Great Volcano Web Sites for Teachers and Students

Here are some excellent web resources on volcanoes for K-12 public or private school teachers, home school teachers, or anyone who is interested in learning fascinating facts about the world's volcanoes.

Volcano World

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/

Here is a wealth of information on all aspects of volcanoes, including volcano facts, lesson plans, worksheets, a glossary, instructions on how to make different types of volcano models, and much more. For students, there are maps, a search function to find volcanoes all over the world by name or location, eruption simulations, interactive puzzles and games, virtual field trips, and detailed information on the world's volcanoes.

Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/

This fabulous site features a search function to find volcanoes by name or eruption date, a clickable alphabetical list of 1,576 volcano names, interactive maps, FAQs, photo galleries, descriptions and examples of different volcano types and processes, volcanic activity reports, and links to general and regional volcanology sites.

Volcanoes Online

http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/english.html

A kid-friendly site with lots of information about plate tectonics, types of volcanoes and how they erupt, effects and hazards. It also has a database to locate volcanoes by name, region, type or activity, educational games, and comics. For educators, there are lesson plans and links.

USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Outreach/framework.html

This excellent site has its focus on the volcanoes of the Cascade Range, which runs from British Columbia, Canada, through Washington, Oregon, and northern California. The site has detailed descriptions of all of the Cascades volcanoes, and in addition, also contains information on volcano hazards, fact sheets, posters, FAQs about volcanoes, activities, and links to other volcano websites.

How Volcanoes Work

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/index.html

Written at the college level, this site provides in-depth background information for educators or AP high school students who want to thoroughly understand how volcanoes work. It gives clear, detailed descriptions of every aspect of volcanoes, including types of eruptions, lava, eruption dynamics, volcano landforms and historical eruptions. It also features interactive quizzes to test your knowledge, a crossword puzzle, and links.

Annenberg Media Exhibits- Volcanoes

http://www.learner.org/interactives/volcanoes/

A superb interactive site with lots of information about different volcanoes all over the world, lava types, plate boundaries, volcanic hazards, methods of forecasting eruptions, and risk reduction. It features fascinating video clips of lava flows and volcanic eruptions.

How Volcanoes Work

http://www.howstuffworks.com/volcano.htm

This site offers a clear explanation about information about the formation of volcanoes, magma and plate tectonics, different types of volcanoes, and different types of eruptions. It includes videos, diagrams and interactive animations.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

An amazing amount of information about the volcanoes of Hawaii is presented here. Descriptions, photographs, history, eruption summaries and updates about Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Hawaii's other volcanoes. It includes many dramatic videos of eruptions, as well as live webcams capturing the current activity.