Volcanoes

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Earth science | The science behind the Hawaii eruptions

  The science behind the Hawaiian HawaiianNewspaper headlines read – Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano erupts as officials warn people to prepare to evacuate and World’s largest active volcano Mauna Loa starts to erupt in Hawaii ? What makes these island a volcanic “hot spot” ? The following is from National Geographic Education… The Hawaiian Islands were formed by a volcanic hot spot, an upwelling plume of magma, that creates new islands as the Pacific Plate moves over it.   “Hawai’i,...

Volcanoes in Australia : lava tubes

Volcanoes in Australia Active volcanoes generally occur close to the major tectonic plate boundaries. They are rare in Australia because there are no plate boundaries on this continent. However, there are two active volcanoes located 4000 kilometres south west of Perth in the Australian Antarctic Territory: Heard Island and the nearby McDonald Islands. The other active volcanoes nearest Australia are in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Gas-rich sticky magmas dominate the Asia Pacific, making composite volcanoes...