Which continents contain volcanoes

What are some benefits of volcanic eruptions? Over geologic time, volcanic eruptions and related processes have directly and indirectly benefited mankind: Volcanic materials ultimately break down and weather to form some of the most fertile soils on Earth, cultivation of which has produced abundant food and fostered civilizations. The internal heat associated with young volcanic systems has Can an eruption at one volcano trigger an eruption at another volcano? There are a few historic examples of simultaneous eruptions from volcanoes or volcanic vents located within about 10 kilometers 6 miles of each other, but it's difficult to Do volcanoes affect weather?

Yes, volcanoes can affect weather and the Earth's climate. Following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, cooler than normal temperatures were recorded worldwide and brilliant sunsets and sunrises were attributed to this eruption that sent fine ash and gases high into the stratosphere, forming a large volcanic cloud that Filter Total Items: Stovall, Wendy K.

View Citation. Stovall, W. Geological Survey Fact Sheet —, 6 p. Year Published: update to the U. Geological Survey national volcanic threat assessment When erupting, all volcanoes pose a degree of risk to people and infrastructure, however, the risks are not equivalent from one volcano to another because of differences in eruptive style and geographic location. Ewert, John W. Ewert, J. Geological Survey national volcanic threat assessment: U.

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report —, 40 p. Year Published: The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program—Helping to save lives worldwide for more than 30 years What do you do when a sleeping volcano roars back to life? Lowenstern, Jacob B. Lowenstern, J. Year Published: U. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program—Assess, forecast, prepare, engage At least volcanoes in 12 States and 2 territories have erupted in the past 12, years and have the potential to erupt again.

Geological Survey Fact Sheet —, 4 p. Year Published: Eruptions of Hawaiian volcanoes - Past, present, and future Viewing an erupting volcano is a memorable experience, one that has inspired fear, superstition, worship, curiosity, and fascination since before the dawn of civilization.

Tilling, Robert I. Venezky, Dina Y. Year Published: Eruptions in the Cascade Range during the past 4, years Volcanoes have been erupting in the Cascade Range for over , years. Myers, Bobbie; Driedger, Carolyn L.

Year Published: This dynamic planet: World map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters and plate tectonics Our Earth is a dynamic planet, as clearly illustrated on the main map by its topography, over volcanoes, 44, earthquakes, and impact craters.

Simkin, Tom; Tilling, Robert I. Dzurisin, Daniel; Stauffer, Peter H. Year Published: This dynamic earth: the story of plate tectonics In the early s, the emergence of the theory of plate tectonics started a revolution in the earth sciences. Kious, W. Jacquelyne; Tilling, Robert I. Yellowstone National Park, in the U. Despite its name, Greenland is mostly covered with ice. Its ice is a remnant of the great ice sheets that once blanketed much of the North American continent.

Greenland is the only place besides Antarctica that still has an ice sheet. From the freezing Arctic to the tropical jungles of Central America , North America enjoys more climate variation than any other continent. Parts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U. South America is the fourth-largest continent and extends from the sunny beaches of the Caribbean Sea to the frigid waters near the Antarctic Circle.

These islands even host some Antarctic birds, such as penguins, albatrosses, and terns. Early Spanish explorers visiting the islands for the first time saw small fires dotting the land.

These fires, made by indigenous people, seemed to float on the water, which is probably how the islands got their name—Tierra del Fuego means "Land of Fire. Many active volcanoes dot the range.

These volcanic areas are fueled by heat generated as a large oceanic plate, called the Nazca Plate, grinds beneath the plate carrying South America. The central-southern area of South America has pampas , or plains. These rich areas are ideal for agriculture. The growing of wheat is a major industry in the pampas. Grazing animals, such as cattle and sheep, are also raised in the pampas region. In volume, the Amazon is the largest river in the world. More water flows from it than from the next six largest rivers combined.

Water flows more than meters 3, feet —almost a mile. The falls are so high that most of the water evaporates into mist or is blown away by wind before it reaches the ground. South American rainforests contain an enormous wealth of animal and plant life. More than 15, species of plants and animals are found only in the Amazon River basin. Many Amazonian plant species are sources of food and medicine for the rest of the world.

Scientists are trying to find ways to preserve this precious and fragile environment as people move into the Amazon basin and clear land for settlements and agriculture. In total area, the continent of Europe is only slightly larger than the country of Canada. However, the population of Europe is more than twice that of South America. Most European countries have access to the ocean. The continent is bordered by the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Caspian Sea in the southeast, and the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the south.

Early Europeans learned the river systems of the Volga, Danube, Don, Rhine, and Po, and could successfully travel the length and width of the small continent for trade , communication , or conquest. European explorers were responsible for colonizing land on every continent except Antarctica.

This colonization process had a drastic impact on the economic and political development of those continents, as well as Europe.

In the east, the Ural Mountains separate Europe from Asia. The nations of Russia and Kazakhstan straddle both continents. To the south, the Alps form an arc stretching from Albania to Austria, then across Switzerland and northern Italy into France. A large area of gently rolling plains extends from northern France eastward to the Urals. A climate of warm summers, cold winters, and plentiful rain helps make much of this European farmland very productive.

Almost all of Europe sits on the massive Eurasian Plate. Africa Africa, the second-largest continent, covers an area more than three times that of the United States.

From north to south, Africa stretches about 8, kilometers 5, miles. It is connected to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt. A series of falls and rapids along the southern part of the river makes navigation difficult. The Nile has played an important role in the history of Africa. In ancient Egyptian civilization , it was a source of life for food, water, and transportation.

The top half of Africa is mostly dry, hot desert. The middle area has savannas, or flat, grassy plains. This region is home to wild animals such as lions, giraffes, elephants, hyenas, cheetahs, and wildebeests. The central and southern areas of Africa are dominated by rainforests. Much of Africa is a high plateau surrounded by narrow strips of coastal lowlands. Hilly uplands and mountains rise in some areas of the interior.

Glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania sit just kilometers from the tropical jungles below. Even though Kilimanjaro is not far from the Equator, snow covers its summit all year long. The rift valley actually starts in southwestern Asia. The Great Rift Valley is a site of major tectonic activity, where the continent of Africa is splitting into two. Geologists have already named the two parts of the African Plate.

The area of central-eastern Africa is important to scientists who study evolution and the earliest origins of humanity. This area is thought to be the place where hominids began to evolve. The entire continent of Africa sits on the African Plate. Asia Asia, the largest continent, stretches from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the western Pacific Ocean. There are more than 40 countries in Asia. Some are among the most-populated countries in the world, including China, India, and Indonesia.

The continent of Asia includes many islands, some of them countries. The plateaus in Central Asia are largely unsuitable for farming and are thinly populated. The continent has a wide range of climate regions, from polar in the Siberian Arctic to tropical in equatorial Indonesia. Southeast Asia, on the other hand, depends on the annual monsoons, which bring rain and make agriculture possible. Asia is the most mountainous of all the continents. More than 50 of the highest peaks in the world are in Asia.

Mount Everest, which reaches more than 8, meters 29, feet high in the Himalaya range, is the highest point on Earth. These mountains have become major destination spots for adventurous travelers. It moved hundreds of miles in million years at a great speed 4 inches per year!!! The Indian plate crashed into the Eurasian plate with such speed and force that it created the tallest mountain range on Earth, the Himalayas!

What do you predict the world will look like in million or million years? What new mountain ranges will form? Where will new volcanoes erupt? The Atlantic Ocean will be much larger 50 million years from now and the Pacific Ocean will be much smaller.

North and South America will have moved farther west California moving north while Greenland will be located farther west but also farther north. The western part of Africa will rotate clockwise and crash into Europe causing great mountain building, while the far eastern region of Africa will rotate eastward toward the Arabian peninsula. Australia will move farther north into the tropics, while New Zealand will move to the south of Australia. All of these predictions are just that, predictions.

These movements of the continents may happen if the plates continue to move in the same direction and with the same speed as they are moving today. Scientists are not certain of the movement today, let alone 50 million years into the future.

What do you think the world will look like in 50 million years??? Write the answers for the questions on a sheet of paper. When you finish the lesson click on the "Earth" icon so that the next pair of students will be at the start of the lesson. What caused Pangea to break up? What is the Continental Drift Theory? What happened at the Triple Junction? Where is it located today? Skip to main content. Toggle menu Go to search page. Basaltic magmas, generated in the mantle beneath the ridge, rise along fractures through the granitic layer.

These magmas commonly will be modified or changed in composition during passage through the granitic layer and erupt on the surface to form volcanoes built largely of nonbasaltic rocks. Mount Sinabung, Sumatra. I n a typical "oceanic" environment, volcanoes are alined along the crest of a broad ridge that marks an active fracture system in the oceanic crust. Basaltic magmas, generated in the upper mantle beneath the ridge, rise along fractures through the basaltic layer.

Because the granitic crustal layer is absent, the magmas are not appreciably modified or changed in composition and they erupt on the surface to form basaltic volcanoes.