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Mount St. Helens

destroyed eight bridges

when it erupted.

When lava reaches the

ocean, it cools rapidly.

It breaks down to form

black sand beaches.

A volcanic eruption can

blow apart a mountain.

Lava that cools into rough

pieces is called aa (AH-ah).

Ash in the sky can make day

as dark as night.

Most lava moves slow enough

for people to escape it.

When it explodes from a volcano, runny lava

may form cow-pie “bombs” that splat

into rough pancake shapes.

When the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted

in 2010, ash forced airports as far away as mainland

Europe to shut down for almost a week.

Water warmed by

volcanoes is used to

heat homes in Iceland.

Rich volcanic soil

is excellent for

growing crops.

Volcanoes eject bombs—

semi-molten pieces of lava—

and solid lava chunks called blocks.

A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving mix of hot gas, ash, and rock that can destroy everything in its path.

A volcano

can flatten

a forest.

Lava that hardens into a smooth,

ropy surface is called pahoehoe

(paw-HOE-EE-hoe-ee).

Volcanic bombs and blocks can be as

small as your fist or as big as a house.

Earth’s largest land volcano, Mauna Loa

in Hawaii, U.S.A., is more than 10 miles high

from its base on the seafloor to its top.