Portal:Volcanoes

The Volcanoes portal

Augustine Volcano (Alaska) during its eruptive phase on January 24, 2006

A volcano is a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and because most of Earth's plate boundaries are underwater, most volcanoes are found underwater. For example, a mid-ocean ridge, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates whereas the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates. Volcanoes resulting from divergent tectonic activity are usually non-explosive whereas those resulting from convergent tectonic activity cause violent eruptions. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the crust's plates, such as in the East African Rift, the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, and the Rio Grande rift in North America. Volcanism away from plate boundaries most likely arises from upwelling diapirs from the core–mantle boundary called mantle plumes, 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) deep within Earth. This results in hotspot volcanism or intraplate volcanism, in which the plume may cause thinning of the crust and result in a volcanic island chain due to the continuous movement of the tectonic plate, of which the Hawaiian hotspot is an example. Volcanoes are usually not created at transform tectonic boundaries where two tectonic plates slide past one another.

Volcanoes, based on their frequency of eruption or volcanism, are referred to as either active, dormant, or extinct. Active volcanoes have a history of volcanism and are likely to erupt again, while extinct ones are not capable of eruption at all as they have no magma source. "Dormant" volcanoes have not erupted in a long time – generally accepted as since the start of the Holocene, about 12,000 years ago – but may erupt again. However, dormant volcanoes are technically considered to be seismically "active". These categories are not entirely uniform; they may overlap for certain examples. Large eruptions can affect atmospheric temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the Sun and cool Earth's troposphere. Historically, large volcanic eruptions have been followed by volcanic winters which have caused catastrophic famines.

Other planets besides Earth have volcanoes. For example, volcanoes are very numerous on Venus. Mars has significant volcanoes. In 2009, a paper was published suggesting a new definition for the word 'volcano' that includes processes such as cryovolcanism. It suggested that a volcano be defined as 'an opening on a planet or moon's surface from which magma, as defined for that body, and/or magmatic gas is erupted.' (Full article...)

Selected article -

The Volcano with thick black scoria in the foreground

The Volcano, also known as Lava Fork volcano, is a small cinder cone in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located approximately 60 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of the small community of Stewart near the head of Lava Fork. With an elevation of 1,656 metres (5,433 feet) and a topographic prominence of 311 m (1,020 ft), it rises above the surrounding rugged landscape on a remote mountain ridge that represents the northern flank of a glaciated U-shaped valley.

Lava Fork volcano is associated with a small group of volcanoes called the Iskut volcanic field. This forms part of the much larger Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province, which extends from the Alaska–Yukon border to near the port city of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Eruptive activity at The Volcano is relatively young compared to most other volcanoes in the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province. Geologic studies have shown that The Volcano and its eruptive products were emplaced in the last 400 years; this is well after the last glacial period, which ended about 10,000 years ago. (Full article...)

Did you know

Satellite map showing the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain

General images

The following are images from various volcano-related articles on Wikipedia.

Selected biography -

William Henry Mathews (1919–2003) was a Canadian geologist, volcanologist, engineer, and professor. He is considered a pioneer in the study of subglacial eruptions and volcano-ice interactions in North America. Many of his publications continue to be regarded as classics in their field. (Full article...)

Selected picture

Arieal view of Mount Kilimanjaro
Arieal view of Mount Kilimanjaro

Aerial view of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa and the fourth highest of the Seven Summits. The volcano consists of three distinctive volcanic cones; of which the Kibo cone, pictured, is highest.

Selected quote

"Do we need to bring a sleeping bag, or will the volcano keep us warm at night?"

— Documentary producer at Mount Etna, 2000.


WikiProjects

WikiProjects
WikiProjects
  • WikiProject Volcanoes
  • WikiProject Seamounts
  • WikiProject Mountains

Volcanoes topics

Subcategories

Categories

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Volcanology
Volcanism
Volcanoes
Volcanologists
Volcanology by country
Volcanic belts
Glaciovolcanism
Volcanic hazards
Volcanic landforms
Lava flows
Volcano monitoring
Volcano observatories
Volcanic rocks
Volcano seismology
Volcanic winters
Volcanology stubs

Featured work and other approved content

Featured articles: 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens  • 2007–2008 Nazko earthquakes  • Amchitka  • Armero tragedy  • Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve  • Cerro Azul (Chile volcano)  • David A. Johnston  • Enceladus (moon)  • Geology of the Lassen volcanic area  • Io (moon)  • Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount  • Mauna Kea  • Mauna Loa  • Metacomet Ridge  • Mono-Inyo Craters  • Mount Cayley volcanic field  • Mount St. Helens  • Mount Tambora  • Nevado del Ruiz  • Surtsey  • The Volcano (British Columbia)  • Triton (moon)  • Upper and Lower Table Rock  • Volcanism on Io  • Volcano (South Park)  • Yellowstone National Park

Featured lists: List of volcanoes in Indonesia  • List of volcanoes in the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain  • List of largest volcanic eruptions

Featured pictures: There are currently 43 volcano-related Featured pictures. A full gallery can be seen here.

Good articles: Abyssal plain  • Amak Volcano  • Anahim hotspot  • Axial Seamount  • Ben Nevis  • Bowie Seamount  • Crater Lake  • Davidson Seamount  • Ferdinandea  • Gareloi Volcano  • Geyser  • Glacier Peak  • Hawaii hotspot  • Hualālai  • Kohala (mountain)  • Lake Toba  • Minoan eruption  • Mount Adams (Washington)  • Mount Bailey  • Mount Baker  • Mount Cleveland (Alaska)  • Mount Edziza volcanic complex  • Mount Garibaldi  • Mount Hood  • Mount Kenya  • Mount Rainier  • Mount Redoubt  • Mount Tehama  • Mount Thielsen  • Mount Vesuvius  • Peter I Island  • Roxy Ann Peak  • Rùm  • Sakurajima  • Sangay  • Silverthrone Caldera  • Staffa  • Types of volcanic eruptions  • Volcanic ash  • Weh Island  • Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field  • Yamsay Mountain

Valued pictures: A gallery of volcano-related valued pictures can be seen here.

What you can do

Things you can do
Things you can do
  • Add the {{WikiProject Volcanoes}} message box to talk pages of articles within the scope of this project, including appropriate assessments, if needed.
  • Add appropriate volcano type categories to articles, and verify the accuracy of any existing categories. See the section "Categorization" below.
  • Add {{infobox mountain}} to articles if needed and missing, and add volcano-related fields to existing infoboxes if these are missing.
  • Expand volcano articles which are stubs, especially by adding photos and (most importantly) proper references.
  • Help improve articles related to Hawaiian and Canadian volcanism by joining the Hawaiian and Canadian workgroups.
  • Improve some of the project's most visible articles.

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