VOLCANOES

A volcano is an opening in a planet or moon’s crust through which molten rock,

hot gases, and other materials erupt. Volcanoes often form a hill or mountain as layers
of rock and ash build up from repeated eruptions.

Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant, or extinct. Active volcanoes have a

recent history of eruptions; they are likely to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes have not
erupted for a very long time but may erupt at a future time. Extinct volcanoes are not
expected to erupt in the future.

Inside an active volcano is a chamber in which molten rock, called magma,

collects. Pressure builds up inside the magma chamber, causing the magma to move
through channels in the rock and escape onto the planet’s surface. Once it flows onto
the surface the magma is known as lava.

Volcanoes are found on both land and the ocean floor. When volcanoes erupt on
the ocean floor, they often create underwater mountains and mountain ranges as the
released lava cools and hardens. Volcanoes on the ocean floor become islands when
the mountains become so large they rise above the surface of the ocean.

EPICENTER

The epicentre of an earthquake is the surface expression of the earthquake. It is

located directly above the focus or hypocentre of the earthquake, which is where the
earthquake begins at depth.

Scientists use two different methods to determine the epicentre of an earthquake:

1.) Seismograph triangulation

2.) P- and S-Wave intervals

Often, these two methods will be combined to improve the overall accuracy of the
location.

The epicentre is usually the location where the waves from an earthquake are
most intense and, as a result, it is also the location with the most damage. But this isn't
always true.
MOUNTAIN BELTS

A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with

similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arisen from the same cause,
usually an orogeny. Mountain ranges are also found on many planetary mass objects
in the Solar System and are likely a feature of most terrestrial planets. Mountain
ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys. Individual
mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic
structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and
terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, and volcanic
landforms resulting in a variety of rock types.

Most mountains and mountain ranges are parts of mountain belts that have
formed where two lithospheric plates have converged and where, in most cases, they
continue to converge. In effect, many mountain belts mark the boundaries of
lithospheric plates, and these boundaries in turn intersect other such boundaries.
Consequently, there exist very long mountain systems where a series of convergent
plate boundaries continue from one to the next. A nearly continuous chain of volcanoes
and mountain ranges surrounds most of the Pacific basin—the so-called Circum-
Pacific System.

Summary