Interesting facts about volcanoes
by gowtham[ Edit ] 2010-01-27 14:54:46
The name “volcano” has its origin from the name of Vulcan, a god of fire in Roman mythology.
Earth has more than 1,500 active volcanoes.
The largest volcano in the world is Mauna Loa. It has a volume of about 40,000 cubic kilometers, and an above-sea level area of 5125 square kilometers.
The most common type of lava - called basalts - usually have eruption temperatures of about 1150-1200 C.
The highest volcano is Ojos del Salado in Chile. It is 22,589 feet (6,887 m) tall.
More than 80% of the Earth’s surface is volcanic in origin.
About 500 million people live close to active volcanoes!
