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Volcanic arc formation along a subducting plate. A volcanic arc (also known as a magmatic arc[1]: 6.2 ) is a belt of volcanoes formed above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate, [2] with the belt arranged in an arc shape as seen from above. Volcanic arcs typically parallel an oceanic trench, with the arc located further from the subducting plate ...
An example is the massive Level Mountain shield volcano in northern British Columbia, Canada, which covers an area of 1,800 km 2 (690 sq mi) and a volume of 860 km 3 (210 cu mi). [ 1 ] Perhaps the most extensive of all the subaerial basaltic plateaus existed during the Paleogene [ 2 ] and possibly extended over 1,800,000 km 2 (690,000 sq mi) of ...
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. The process that forms volcanoes is called volcanism. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and because most of Earth ...
The past 800 years have been a pattern of violent initial eruptions of pumice followed by prolonged extrusion of basaltic lava from the lower part of the volcano. [ 40 ] Pinatubo in the Philippines on 15 June 1991 , which produced 5 km 3 (1 cu mi) of dacitic magma, a 40 km (25 mi) high eruption column, and released 17 megatons of sulfur dioxide .
Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 19% of Earth's radius [0.7% of volume] or 70% of the Moon 's radius. [32][33] The inner core was discovered in 1936 by Inge Lehmann and is generally composed primarily of iron and some nickel.
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth 's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. [2][3][4] The model builds on the concept of continental drift ...
A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. [1] It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an underground magma chamber, through a conduit, until they reach the crater's vent, from where the ...
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava erupted from a stratovolcano.