| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Volcano | Opening in the Earth's surface that often forms a mountain when layers of lava & volcanic ash erupt & build up; occurs where Earth's plates are moving apart or together and at hot spots. |
| Vent | Opening on Earth's surface where magma is forced up & flows out as lava. |
| Crater | Steep-walled depression around a volcanoes vent. |
| Hot Spot | Location in the mantle that is hotter than other areas & that melts rock, which is forced up toward the crust as magma. |
| Shield Volcano | Broad volcano with gently sloping sides formed when hot, fluid lava flows from one or more vents. |
| Tephra | Bits of rock or solidified lava dropped from the air during an explosive volcanic eruption. |
| Cinder Cone Volcano | Steep-sided volcano made of loosely packed tephra. |
| Composite Volcano | Volcano formed by alternating layers of tephra & lava & that is found mostly where Earth's plates come together. |
| Batholith | Largest intrusive igneous rock bodies that form when magma cools underground before reaching Earth's surface |
| Dike | Intrusive igneous rock body formed when magma is sqeezed into a vertical crack that cuts across rock layers & hardens. |
| Sill | Intrusive rock body that forms when magma is squeezed into a horizontal crack between rock layers & hardens. |
| Volcanic Neck | Solid, igneous core of a volcano left behind when a volcano stops erupting & the softer cone erodes away. |
| Caldera | Large opening formed when the top of a volcano collapses. |
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