Volcanoes

This site is on the way groovy volcanoes and their not so groovy effects. I'll start off by saying that most damage from volcanoes come from the ash and lava flows. The Ring of Fire is the world's most volcanically active line. Volcanoes form there because of subduction. First water mixes with the magma to lower the melting point, melting the plate. The lava is then carried upward to blow out in a horrifying eruption. Volcanoes in the Ring of Fire are unfortunately stratovolcanoes, the most destructive kind of volcanoes in the world. Stratovolcanoes are also called composite cones. Stratovolcanoes have smooth bases but steep slopes near the rim. Some volcanoes have several eruptive centers or a caldera, while others have amphitheater like shapes due to lateral flows. Stratovolcanoes have falling debris thrown into the air, lava flows, mud flows, and debris flows, which are avalanches without the snow. There are different types of rock and explosiveness for each volcano. Stratovolcanoes are also polygenetic. Most volcanoes are 100,000+ years old. Stratovolcanoes can rise as high as 8,000 feet. Most volcanoes destroy the environment with the ash, mud, or lava flows. Any ash, gas, or volcanic aerosols that get high enough usually dissipate within a few weeks. Positive effects are the new rich soil after the eruption and the fact that all water comes from volcanic gas! volcanoes affect the surrounding weather with rain, thunder, and lightning because ash attracts water. Volcanoes also produce volcanic "fog". If eruptions are big enough and throw up enough ash, the world can become a few degrees cooler or have an ice age. Ash can also cause temporary warming.Volcanoes are affected by the Ring of Fire's elements because subduction from plate tectonics starts volcanoes and when the lava encounters water, it creates new land. I predict that volcanoes will stop sometime and end the reign of the Ring of Fire!