What Is a Volcano
Know what a volcano is: an opening in Earth's surface where hot melted rock (lava) comes out
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe a volcano as a place where hot material comes out of the Earth
- Explain that lava is rock so hot it has melted
- Point to a volcano in a picture and describe what is happening
1 · Read
Some mountains hide something hot and secret inside them. A volcano is an opening in the ground. Hot melted rock inside the Earth pushes up and comes out. That hot rock is called lava. It glows and flows because it is so hot. A volcano is still a volcano on quiet days when no lava comes out.
Maya looks at a picture of a volcano. She sees red lava coming from the top. She knows the lava is melted rock.
Lava is rock so hot it melted. That is why it glows and flows like a liquid.
A volcano is an opening where hot, melted lava comes out.
More to read
Volcanoes 101
Some mountains are made of solid rock. But some mountains are volcanoes.
A volcano is an opening in the Earth. Hot melted rock called lava comes out of it. Ash, steam, and gases come out too.
When the lava cools down, it gets hard. It turns back into rock. Little by little, the hard lava piles up. It builds the cone-shaped mountain we call a volcano.
So a volcano is a special place. It is where hot melted rock from deep inside the Earth comes out to the surface.
Explore more
2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.