Where Does Magma Come From? Amazing Earth Volcano Facts For Kids

Joan Agie
Oct 13, 2023 By Joan Agie
Originally Published on Oct 27, 2021
Red Orange vibrant Molten Lava Magma flowing
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 7.8 Min

All igneous rocks are generated from magma, which is a molten or semi-molten natural element.

Magma can be found beneath the Earth's surface, and proof of magma has been identified on other planetary bodies and natural moons. Magma may include embedded crystals and gas bubbles in addition to molten rock.

Magma is formed by the partial melting of mantle rocks or Earth's crust in a variety of geological environments, including plate boundaries, continental rift areas, mid-ocean regions, subduction zones and hotspots throughout Earth. A geologist is a scientist who studies rocks, specifically the structure, properties, and crystals of rocks.

Mantle and crustal melts are hypothesized to travel upward through the crust and be stored in magma chambers or trans-crustal, crystal-rich slush regions.

Fractional crystallization, pollution with crustal melts, magma mixtures, and degassing can all change the composition of magma while it is stored in the crust. Magma may fuel the eruption of a volcano and be called lava after rising through the crust.

Or, it may harden beneath the ground to create an intrusion.

While most magma research is done after magma has transformed into a lava flow, magma has been discovered on site three times on geothermal pumping operations. The majority of magma is silica-rich.

Rare non-silicate magma can occur from localized melting of non-silicate minerals or by separating magma into insoluble silicate and non-silicate fluid stages.

Silicate magma is a molten combination characterized by oxygen and silicon, the two most abundant elemental components on the Earth's surface. It also contains tiny concentrations of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, and potash, as well as a variety of other metals, elements, and chemicals.

Magma is an incredibly hot liquid or semi-liquid rock found beneath the Earth's surface. Whenever magma pours onto the Earth's surface, it is referred to as lava.

Lava is aesthetically stunning. The molten rock runs downhill, and lava exposed to the air cools to a deep black color, while the molten rock underneath burns bright orange.

The Earth has a stratified structure that includes the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust surface. Magma makes up a large portion of the Earth's mantle.

This melting magma can force through fissures or fractures in the crust, resulting in catastrophic events called volcanic eruptions. Lava becomes magma when it is ejected from the core of a terrestrial planet or moon onto its surface.

Lava can flow from a volcano or a fissure in the crust onto the ground or underwater. It can reach temperatures between 1472-2192 F (800-1,200 C).

Lava is another name for the volcanic rock that forms as a result of eventual cooling. A lava flow is a lava effusion caused by an exuberant explosion.

An explosive eruption, on the other hand, creates tephra, a combination of volcanic eruptions, ash, and other pieces, instead of lava streams. Lava can travel for long distances until slowing and hardening.

Lava exposed to air rapidly forms a thick crust on top but liquid lava continues to flow underneath as it is heated and fluid enough to move. Lava is not hot enough to melt rocks in its path.

After you have uncovered some facts about Earth's interior, why not check out some more fun facts such as where does imitation vanilla come from and where does light come from.

What is magma and where does it come from?

Magma is a scorching liquid or semi-liquid material found beneath the Earth's surface. Magma is classified into three types: basaltic, andesitic, and rhyolitic, each with its own mineral makeup.

All varieties of magma contain a large amount of silicon dioxide. Iron, magnesium, and calcium are abundant in basaltic magma, whereas potassium and sodium are scarce. It has a temperature of roughly 1472-2192 F (800-1,200 C).

With temperatures ranging from 1472-2192 F (800-1,200 C), andesitic magma contains moderate levels of all these minerals. Rhyolitic magma has high potassium and sodium content but a low iron, magnesium, and calcium content.

It occurs at temperatures ranging from 1202-1472 F (650-800 C). Magma's heating and mineral concentration both influence how quickly it travels.

The way we use the phrases magma and lava can be misleading; molten rock is called magma when it is in the Earth's crust or mantle, and lava when it is uncovered on the Earth's surface.

The melting point of minerals in the upper section of the Earth's mantle, where most magma originates, is around 2012 F (1100 C ). So, you have to either raise the temperature in the upper mantle to that level, reduce the pressure, which encourages melting, or inject water, which serves to decrease the melting temperature of the material.

Where does the magma come from that has formed the volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest?

The physical nature of the Pacific Northwest has come to be defined by lava and magma formation. Igneous rock, or solid lava, has shaped the weather, defined the vegetation, defined the courses of rivers, and decided the positions of the cities.

The plunge of the Juan de Fuca Plate, which relocates underneath the westward advancing North American Plate, is a major cause of volcanism in the Pacific Northwest. Etna is considered the oldest volcano in the world and is about 350,000 years old.

The Juan de Fuca Plate is one of Earth's smaller plates and is a vestige of the previously much bigger Farallon Plate.

The melted Asthenosphere mantle forces magma further on the Juan de Fuca Plate to keep going down beneath the North American Plate. Lava and pressurized gases like carbon dioxide are emitted from about 4,000 unique volcanic vents in this region, which includes stratovolcanoes, shields, volcanoes, dikes, fissures, cones, and domes.

Each has contributed to the magma formation of the Cascade Mountains.

Even so, the Cascades are a component of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a wider pattern of volcanic activity that encompasses the Pacific Ocean floor. However, tectonic plate sinking is not the primary source of volcanic activities in the region, and basalt can be seen beyond the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

Hot Spots, as they are colloquially known, also add to the Northwest's volcanic nature.

Thousands of lava flows were discharged through dikes over Hot Spots in eastern Oregon, as well as the southeastern point of present-day Washington, 10-15 million years ago, resulting in one of the greatest basalt river formations on Earth.

The Columbia River Basalt Group covers much of the Pacific Northwest, covering approximately 63,000 sq mi (163,169.25 sq km) and being over 1 mi ( 1.6 km) deep.

As the magma chamber released and ultimately drained, the continental crust dropped in its place, forming the massive Columbia River Plateau.

Lava lake in the Erta Ale volcano

Where does the magma at the mid-ocean ridge come from?

The planet's biggest magmatic system is believed to be mid-ocean troughs.

Magma forms at divergent plate boundaries by the decompression and melting of the convective mantle. Melts are focused as they climb through the upper mantle and lower crust, eventually congregating under the slope axis in extended melt lenses.

Plate expansion is facilitated by episodic fissures and magma forms' infusion into dikes, some of which reach the bottom and generate basaltic lava flows.

The geometry of magmatic networks, dynamics of seafloor outbursts, lava geochemistry, and slope shape are only a few of the attributes determined by the speed of magma delivery to the crust, which is heavily influenced by the ridge's dynamic characteristics. This explains the magmatic and volcanic processes that occur at divergent plate borders.

Where does the magma that forms hot spot volcanos come from?

A hot spot is supplied by a place deep under the Earth's mantle where energy rises through circulation.

This heat promotes the melting of rock near the bottom of the lithosphere, where the fragile upper mantle contacts the Earth's crust. Magma, or molten rock, frequently rises from the Earth's interior through fractures in the crust to generate volcanoes.

Temperature, water, and pressure are the three elements responsible for the melting of the rocks and the formation of magma.

Hot spot volcanoes are distinct from other types of volcanoes because they do not originate at the boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates, like other types of volcanoes. Mantle plumes, which are exceptionally hot centers, are where they occur.

These molten rock plumes are depicted in scientific models almost like lava lamps. Every geologist has a distinct theory on how and where hot spots occur.

According to a geologist, magma is a molten rock that is held in the Earth's crust. Lava is magma that rises to the Earth's surface via a volcano vent.

Lava is described as the hot molten rock that shoots out of the Earth's surface from the volcano; it is a semi-solid rock, blazing hot material that shoots out of the surface of the earth. Magma, on the other hand, is a molten rock containing volatile compounds.

These compounds are typically found beneath the surface of the Earth. Magma is typically contained inside magma chambers.

These chambers in volcanoes are typically filled with dissolved carbon dioxide gases, suspended crystals, and gas bubbles. The heat produced by Magma can have a temperature range of 2372-4352 F (1300-2400 C).

The heat of molten lava fluctuates, although it often ranges from a temperature of 2372-4352 F (1300-2400 C). Lava is typically classified depending on a variety of factors, including the thickness and content of the lava that spills outward.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for where does magma come from, amazing earth volcano facts for kids then why not take a look at where does cork come from?

What is a cork oak tree? or what are truffle mushroom? And where do truffles come from?

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Written by Joan Agie

Bachelor of Science specializing in Human Anatomy

Joan Agie picture

Joan AgieBachelor of Science specializing in Human Anatomy

With 3+ years of research and content writing experience across several niches, especially on education, technology, and business topics. Joan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Anatomy from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, and has worked as a researcher and writer for organizations across Nigeria, the US, the UK, and Germany. Joan enjoys meditation, watching movies, and learning new languages in her free time.

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