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📘 How a volcanic island forms

Follow submarine eruptions as lava, hotspots, subsidence, reefs, and erosion shape an island.

lessons

~10 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Adults

level

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What you’ll learn

Seafloor eruption
Hotspot
Shield growth
Emergence
Subsidence
Erosion
Lava chemistry
Fissure eruptions
Reefs and sediments
A moving landscape

Questions this course answers

How can a volcanic island begin?

Submarine eruptions accumulate volcanic material.

What does a hotspot island chain record?

New volcanoes form as the plate moves over the hotspot.

Why do shield volcanoes spread widely?

Low-viscosity lava forms broad overlapping flows.

Why can an island subside?

Loading and thermal contraction lower older volcanic surfaces.

What else can add shoreline material after volcanism?

Biological and sedimentary processes reshape the volcanic core.

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