BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
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& VOLCANO Links
Incredibly we sometimes have earthquakes in the BVI. We also have some Volcanoes in the Caribbean that sometimes send ash over our islands.
See the National Geographic Picture Here.
More Pictures of the Volcano Eruption
What is an earthquake?
The Earth's crust is made up of slabs of material called plates which move relative to each other. The process involved in this plate movement is called Plate Tectonics. Friction prevents the plates from moving smoothly past each other, consequently, energy accumulates until there is enough to overcome the restraining frictional force. An earthquake occurs when the plates jerk past each other, releasing stored energy.
What is a volcano?
Volcanoes are vents or openings in the Earth's crust through which, hot, molten rock (called magma) and gases from the interior of the Earth are released. Sometimes, but not always, the solid parts pile up around the vent to form a volcanic mountain. Some volcanoes are literally slits or holes in the ground while others are broad mountains with gentle slopes. Volcanoes in the Eastern Caribbean are mainly steep-sided and roughly conical in shape. They consist of alternating layers of solid lava (magma that has reached the Earth's surface) and broken fragments of lava called pyroclastic rocks. Since they are layered, they are called stratovolcanoes.
BVI Weather Links (alphabetical)