Molten Hot Magma

Do you know what makes a volcano powerful?

- Sujatha Gourishankar

A volcano is feared and respected only due to the molten hot liquid that comes out of it. This liquid is called magma and its temperature is nearly 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Magma can be found everywhere under the ground. It lies nearly 20 miles down beneath the Earth’s crust.

The magma is a highly pressurised liquid. It is also very hot. It is made up of very hot melted rocks and gases. It uses every opportunity to come out. Some places on the Earth’s crust are thin or cracked or has some holes. These are places that the magma loves. It escapes and out it comes, ‘Whoosh’. There is either a blast or a spill out of magma, depending on its type. You see, magma is not the same everywhere. There are actually four types. They are Andesite, Basalt, Dacite and Rhyolite.