Homeschool Unit Study: Volcanoes

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Earth is made of many layers, including the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust.

The core is very hot and very dense. The mantle is made up mostly of magma, which is hot, molten rock. When holes or cracks form in the Earth's crust, magma can seep up through the cracks and cause a volcanic eruption.

Magma is extremely hot liquid and semi-liquid rock located under Earth's surface. Much of the planet's mantle consists of magma. This magma can push through holes or cracks in the crust, causing a volcanic eruption.

Although the words magma and lava are often used interchangeably, magma forms below the Earth's crust, while lava is the molten or semifluid rock that erupts from volcanoes or fissures. When lava comes in contact with the Earth's surface, it cools and forms solid rock.