GLOSSARY
Basalt-basalts are dark colored rocks formed by rapid cooling and hardening of lava flows.
cinder cones-the simplest type of volcano, built from particles and blobs of congleaded lava ejected from a single vent.
composite volcano-a steep volcanic cone built by both lava flows and airborne rocks and ash. also known as a stratovolcano.
earth-the planet we live on, the third planet from the sun.
ejecta-material that is thrown out by a volcano, including fragmented rocks, ash and lava bombs.
fumerole-a vent or opening where hot steam, hydrogen sulfide, or other gases rise out of the ground. the craters of many dormant volcanoes contain many active fumaroles.
galileo-a nasa space probe in orbit around Jupiter.
geyser-boiling hot water that is violently ejected from underground when some of the water is converted to steam. Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park is the most famous example.
IO-the innermost of Jupiter's large moons, the most volcanically active body in the solar system.
lava-hot liquid rock that flows out of a volcanic vent.
Loki-a volcanic on IO.
mars-the fourth planes from the sun and hane of the solar system's largest volcano Olympus Mons.
pele-a volcano on IO.
promethus-a volcano on IO.
pillan patera-a gently sloping volcano in the shape of a flattened dome and built almost exclusively of gentle lava flows.
stratovolcano-a steep volcanic cone built by both lava flows and airborne rocks and ashes. also known as a composite volcanoe.
triton-the largest moon orbiting Neptune, with active volcanoes that spew frigid liquid nitrogen.
venus-the second planet from the sun, home to the greatest number of extinct volcanoes in the solar system.
volcano-a mountain created by accumlations of it's own lava, ash and dust.