What is volcano?

A volcano is like a giant Earth spout that plops out stuff from deep inside the planet.

Imagine you have a big jar full of hot soup, and it’s shaking really hard underneath your kitchen table. Suddenly, the lid pops off, whoosh! Soup and steam burst out everywhere. That's kind of what happens with a volcano.

A volcano has a chimney, like the neck of a bottle. Deep inside Earth, there’s hot rock called magma. When it gets too hot and pressurized, it pushes up through the chimney and out, plop! That's an eruption.

Sometimes, the magma comes out slowly, like honey dripping from a spoon. Other times, it bursts out fast and loud, like when you pop open a soda bottle that’s been shaken really hard.

When a volcano erupts, it can send out lava, hot rock that flows like liquid fire, along with ash and gas. This can cover the ground around it, just like spilled soup covers your table.

Sometimes, after a big eruption, the volcano might become quiet for years or even centuries, waiting to have another "spill" later.