Why Volcanoes Erupt

The Earth has many layers, like an onion. Deep inside, it is incredibly hot. This heat melts rock, turning it into a thick, gooey liquid called magma. Magma is found in big pockets beneath the Earth’s surface. The Earth’s surface is made of huge pieces called plates. These plates are always moving, but very slowly. Sometimes, these plates crash into each other, or they pull apart. When this happens, cracks and openings can form in the Earth’s crust. Magma is lighter than the solid rock around it, so it naturally rises. It pushes its way up through these cracks and openings. As more magma builds up, pressure grows and grows. Finally, the pressure becomes too much, and the magma bursts out of the Earth’s surface. When magma comes out of a volcano, we call it lava. This is how a volcano erupts! It’s Earth’s way of releasing heat and pressure from deep inside.