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"Ring of Fire"
"Ring of Fire"
Volcano locations near Australia
Volcano locations near Australia
Volcanic eruptions occur when molten rock (magma) makes its way to the Earth's surface.
Most active volcanoes are found where the plates of the Earth's crust meet.
The "Ring of Fire" is the name given to the volcanoes that encircle the Pacific Ocean.
ACTIVITY
ACTIVITY
Take a the Google Earth Volatile Volcanoes tour here
The final Volcano in the Google Earth Volatile Volcanoes tour is Krakatoa, an island to the north of Australia in the Indonesian Archipelago. The Krakatoa eruption in 1883 was so loud that it was heard in Darwin.
"Hot spots"
"Hot spots"
Recent Australian Volcanoes
Recent Australian Volcanoes
In Lesson One you learnt about the ancient volcano that formed the Five Islands off the coast of Wollongong over 200 million years ago.
While Australia is quite geologically stable now, our continent passed over "hot spots" in the past, and this led to a chain of volcanic eruptions from Queensland to Victoria.
"Hot spots" a caused when a plume of hot magma rises deep in the Earth and finds its way to the surface in an area far from the edge of a crustal plate.
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ACTIVITY
As the Australian plate moved northwards it passed over several hot spots. One hot spot caused a chain of volcanoes to form in Eastern Australia.
Below is a list of volcanic landscapes and landforms, and the age of the rock they are formed from. Using an internet search find the locality of each and observe any photographs of these landscapes and landforms.
On the map provided your work booklet mark the location of each volcanic landscape and the age of the last eruptions there.
Link the volcanic areas with a line showing the direction of apparent travel the "hot spot" took.
Make a prediction as to where the next volcano will appear.
Peak Range National Park, Queensland 30 million years ago (mya)
Springsure, Queensland 27 mya
Glass House Mountain National Park, Queensland 23 mya
Main Range National Park, Queensland 21 mya
Mount Warning / Wollumbin, NSW 19 mya
Nandewar Range, NSW 18 mya
Warrumbungle National Park, NSW 13 mya
Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area, NSW 12 mya
Mount Macedon / Geboor 6 mya
Mount Gambier 4000 thousand years ago
Next Australian volcano? Next week?
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