火山爆发是蕴藏在地球内部无穷能量的大释放。在英语中,“火山(Volcano)”是古罗马神话中火神的名字。火山爆发主要有两种形式。一是热点爆发。“热点”是地壳上的一些管状通道。来自地幔的物质,常常会通过这些通道涌出地面。当漂移的大陆板块移动到地壳热点上方时,地幔的熔岩便会从这些热点涌出,导致火山爆发。美国的夏威夷群岛火山群就是这类火山活动的表现。二是大陆地壳边缘的火山活动。大陆板块边缘的裂隙,是地壳最薄弱的地方,也是地底的熔岩易涌出之处。然而大多数的大陆板块的裂隙都位于海洋之中,因此这类熔岩的喷发不易被观察到。冰岛的火山爆发,使 Volcanic eruptions are large releases of infinite energy contained within Earth’s interior. In English, “Volcano” is the name of Vulcan in ancient Roman mythology. There are two main forms of volcanic eruptions. First, hot spots. Hot spots are some of the tubular channels in the crust. Materials from the mantle often flood the ground through these channels. When the drifting continental plate moves above the hot crust, mantle lava can gush from these hot spots, causing volcanic eruptions. The Hawaiian volcanoes in the United States are the manifestation of such volcanic activity. Second, the volcanic activity on the edge of the continental crust. The fissures on the edge of the continental plate are the weakest parts of the earth’s crust and are also the place where the underground lava flows easily. However, most of the fractures of the continental plate are located in the ocean, so the eruption of this kind of lava is not easy to be observed. Volcanic eruptions in Iceland make