Table Of ContentTABLE OF
© 2007 Rourke Publishing LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
CONTENTS
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission
in writing from the publisher.
www.rourkepublishing.com
PHOTO CREDITS: Cover, pgs 10, 14 inset, 17 inset, 19, 23 courtesy of the U.S.
Geological Survey/HVO; Pgs 5, 5 inset, 6 inset, 9, 21, 22, 25, 25 inset, 26 inset, 29
courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey/CVO; Title pg, pgs 14, 17, 21 courtesy of Mount St. Helens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
the U.S. Geological Survey/AVO; Pg 13 courtesy of NASA; Pgs 6, 10, 12, 18, 26
©Photodisc, Inc.; Pg 20 ©Aschwin Prein; Pg 10 inset ©Armentrout
Ring of Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Title page: Volcanoes can remain quiet for hundreds of years and then erupt An Active Planet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
without warning.
Hot Spots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Editor: Robert Stengard-Olliges
A Volcanic Eruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Cover and page design by Nicola Stratford
Year without a Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Deadly Eruptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Armentrout, David, 1962-
Volcanoes / David and Patricia Armentrout. Yellowstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
p. cm. -- (Earth's power)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-60044-235-8 (hardcover) A Creative Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
ISBN 978-1-60044-344-2 (paperback)
1. Volcanoes--Juvenile literature. I. Armentrout, Patricia, 1960- II. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Title. III. Series: Armentrout, David, 1962- Earth's power.
QE521.3.A7575 2007
Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
551.21--dc22
2006011223
Websites to Visit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Printed in the USA
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
www.rourkepublishing.com – [email protected]
Post Office Box 3328, Vero Beach, FL 32964
1-800-394-7055
MOUNT
ST. HELENS
On May 18, 1980, an early morning explosion
Mount St. Helens before the
rocked southwest Washington State. The blast
1980 eruption.
was thousands of times more powerful than the
atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
during World War II. Mount St. Helens, a long
dormant volcano, had re-awakened.
The destructive energy released that day was
incredible. Within minutes, more than 200 square
miles of forest lay in ruins. An avalanche of rock
and mud filled the valleys. Rivers and mountain
roads were buried under thousands of tons of
volcanic debris. Hot ash and smoke clogged the
air. Fifty-seven people were killed along with
thousands of animals including bear, elk, and
mountain lions.
Mount St. Helens spews a column of
44 ash and debris during the 1980 eruption.
MOUNT
ST. HELENS
On May 18, 1980, an early morning explosion
Mount St. Helens before the
rocked southwest Washington State. The blast
1980 eruption.
was thousands of times more powerful than the
atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
during World War II. Mount St. Helens, a long
dormant volcano, had re-awakened.
The destructive energy released that day was
incredible. Within minutes, more than 200 square
miles of forest lay in ruins. An avalanche of rock
and mud filled the valleys. Rivers and mountain
roads were buried under thousands of tons of
volcanic debris. Hot ash and smoke clogged the
air. Fifty-seven people were killed along with
thousands of animals including bear, elk, and
mountain lions.
Mount St. Helens spews a column of
44 ash and debris during the 1980 eruption.
The eruption at Mount St. Helens was
devastating, but the loss of human life could
have been much worse. Fortunately, few people
lived near the volcano’s danger zone.
There are thousands of volcanoes around
the world. About 500 are active. Scientists
consider a volcano active if it has erupted
A scientist collects samples of volcanic ash. during recorded history. Some volcanoes
remain quiet for thousands of years, while
others erupt frequently. Often the quiet ones
are most dangerous.
Volcanologists
Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano for almost are scientists
that specialize
200 years, rises 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) in the study of
7 volcanoes.
in Tanzania, Africa.
The eruption at Mount St. Helens was
devastating, but the loss of human life could
have been much worse. Fortunately, few people
lived near the volcano’s danger zone.
There are thousands of volcanoes around
the world. About 500 are active. Scientists
consider a volcano active if it has erupted
A scientist collects samples of volcanic ash. during recorded history. Some volcanoes
remain quiet for thousands of years, while
others erupt frequently. Often the quiet ones
are most dangerous.
Volcanologists
Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano for almost are scientists
that specialize
200 years, rises 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) in the study of
7 volcanoes.
in Tanzania, Africa.
RING OF FIRE
Most volcanoes are located along the edges of
continents. More than half are within an area
1815-Tambora,
Indonesia: that encircles the Pacific Ocean, known as the
The eruption of “Ring of Fire.”
Tambora was one
of the largest
in recorded
history.
Pyroclastic flows
flattened nearby
villages. Huge
clouds of ash
T A pyroclastic flow is an
darkened the sky
for weeks. avalanche of hot gas, ash,
Nearly 10,000
and fragments of volcanic
people died
during the debris. The deadly
initial eruption.
avalanche flows at high
At least 80,000
more died from speed down volcanic slopes.
starvation and
disease brought
about by the
complete
destruction of
the Island’s
vegetation and
food supply. 84 A pyroclastic flow races down the
flanks of Mount St. Helens.
RING OF FIRE
Most volcanoes are located along the edges of
continents. More than half are within an area
1815-Tambora,
Indonesia: that encircles the Pacific Ocean, known as the
The eruption of “Ring of Fire.”
Tambora was one
of the largest
in recorded
history.
Pyroclastic flows
flattened nearby
villages. Huge
clouds of ash
T A pyroclastic flow is an
darkened the sky
for weeks. avalanche of hot gas, ash,
Nearly 10,000
and fragments of volcanic
people died
during the debris. The deadly
initial eruption.
avalanche flows at high
At least 80,000
more died from speed down volcanic slopes.
starvation and
disease brought
about by the
complete
destruction of
the Island’s
vegetation and
food supply. 84 A pyroclastic flow races down the
flanks of Mount St. Helens.
AN ACTIVE
PLANET
What causes a volcanic eruption? The answer
Volcanoes are openings in the lies deep below the earth’s surface. Scientists
earth’s crust.
believe the earth’s interior has layers. The outer
layer, or crust, is made up of huge slabs of rock
Temperatures
inside the earth
called tectonic plates. The plates float on a hot,
are hot enough
semi-molten interior layer, called the mantle. to melt rock.
Scientists
The mantle rests on the center, or core.
estimate that
temperatures
Volcanoes are simply openings in the earth’s
range from more
crust that allow molten material from the than 7,000
degrees
mantle to escape to the earth’s surface.
Fahrenheit in
the core to
Volcanoes and earthquakes are more common
2,700 degrees in
in places where tectonic plates collide, or rub the mantle. It
is hard to
against each other.
imagine that
much of the
earth is
composed of
super hot rock,
but it helps
Lava can reach temperatures of over 2,000 degrees. 11 evxopllcaainno esw hyexist.
AN ACTIVE
PLANET
What causes a volcanic eruption? The answer
Volcanoes are openings in the lies deep below the earth’s surface. Scientists
earth’s crust.
believe the earth’s interior has layers. The outer
layer, or crust, is made up of huge slabs of rock
Temperatures
inside the earth
called tectonic plates. The plates float on a hot,
are hot enough
semi-molten interior layer, called the mantle. to melt rock.
Scientists
The mantle rests on the center, or core.
estimate that
temperatures
Volcanoes are simply openings in the earth’s
range from more
crust that allow molten material from the than 7,000
degrees
mantle to escape to the earth’s surface.
Fahrenheit in
the core to
Volcanoes and earthquakes are more common
2,700 degrees in
in places where tectonic plates collide, or rub the mantle. It
is hard to
against each other.
imagine that
much of the
earth is
composed of
super hot rock,
but it helps
Lava can reach temperatures of over 2,000 degrees. 11 evxopllcaainno esw hyexist.
