Volcanoes menu
What is a volcano?
What are the main features of a volcano?
What are active, dormant and extinct volcanoes?
What are the different types of volcano?
What is a supervolcano?
Where are volcanoes located?
What is the Ring of Fire?
What are lahars and pyroclastic flows?
Why do people live close to volcanoes?

Case Studies
The 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens
The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo
The 2000 eruption of Popocatepetl
The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallojokull
The 2010 eruption of Mt Merapi

Related Topics
Plate tectonics
Earthquakes

What is a volcano?
What is a volcano?
What are the main features of a volcano?
What are active, dormant and extinct volcanoes?

What is a volcano?
A volcano is a conical hill or mountain formed by material from the mantle being forced through an opening or vent in the Earth's crust.

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What are the main features of a volcano?

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What are active, dormant and extinct volcanoes?
Volcanoes are found in three states - extinct, dormant and active. An extinct volcano will never erupt again. A dormant volcano has not erupted in 2000 years. An active volcano has erupted recently and is likely to erupt again.