauRhoAlphaandLeslieC.Gordon
OpenFileReport91115B
MenloPark,California
ThisreportispreliminaryandhasnotbeenreviewedforconformitywithU.S.Geologicalsurveyeditorialstandards.Anyuse
oftrade,firm,orproductnamesisfordescriptivepurposedonlyanddoesnotimplyendorsementbytheU.S.government.
AlthoughtheprogramhasbeenusedbytheU.S.GeologicalSurvey,nowarranty,expressedorimplied,ismadebytheUSGS
astotheaccuracyandfunctioningoftheprogramandrelatedprogrammaterial,norshallthefactofdistributionconstituteany
suchwarranty,andnoresponsibilityisassumedbytheUSGSinconnectiontherewith.
Apdfversionofthisreportisalsoavailable.
Description
Thisreportcontainsinstructionsandapatternformakingathreedimensionalpapermodelofavolcano.Thismodelis
intendedtohelpstudentsandothersvisualizeastratovolcano(insideandout)andtolearnsomeofthetermsusedby
geologistsindescribingit.Byconstructionandexaminingthemodel,studentswillobtainagreaterappreciationofthe
relationshipbetweentheinternalstructureofthevolcanoanditsexteriorshapeandfeatures.Thisexercisemaygivethe
studentaninsightastohowastratovolcanoisformed.Includedinthisreportarethepapermodel,instructionsforassembly,
educators'guide,andasimpledescriptionofvolcanoes.
TheWWWversionofthisreportincludesaQuickTimeanimationofaneruptingvolcano.Thisanimationwasextractedfrom
theHyperCardstackthatwasincludedwiththedisketteversionoftheoriginalOpenfilereport,asdescribedinthenext
paragraph.
Purchasersofthedisketteversionofthisreport,whichincludesallofthetextandgraphics,canuseHyperCard2.0software
(notsupplied)tochangethemodel(byaddinggeologicpatterns,symbols,colors,etc.)ortotransferthemodeltoother
graphicssoftwarepackages.Requirementsforthedisketteversionare:AppleComputerInc.,HyperCard2.0softwareand
AppleMacintoshPlusorlatercomputer.TheoriginalpublicationdateofthisOpenfileReportwasFebruary4,1991.OF91
115A,isapapercopy,with3pages.OF91115BcomesonaMacintosh3.5inchdiskette.Toordereitheroftheseversions
ofthisreport,contact:U.S.GeologicalSurveyBooksandOpenFileReportsSales,P.O.Box25425,Denver,CO80225,or
call(303)2367476.

Thepatternformakingapapermodelofvolcanoisavailableintheseformats:
FileFormat

BlackandWhite

Color

GIFforprintingfrombrowser

volcano_bmod.gif

volcano_cmod.jpg

PDFforprintingwiththefreeAdobeAcrobatReadersoftware

volcano_bmod.pdf

volcano_cmod.pdf

DOCforprintingwithMSWord97

volcano_bmod.doc

volcano_cmod.doc

QuickTimeVolcanoEruptionMovie
YouwillneedtodownloadaQuickTimeplayer.FollowinstructionsontheAppleSitetoobtaintheQuickTimeplayerfor
Apple,Windows3.1orWindows95computers.
Forotherplatforms,playerscanbefoundonWWWsitessuchasWWW.SHAREWARE.COM.
Educators'Guide
Thepapermodelinthisreportrepresentsastratovolcano,orcompositevolcano.Itisthemostcommontypeofvolcanoon
Earth.Scientistsclassifyvolcanoesintothreemaintypes:cindercones,shieldvolcanoes,andstratovolcanoes(composite
volcanoes).
Cinderconesarethesmallestandhavesteepsidesthatareformedlargelybythepilingupofash,cinders,androcks.Allof
thesematerialsarecalledpyroclastic("firebroken")andhavebeenexplosivelyeruptedfromtheventofthevolcano.Asthe
materialfallsbacktotheground,itgenerallypilesuptoformasymmetrical,steepsidedconearoundthevent.SunsetCrater
inArizonaandParicutininMexicoarewellknownexamplesofcindercones.
Shieldvolcanoesaregenerallynotexplosiveandarebuiltbytheaccumulationofveryfluidlavaflowsthatspreadoutto
produceamountainwithbroad,gentleslopes.Shieldvolcanoesarethelargestofallvolcanoes,uptotensofkilometers
across,andthousandsofmetershigh.KilaueaandMaunaLoaVolcanoesinHawaiiareclassicexamplesofactiveshield
volcanoes.
Astratovolcanoisbuiltupoflavaflowsinterlayeredwithpyroclasticmaterial.Scientistsbelievethatthelayeringrepresentsa
historyofalternatingexplosiveandquieteruptions.Youngstratovolcanoesaretypicallysteepsidedandsymmetricallycone
shaped.ThereareseveralactivestratovolcanoesinNorthAmerica.Since1960,MountSaintHelensinWashingtonhas
becomethemostfamiliar.OtherwillknownstratovolcanoesintheUnitedStatesincludeMountRainier,MountShasta,Mount
Mazama(CraterLake),andRedoubtVolcanoinAlaska.MountFujiinJapanandMountVesuviusinItalyareotherfamous
stratovolcanoes.
QuestionsforFurtherStudy
1.Namesomeotherstratovolcanoesandtheirlocaitonsaroundtheworld.
2.Onthepapermodel,asmalltownhasbeenbuiltatthefootofthevolcano.Thisisacommonsituationaroundthe
world.Whataresomeoftheproblemsorhazardsthetownspeoplemighthavetofacelivingsoclosetoacolcano?
Discusspossiblesolutionstotheseproblemswithyourclass.
3.Whattypesofrocksareproducedbyvolcanoes?Investigatedifferentvolcanicrocksandtheirorigins.Whichtypesof
rocksareassociatedwitheachofthethreetypesofvolcanoesdiscussedabove?
4.Whatisanotherwordforthe"hole"inthetopofthevolcano?
5.Whereisthemainventofthepapermodelvolcano?Canyoufindasecondventdrawnonthesideofthemodel
volcano?
6.WhyaremostvolcanoesonEarthconeshaped?
Vocabulary
Discussthemeaningsandusageofthefollowingwordswithyourclass.
ash
cinders
crater
pyroclastic
stratovolcano
cindercone compositevolcano
lava
shieldvolcano
vent
volcanichazard
eruption
SuggestedReading
Crandell,D.R.,andNichols,D.R.,1987,VolcanicHazardsatMountShasta,California,U.S.GeologicalSurveyGeneral
InterestPublication,21p.
Heliker,C.,1990,volcanicandseismicHazardsontheIslandofHawaii:U.S.GeologicalSurveyGeneralInterest
Publication,48p.

Simkin,T.,tilling,R.I.,Taggart,J.N.,Jones,W.J.,andSpall,H.,compilers,1989,thisDynamicPlanet:WorldMapof
Volcanoes,Ear4thquakes,andPlateTectonics:U.S.GeologicalSurvey,Reston,VA,incooperationwiththeSmithsonian
Institution,Washington,D.C.
Tilling,R.I.,1982,Volcanoes:U.S.GeologicalSurveyGeneralInterestPublication,45p.
Tilling,R.I.,Heliker,C.,andWright,T.L.,1987,EruptionsofHawaiianvolcanoes:Past,PresentandFuture:U.S.
GeologicalSurveyGeneralInterestPublication,54p.
Tilling,R.I.,Topinka,L.,andSwanson,D.A.,1984,revised1990,EruptionsofMountSt.Helens:Past,Present,andFuture:
U.S.GeologicalSurveyGeneralInterestPublication,57p.
ThisdocumentwasconvertedfromtheHyperCardstacktoHTMLandQuickTimebyJohnC.Lahr.(Email:
lahr@giseis.alaska.edu)

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