Earth is still cooling after its fiery formation, and volcanoes are one way the Earth loses heat. Other planets have volcanic features -- some recently active -- telling geologists that they, too, could be hot and losing heat. Where else in the solar system can you find volcanoes?
Natural disasters can be incredibly dangerous to nearby populations, but some could even impact the entire planet. Some of Earth’s natural resources are so massive that they not only serve vital functions in the immediate area but have global impacts as well, like the Amazon rainforest in South America. How important is the Amazon rainforest?
Every now and then, a news headline pops up about the Yellowstone supervolcano and all the dire things that could happen if it erupted. Those headlines raise a few questions, such as what exactly is a supervolcano, is there one at Yellowstone, and how likely is it to erupt?
The islands of Hawaii all owe their entire existence to volcanic activity. Kilauea, a shield volcano located on the big island of Hawai’i, is Hawaii’s most active volcano in recorded history. Even though it had been erupting continuously since 1983, Kilauea made big news headlines in 2018 when it entered a more dramatic eruptive phase.
Mt. Etna’s history is long and complex. Its first recorded eruption was in 1,500 BCE, thought to be the first volcanic eruption ever written about. Mt. Etna has erupted at least 200 times since then, including some significant volcanic activity just last month.