Volcanoes
Volcanoes are areas on the Earth where a liquid, molten rock known as Magma, can escape from the inside of the earth's crust, creating a new liquid type of molten rock known as lava that erupts and spills onto the earth's surface. These large areas can either be found most notably within a mountain, or even underwater, where most of the active volcanoes can be found at this current time.Volcanoes are often associated with being one of the most dangerous places in all the natural world, especially active ones, as hundreds of thousands of people have been killed at the hands of volcanic eruptions. Therefore, many people have looked into why these cataclysmic events have occurred over history and have come up with various different explanations, both within the realms of science and the supernatural, as to why volcanoes erupt and cause so much destruction.
Supernatural Explanations
Their are many beliefs that volcano eruptions occur due to the influence of gods/demi-gods. In Hawaii, the one often deemed responsible is Pele, the goddess of volcanoes. She was thought to have the ability of causing earthquakes by merely stomping of her feet on the ground. Volcanic eruptions were believed to happen she would use her magic stick called a Pa'oa to dig out lava from inside a volcano.
Another example comes from an old legend from New Zealand of a man-eating demon named Tamaohoi. For centuries, the demon was said to have been imprisoned inside Mount Tarawera in New Zealand. And he laid dormant within the mountain, until one day, when the morals of man had to declined so far under the white man's influence, that Tamahoi was called upon to punish the people for their sins, so he burst out of the mountain, causing a volcanic eruption and killing an entire village in his wake.
These example show that volcanic eruptions are often seen as these acts of god to punish the people for insolent behavior, or as a way for these gods to inflict their wrath upon the people. The destruction that volcanoes can cause does imply this, as the lava from volcanoes destroys almost everything in its path, and can't be stopped.
Another example comes from an old legend from New Zealand of a man-eating demon named Tamaohoi. For centuries, the demon was said to have been imprisoned inside Mount Tarawera in New Zealand. And he laid dormant within the mountain, until one day, when the morals of man had to declined so far under the white man's influence, that Tamahoi was called upon to punish the people for their sins, so he burst out of the mountain, causing a volcanic eruption and killing an entire village in his wake.
These example show that volcanic eruptions are often seen as these acts of god to punish the people for insolent behavior, or as a way for these gods to inflict their wrath upon the people. The destruction that volcanoes can cause does imply this, as the lava from volcanoes destroys almost everything in its path, and can't be stopped.
Scientific Explanations
In the scientific realm, volcano eruptions happen do to rises in density and pressure. When the pressure inside of a volcano is increased, it causes the gases and the magma inside to increase as well, and start flowing upwards to where the vents at the top of the mountain or underwater sea floors. When that occurs, the magma escapes from the volcano and turns into lava that bursts out of the volcano and spill to the surface.
There are many ways a volcano's pressure and density can increase. One way is movement within tectonic plates, where volcanoes can often be found located in between two or more. As the plates start moving apart, the magma will fill the gap left by the separating plates and slow rise out, and if two plates start colliding together, the volcanic chamber will start to fill with other sea materials, such as rock, seawater, etc., each turning into additional magma and cause the volcano to overflow and erupt. Another cause can be decreasing temperatures that freezes old magma, causing it to sink to the bottom of the volcano and just like adding ice to a glass, makes the magma at the bottom rise upwards, til it eventual reaches the top and erupts.
So there are many sound and logical explanations as to what can cause a volcanic eruption to happen. Most cases however is just a matter of natural occurrences on the planet that shift the volcano's inner chamber and make the pressure and density rise up, to the point where it explodes and causes lava to travel to the outside. And it does seem that a volcano can be forced to erupt on purpose, at least as far as the magical explanation is concerned.
There are many ways a volcano's pressure and density can increase. One way is movement within tectonic plates, where volcanoes can often be found located in between two or more. As the plates start moving apart, the magma will fill the gap left by the separating plates and slow rise out, and if two plates start colliding together, the volcanic chamber will start to fill with other sea materials, such as rock, seawater, etc., each turning into additional magma and cause the volcano to overflow and erupt. Another cause can be decreasing temperatures that freezes old magma, causing it to sink to the bottom of the volcano and just like adding ice to a glass, makes the magma at the bottom rise upwards, til it eventual reaches the top and erupts.
So there are many sound and logical explanations as to what can cause a volcanic eruption to happen. Most cases however is just a matter of natural occurrences on the planet that shift the volcano's inner chamber and make the pressure and density rise up, to the point where it explodes and causes lava to travel to the outside. And it does seem that a volcano can be forced to erupt on purpose, at least as far as the magical explanation is concerned.
Work Cited:
- Perkins, Sid. “Explainer: The Volcano Basics.” Science News for Students, 6 May 2018, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/explainer-volcano-basics.
- “Volcanic Myths and Stories.” Exploring the Parts of Trees and Flowers, www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/earth/volcanoes/lesson5/volcanoes05a.html.
- Heffernan-Marks, Ariella. “Why Do Volcanoes Erupt?” Cosmos Magazine, 26 Sept. 2017, cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/why-do-volcanoes-erupt.
