Deborah Rink, age 10, of Peoria, Il1

A volcano may show itself as a high, pointed mountain, Perhaps it may have one or more extra peaks poking out from Its sloping shoulders  It may stand alone, though it is more likely to be a part of a large mountain range  It may be on land or on the sea floor with its peak a mile or so below water  it may be in the center of an ocean island  For the early part of its life, a volcano may be merely a smoky hole in the ground,

These features are but the outward show of the volcano  In the center, its mouth is a crack or vent reaching down perhaps 20 to 30 miles below the surface  If the volcano is still alive and active, its deep roots connect with pools of molten minerals and gas  When it erupts, this buried magma rushes to the surface and pours forth over the ground  After many eruptions, the volcano becomes spent and extinct