Active volcano
Topic: Interior of the Earth: Earthquakes, Volcanoes and the Layered Earth · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Interior of the Earth"
Meaning
An active volcano is a volcano that is erupting now or has erupted in the recent past. Under it, magma (hot molten rock) is still rising from deep inside the earth, so it can erupt again at any time. Most active volcanoes sit along plate edges, where one plate slides down below another and melts. They matter because they put nearby people, ships and air traffic at risk, and scientists have to watch them closely.
Example
Barren Island is India's only confirmed active volcano. It lies in the Andaman Sea, about 140 km north-east of Port Blair. It sits where the Indian plate subducts (slides down) beneath the Burma microplate. Eruptions there are recorded from 1787, and it has erupted again and again since 1991.
Don't confuse with
- Dormant volcano: quiet for a long time, but it may still erupt again. Narcondam, to the north of Barren Island, is generally classed as dormant.
- Extinct volcano: it is not expected to erupt ever again. An active volcano is still erupting or has erupted recently.
Related concepts
- Volcano
- Magma
- Lava
- Pyroclastic material
- Shield volcano
- Cinder cone
- Composite volcano
- Caldera
- Supervolcano
- Flood basalt province