The name “volcano” has its origin from the name of Vulcan, a god of fire in Roman mythology.

Earth has more than 1,500 active volcanoes.

The largest volcano in the world is Mauna Loa. It has a volume of about 40,000 cubic kilometers, and an above-sea level area of 5125 square kilometers.

The most common type of lava - called basalts - usually have eruption temperatures of about 1150-1200 C.

The highest volcano is Ojos del Salado in Chile. It is 22,589 feet (6,887 m) tall.

More than 80% of the Earth’s surface is volcanic in origin.

About 500 million people live close to active volcanoes!

Somewhere, around the world, there are 20 active volcanoes erupting as you’re reading this. Between 50-70 volcanoes erupted last year, and 160 went off in the last decade.

The names of some famous volcanoes are: Mount St. Helens, Muana Loa, Lassen Peak, Mount Rainier, and Mount Olympus.

The oldest volcano is probably Etna and that is about 350,000 years old.

The Indonesian volcano, Tambora, which erupted in 1815 produced so much ash that world temperatures fell sharply in the following year. New England, in the eastern USA, had severe frosts in August.

The loudest sound in the history of mankind was caused by a volcanic eruption at Krakatoa, near Java in 1883. The sound was so powerful that it was heard in Australia, which is 5000 km far from Krakatoa.