Why doesn’t Australia have volcanoes and New Zealand does?
Australia doesn't have any active volcanoes because Australia is on one single tectonic plate (see picture) There is currently around about 57-65 volcanoes in Australia and out of these, only one is active. No eruptions have been recorded in the past century. Volcanoes occur on the tectonic plate boundaries. Because Australia is in the middle of the Australian plate and it is impossible for any new volcanoes to form. There is evidence that Australia may have been on a faultline due to the many dormant volcanoes throughout the country. This gives us more proof about Pangea existing as well.
New Zealand has many volcanoes because it is on two separate tectonic plates, the Australian and the Indo-Pacific plates, that cut right through Wellington. In the North Island, the Indo-Pacific plate goes under the Australian plate. This forms a subduction zone as the denser crust goes under the less dense one. In the South island the opposite happens. Because of this plate arrangement, it creates many unusual land features in New Zealand such as, the Alpine Fault and the Puysegur Trench. New Zealand is also on the Ring of Fire which is a horseshoe like formation of volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean. This means that New Zealand is home to many of the world's volcanoes.
Benefits
Living or visiting Mt Ruapehu provides a unique landscape which has been created by this volcano. People visit the area for many reasons such as skiing, tramping, kayaking and mountain biking. These activities bring visitor to the region from all over New Zealand and the world. Mt Ruapehu is a cone volcano which is a great landscape for skiing and being on the mountain. Tourists also came to look at a ‘live, act...
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...nic plate to melt and become liquid rock or more commonly known as magma. When a magma reservoir is formed, it will rise through a weak point in the crust, towards earth’s surfaces. When this magma reaches the surface it’s called lava.
Mt Ruapehu
Mt Ruapehu is a composite volcano. This means that it was formed by eruptions that erupt lava and volcanic rock that are very viscous. Because of the viscosity, the rocks and lava cool quickly, forming a composite volcano, giving it it’s cone shape.
My Opinion
I believe that when it comes to living near Mt Ruapehu, the problems outweigh the benefits. Most of these problems that I have listed are potentially life threatening. Because Mt Ruapehu is one of New Zealand most active volcanoes, these situations are probably likely. I believe that while there are some good points of living near Mt Ruapehu, the problems are worse.
First, one must know a little information about this volcano. Mount Shasta is located in Siskiyou County, California. This volcano is the second highest peak in the southern end of the Cascade Range and is still active, though not enough for people to notice. At 14,179 feet it is also the most voluminous stratovolcano located in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The mountains complex shape is due to the four overlapping volcanic cones it consists of, including the most prominent, main summit, Shastina. The other cones include: Sargents Ridge cone, Misery Hill cone, and Hotlum cone. Sargents Ridge cone is the oldest of all the cones that make up the mountain. Though it is now dissected by a glacial valley, a portion of it can still be seen on the mountain. Misery Hill makes up a large part of the present mountain. the fourth cone, the Hotlum cone is formed from eruptive products and is located on the northeastern side of Mount Shasta. Three of the four major vents on the mountain are aligned with a north trending zone that passes through the mountains summit. This linear alignment parallels local faults, which suggests that the bedrock structure has influenced and partially controlled the dimensions in which Mount Shasta develops (Mie...
Although volcanoes are difficult to predict, geologists have made many efforts in order to caution the people of Orting and other surrounding towns of possible lahar slides. Residents have been made aware of emergency response plans and they know the proper precautions to take in the case of a volcanic activity emergency. Sirens have been put into place by the fire department and governing bodies of surrounding communities that detect volcanic activity and warn the community of ...
Mauna Loa is located on a hot spot in the Pacific Ocean. It is not near a plate boundary, in fact it is 3,200 km from the nearest plate boundary, and is situated in the middle of the Pacific tectonic plate. This is actually a rarity, as 90% of volcanoes are along a tectonic plate boundary. A hot spot occurs where long, stationary vertical pools of magma rise up and towards the plate. Movement of the tectonic plates above the hot spot created Mauna Loa, along with the other Hawaiian volcanoes. The older Hawaiian Islands were once above this stationary hot spot, but have been carried northwest by the slowly moving Pacific plate. As the plate moves, it carries the previously formed, older, volcanoes with it, creating a trail of younger, new volcanoes behind. The islands are lined up along the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamounts chain, which is 3,750 miles and includes Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Hawai’i, from north to south, respectively. There are around 80 volcanoes in this chain; most of them underwater, consequently the term seamount refer to submarine volcanoes. Three volcanoes of Hawai’i, Mauna Loa, Kilauea and Loihi seamount, are all currently sharing the Hawaiian hot spot. Although, recent evidence has shown that all three volcanoes use have separate plumbing systems to expel the lava from the pool of magma deep below them. It has also been suggested that Loihi is slowly moving Mauna Loa from the center of the island, thus shifting directly over the hot spot. The closer to the hot spot a volcano is, the more active it will be. The Hawaiian hot spot has laid down layers of lava, building up enormous islands from the ocean floor.
Volcanic forecasts are more accurate then earthquake predictions. These predictions are generally forecast in the same way as an earthquake (temperature increases in geothermic waters gaseous concentrations, changes in elevation of land and water etc… Because we generally know where Volcanoes are, we can predict when an eruption may take place.
Basalt forms due to the partial melting of the layer of the mantle called the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is the plastic zone of the mantle beneath the rigid lithosphere. Mantle plumes coming from the mesosphere can cause the asthenosphere to melt with heat or even if pressure decreases, which is called decompression melting (Richard 2011). The magma that forms from this melting is mafic magma that solidifies once it reaches the earth’s surface and cools quickly. The above process mainly occurs mainly during intraplate igneous activity which is the main explanation for volcanic activity that occurs a long distance away from a plate boundary. If the tectonic plate above the mantle plume is moving it can create a string of volcanic activity such as in Hawaii. See Fig 2.
About three-quarters of Japan is mountainous. They were formed by tectonic plates colliding. Volcanoes were formed by the land breaking, and the liquid rock built up in it. A lot of the volcanoes are active, yet no one knows when one will erupt. The
Volcanoes. The naturally forming landforms that can look remarkably beautiful. Gentle slopes, or high rising heights with snow caps and greenery that seems to attract many tourists and sightseers around the world. These magnificent landforms can also cause major destruction and can produce forces that can explode, burn, and create a great deal of damage. Two of these extravagant wonders of the world is the Mount Saint Helens composite volcano in Washington, US, and the Mauna Loa shield volcano in Hawaii, US. These landforms have a eruption history of many colors. One has a great power in eruption, but another has a eruption that is quiet and gentle. In comparing these two volcanoes there are many likes, and dislikes, to consider. So the following
Stories about volcanoes are captivating. Myths come in different versions, but all of them are capable of capturing yours, and everybody’s imagination.
The eruption of Kilauea continues to flow at two places in the park. The vent within Halema'uma'u Crater and the Pu'u'' vent. In conclusion, the trip to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park should be an experience to remember. On this trip you will experience a cultural, creative, inspirational, and memorable theme. The Park has many visitors each year, to my knowledge the experience is unimaginable.
A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur. In another definition it is a mountain
The Mauna Loa volcano is located in Hawaii and means "Long Mountain" in Hawaiian. It is a giant, basaltic shield volcano. It is one of the largest volcanoes and mountains in the world and has been called the "monarch of mountains". It has an estimated volume of 9,600 cubic miles and takes up half the land of Hawaii. It extends about 120 km starting from the southern tip of the island to the northern region. It is 97 km (60 miles) long, 48 km (30 miles) wide, and is 8,742 km (28,680 miles) high from the base on the sea floor to the top. The slopes are steeper than 12 degrees and about 4 degrees at the top of the volcano. Mauna Loa formed about half a million years ago and in the middle stages of forming into a shield volcano where lava flows to form a sloped and broad flat domed volcanic cone. Along with Mauna Kea, the Mauna Loa volcano is responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian Islands. Mauna Loa has erupted thirty-three times since 1843 and is known as one of the most active volcanoes in the world today. The last eruption was 1984 and lava flowed within 4 miles of the city of Hilo. This shows that it is dangerous to live anywhere near Mauna Loa and that it poses as a threat to anyone living near it because it has a very high possibility of erupting within a very short span of time. Below is a picture of Mauna Loa taken from a bird's eye view.
Magma is a hot liquid made of melted minerals. Minerals can form crystals when they are cool. Igneous rock can form underground, where the magma cools. slowly. Or, igneous rock can form above ground, where the magma cools.
Volcanoes are one of the most destructive forces on Earth. It is estimated that some 500 million people live near active volcanoes (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2013). Of the Earth's known volcanoes, 70 are expected to erupt each year with at least one large eruption each decade (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2013). As populations continue to increase and more people are attracted to the beauty surrounding these areas, the immediate threat to humans from these sometimes sleeping giants grows. Due to this, the study of volcanoes and the service that volcanologists provide to the public by way of information and predictions on activity is immeasurable.
The interior structure of the earth is made up of crust, the mantle and core (inner core and outer core). Earthquakes occur on the crust. Crust forms the external layer of the earth surface. On the crust, the plate tectonics forces are in charge of causing the abrupt earth movements. Due to the existence of an immense temperature and concurrent pressure difference in the outer layer and inner layer of the earth, convection currents occur at the mantle. This energy results from overwhelming decomposition of radioactive substances contained by the rocks found at the interior of the earth. The developed convection currents lead to movement of lava; cold lava finds its way to the interior of the earth crust, while the molten lava which is generally hot, leaves the interior of the earth to the outside of the earth crust. These kinds of circulations occur at different locations of the earth surface and consequently results in segmentation of the earth due to movement in different directions.