Hi! I'm Ash! I was born 73, 000 years ago during a huge volcanic eruption! I'm in the "Ring of Fire" right now, which is around the Pacific Ocean!

Hold on! You don't know what a volcano or a volcanic eruption is? Oh my, I have to tell you! Come on!

A volcano is an opening in the Earth's surface. Did you know there are four types of volcanoes?

Those are the different volcanoes. My family members actually help make stratovolcanoes! But all of the volcanoes are partially made of cooled lava. Cool, huh?

Oh no! The volcano looks like it is going to erupt! How does it happen? We don't have time! Let's go!

Phew! Sorry about that, friend! Where were we? Oh, yeah! Volcanic eruptions! First, there are tectonic plates, which are pieces of land that connect on Earth's outer shell. When the plates separate, magma rises. As it rises, it collects in a magma chamber, which stores a lot of magma beneath a volcano. If there is a lot of rock being melted, the chamber will overflow, and the magma goes to the surface. When it erupts, magma is called "lava."

A volcanic eruption can be dangerous depending on if there are gas bubbles in the magma. The gas can't leave, so when the magma rises, there is pressure building up. So, when the magma leaves the volcano, the the eruption is much more explosive. Imagine if the volcano near us was explosive. We'd be in so much trouble!

Did you know scientists actually study the explosiveness using the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)? This scale measures how much volcanic material--like rocks and my own kind--are ejected, the height they are ejected into the air, and how long the eruptions last. There is even a scale from 1-10, with 10 being really explosive and big! What do you think the eruption we saw would score on the scale?

If you think a volcano is bad, wait 'til you hear about its side effects! Look at this! It's called a pyroclastic flow--an avalanche that is a part of the eruption. They are super hot and move really fast! In fact, they can burn anything in their path, so watch your step.

Another hazard they can cause is tsunamis-- giant, violent ocean waves. A lot of times, part of the volcano falls into the water during an eruption and scatters the water, causing tsunamis. Scary, huh?

We're back now! A lot of volcanoes are in the "Ring of Fire," which is why we had to leave. There are actually active volcanoes around the world, like in Africa, and under the ocean. Luckily, we're safe here in Wyoming! What could possibly be in Wyoming?

Actually, there is a volcano in Wyoming. Oh, I'm Rock--NOT because I am one, but because that's my favorite music genre.

Wait, w-what?

Look, this is Yellowstone, a supervolcano--a volcano with a really big explosion--in Wyoming. Right now, it is said that it won't erupt for a while.

How do scientists know if it will erupt?

Well, when the magma moves, it shakes the ground and causes earthquakes before an eruption. So, scientists measure the strength of earthquakes with technology called "seismographs." That way, they can see if they are getting stronger and are more frequent, which would mean an eruption could happen soon!