Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before?
Teachers, not yet a subscriber?
Subscribers receive access to the website and print magazine.
You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page...
Announcements & Tutorials
Renew Now, Pay Later
Sharing Google Activities
2 min.
Setting Up Student View
Exploring Your Issue
Using Text to Speech
Join Our Facebook Group!
1 min.
Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to Science World magazine.
Article Options
Presentation View
Shifting Surface
In Alien Land?, you learned that slowly moving tectonic plates cause volcanic activity. These giant slabs of rock fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, forming Earth’s surface. Find out how tectonic movements cause volcanic activity around the world.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, UNITED STATES
A rift—or crack—in the North American plate caused a giant underground volcano to form beneath Yellowstone about 600,000 years ago. It heats water, creating the park’s hot springs and geysers—which are erupting fountains of hot water.
BARDARBUNGA VOLCANO, ICELAND
The North American and Eurasian plates are sliding away from each other, causing volcanic activity like eruptions of Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano.
TAAL VOLCANO, PHILIPPINES
The Philippine plate is subducting—sliding under—the Eurasian plate, creating one of the world’s most volcanically active regions. The area’s Taal volcano has erupted 33 times in recorded history.
MOUNT VESUVIUS, ITALY
In 79 A.D., a major eruption of this volcano buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Vesuvius last erupted in 1944—and could again in the near future. The African plate slipping beneath the Eurasian plate causes the volcanic activity.
ANALYZE IT: Which of the four examples on this page is most similar to the volcanic activity at the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia? Explain why the location you chose is similar to Danakil.