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Most active volcanoes (on the land) on the Earth are located within a huge ring that encircles almost the entire Pacific Ocean. It is associated with the zones of subduction and spreading. This area includes volcanoes of the western coasts of South America and North America, the eastern coasts of Asia, and especially the archipelagos of the Aleutian Islands, Kuril Islands, the Japanese archipelago, the Philippines, and Indonesia, all the way to New Guinea, the archipelagos of Oceania, and New Zealand. It is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. About 90% of all active volcanoes on Earth occur there. There are far fewer volcanoes in the volcanically active areas of Europe (mainly in Iceland and on the Mediterranean Sea), Africa (the East African Rift and the Canary Islands), Hawaii, and the Caucasus Mountains. Individual volcanoes can also be found in other parts of the globe. Extinct volcanoes, i.e., ones that no longer show any activity, can be found in many parts of the world, including Poland.

In volcanically active areas as well as where volcanoes have recently expired, many accompanying phenomena can be observed. Especially impressive are geysersgeysergeysers, which are a kind of hot spring from which, every time and again, boiling‑hot water with steam escapes rapidly, reaching heights of even several dozen meters. Other commonly occurring phenomena are hot groundwaters (thermal waters) and hot springs where water, without the participation of high pressure, flows calmly to the surface. In many places, gases escape from the still hot interior of the Earth. They have different names depending on their location, temperature, and chemical composition. For example, exhalations of gases that have high or very high temperatures are called fumarolesfumarolefumaroles.

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Fotografia pokazuje gejzer w trakcie wybuchu. Na szczycie niewielkiego pagórka z ziemi wydobywa się pióropusz wody. Pagórek pozbawiony jest roślinności. Widać brunatne pozostałości po obumarłych roślinach. W miejscach, którymi spływa woda widoczne są osady mineralne. W tle widać większe wzgórze porośnięte lasem.

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Fotografia przedstawia wulkan wyłaniający się z morza. Wulkan wznosi się stromo w górę. Nad kraterem unosi się dym. Z prawej strony w tej wulkanicznej górze znajduje się wąwóz prowadzący bezpośrednio do morza.

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Na zdjęciu ukazano fumarolę. W zagłębieniu zebrała się brudna woda pokryta kożuchem, widoczne bąbelki gazu.

Keywords

volcano, magma, lava, geyser, fumarole

Glossary